Leisure/Hotels

PartyGaming gets backing for £4.7bn IPO

24 Jun 2005

Since slashing its price, the online poker operator has drawn enough support to cover its book twice over. The shares are likely to be priced at a 15% discount to rival Sportingbet. That looks enough to ensure a buoyant aftermarket.

PartyGaming cuts IPO range by 18%

15 Jun 2005

A UK listing was meant to give the online poker company credibility. Instead it has turned online gaming into a regulatory cause celebre. It s no surprise PartyGaming s lofty $10.5bn price tag has been cut. The wonder is that it hasn t been hacked further.

LBO bid for National Hockey League may not be nuts

24 May 2005

Spending $4bn to buy the lossmaking NHL may look like another example of a buyout fund with too much money and not enough opportunities. But there may be hard logic to Bain s deal. It eliminates competition for talent something Wall Street would envy.

Online gambling promises big winnings

27 Mar 2005

A raft of online gaming groups are considering UK stock market flotations, encouraged by the strong performance of Sportingbet. Yet even after a 300% rise in the last year, shares in the online gambling site still don't look expensive.

TUI boosted by strong growth in tourism

23 Mar 2005

The German tourism and shipping group has weathered a difficult year of takeover speculation and uncertainty about its structure. Its future looks more secure. But its shipping unit may slow down its growth.

Rossignol bid the exception to the French exception

22 Mar 2005

But exceptions to the French exception are always easier to make when the President of the acquiring firm is French too. The controlling shareholder of the totemic French skimaker has agreed to a takeover offer from US surf and snowboard firm Quiksilver.

Intercontinental Hotels to return another £1bn

10 Mar 2005

But investors should look beyond the disposal story. ICH isn t covering its cost of capital. Disposals may help, but they are not a panacea. With the sale of 73 hotels, the group has now committed to returning 80% of its market capitalisation at the 2003 demerger.

Compass struggles to restore trust

30 Nov 2004

Sales growth may be respectable and the shares may be cheap compared to rival Sodexho, but it will take time to win back lost confidence. The contract caterer has followed up its September warning with full year pretax profits at the bottom end of market expectations.

How Osmond missed out on £1bn

28 Nov 2004

The entrepreneur narrowly missed buying Six Continents for £5.4bn. The hotel and pubs group has since demerged, giving investors £8bn. If all had gone to plan, Osmond would would be well on his way to a paper profit of £1bn. He shouldn t have been so greedy.

Fight for Man Utd not over

15 Oct 2004

Talks between the UK football club's largest shareholders and Malcolm Glazer may have broken off. The sticking point seems to have been whether the US tycoon had the cash. If Glazer can show he's good for the money, talks may resume.

Man Utd fans vow to fight Glazer bid

5 Oct 2004

The UK football club s supporters seem to be dead set against a takeover by American football tycoon Malcolm Glazer. Glazer can t afford to totally ignore them. But he doesn t need them to take over the Red Devils.

Man Utd receives bid approach

4 Oct 2004

It s not clear who is after the Red Devils, but all bets are on American football tycoon Malcolm Glazer. Longstanding bid speculation has already made the UK soccer club a mouthful. Glazer will have to get creative to finance an offer.

Orbitz falls into Cendant’s grasp

29 Sep 2004

America s airlines may be desperate, but you wouldn t know it from the $1.25bn they got from Cendant for their online travel company. Cendant justifies paying 17 times forward ebitda by forecasting huge synergies. Refreshingly, shareholders aren't buying it.

Richard North goes from IHG top slot

15 Sep 2004

This might seem harsh: the shares have risen by 66% since the 6Con dermerger. But against the sector, the performance has been mediocre. North has led the group through its restructuring. But now that the strategy is set, IHG needs someone with a different skillset.

Tui calls off Hapag-Lloyd IPO

7 Sep 2004

The tourism company has decided to hang on to its shipping business rather than sell it at a chunky discount. That may be the right decision, but it makes a takeover harder. No wonder Tui waited until after it was safely in the DAX to break the news.

Tui not yet off the hook

27 Aug 2004

The tourism and logistics group looks likely to scrape back into the Dax 30 index thanks to takeover speculation. But the threat of WestLB selling its 31% stake should encourage Tui management to do more, not less, to maximise value.

WestLB puts Tui on the block

23 Aug 2004

But that doesn't mean the German bank is going to find a rush of takers for its 31% stake in the tourism group. Potential suitors may be interested in parts of Tui. But it will be hard for any group to justify paying a fat premium for the whole.

Tui becomes day-traders’ plaything

11 Aug 2004

That s partly because there s lots of confusion about its value and its strategy. Tui has brought forward its results to shore up the stock. It should also find ways to maximise value.

Lastminute shares catch up with reality

5 Aug 2004

Its main rival recently issued a profit warning. But the UK online travel site is still talking about making good progress. That will be hard. Marketing costs are rising and competition is intensifying.

Harrah’s in $9.4bn bid for Caesars

15 Jul 2004

This latest gambling deal will do more than light up the Vegas strip. Bells will be ringing with regulators in Washington and elsewhere. But that may be intended Harrah s might as well stir the pot while antitrust officials are stewing over the MGMMandalay deal.