Food & Beverages

Novartis nutrition buy may put Numico in spotlight

17 Dec 2003

The Swiss drugs company has acquired BristolMyers medical nutrition business for $385m with the ageing population in mind. Dutch food group Numico, now a pure play on clinical and child nutrition, could be an attractive morsel for likeminded buyers.

Bondi gets down to business at Parmalat

16 Dec 2003

The restructuring expert needs to compile a statement of the group's tangled assets and liabilities. No one will be keener to see the fruits of his investigation than the Italian banks.

Parmalat needs independent advice

12 Dec 2003

The food group s investors and banks are divided as it s not clear whom the man brought in to fix things, Enrico Bondi, actually reports to. Bondi must bring in an advisor free of conflicts. But that excludes nearly every investment bank in town.

Empire building alive in private equity

11 Dec 2003

The "buy and build" strategy is gaining favour as making money through financial engineering of LBOs becomes more difficult. But it only works if crunching related companies into a single business yields cost savings and creates a better whole.

Parmalat brings in Mr. Haircut

10 Dec 2003

Creditors seem to be tightening their grip over the group and its E6bn of debt, setting the scene for a lively fight among investors. Enrico Bondi's name makes Italian bankers shudder. That Parmalat's creditors have backed him suggests they fear the alternative more.

Parmalat fails to get Epicurum cash back – again

8 Dec 2003

The Italian dairy group has missed its second deadline in two weeks for getting its E500m back. Parmalat has calls on its cash coming due. The group was supposed to be gushing with liquidity. It seems some of it is as hard as Parmesan.

Campari buys an expensive tipple

1 Dec 2003

The Italian drinks group has bought fellow red aperitif brand Aperol for a 64% premium to its own multiple of ebitda. With little space to cut costs, Campari must be betting Aperol can replicate its own international success.

Parmalat fails to get its money back on time

27 Nov 2003

The Italian dairy group said the repatriation of E500m from a Caymanbased fund was delayed by the Thanksgiving holiday. Investors now face an extra week of anxiety waiting for the cash from management's latest trip up.

Citigroup sucked into Parmalat black hole

24 Nov 2003

At the very least, the existence of Buconero raises questions that need answering. At worst it presents reputation risk for the giant bank. The US bank injected money into a unit of the opaque Italian food company through a subsidiary it called Buconero Italian for black hole.

Parmalat backs down

13 Nov 2003

Investors may be relieved that the E500m it invested in a Cayman Island fund is on its way back home. But they shouldn't forget this little jaunt in a hurry. It raises questions about Parmalat's investment policy, and its disclosure.

Parmalat hit by balance sheet worries

11 Nov 2003

It turns out that E500m of the Italian food group s cash is invested in an obscure private equity fund in the Caymans. The group may not be in serious danger as a result, but investors should be increasingly wary of Parmalat's promises.

Associated British Foods needs to put cash to work

5 Nov 2003

The UK foods group is sitting on over £1.2bn of cash while it waits for a suitable acquisition to come along. Considering its strong cash generation, ABF can afford to be a bit more generous to shareholders.

Danone gets the wobbles over Russia

29 Oct 2003

The French foods group may delay its planned E1bn takeover of Russia s WimmBillDann in the wake of Khodorkovsky s arrest. A pause for reflection may be no bad thing especially given the topwhack price Danone is paying.

New Cadbury CEO wrings out the costs

27 Oct 2003

Todd Stitzer is squeezing out £400m of costs and reinvesting a third of the savings in boosting growth. To some extent, this is catching up with rivals' best practice. If he succeeds, Cadbury could close the valuation gap with its competitors.

Is beer becoming a buyer’s market?

18 Sep 2003

Interbrew s latest German deal suggests the consolidators are getting pickier amid a glut of sellers and are less willing to overpay. But it s too early to assume others will follow its lead. Shareholders in the big brewers could still be unpleasantly surprised.

Molson tempts European brewers

17 Sep 2003

The $4.7bn Canadian brewer has hinted it is open to a bid. The logical European buyers would be SAB, Heineken and S&N. If the deal's worth doing, S&N will have cash and SAB equity to pay. Heineken would be challenged, and face the prospect of issuing stock.

Heineken fails to sparkle

10 Sep 2003

The Dutch brewer's results raise many questions about the execution of its strategy, particularly its US import market position. That has investors questioning whether the historic premium to rival Interbrew is warranted for the time being.

Diageo deserves better premium to Allied

4 Sep 2003

But that s not to say there s no fizz left in the stock. Allied Domecq's share price been frothed up by bid talk. And Diageo s prospects are not what they seemed in the readytodrink era.

Nestle posts strong organic H1 sales growth

20 Aug 2003

Sales rose 5.5% excluding acquisitions and currency swings. This is an encouraging result when compared to the sluggish sales performance of its AngloDutch rival, Unilever.

Consob’s new boss gets chance to shine

4 Aug 2003

The Cirio bond scandal, where risky unrated bonds ended up with retail investors, highlights the need for a watchdog with teeth. Will Lamberto Cardia be up to the task?