Retail

Sainsbury settles with Peter Davis, non-execs resign

17 Sep 2004

The nonexecs responsible for Davis paypackage and for embarassingly trying to wriggle out of it deserved to go. Meanwhile, reaching a settlement with Davis should help the supermarket group put this circus behind it.

UK regulator ends M&S share probe

16 Sep 2004

It has fingered no one despite a surge in the retailer s shares in massive volume before news of Philip Green s takeover bid. The FSA must be feeling a bit blue. A prosecution in this highprofile saga would have been a great way of showing it s ahead of the game.

No call for despair over HBOS/Abbey damp squib

15 Sep 2004

After Philip Green s retreat from Marks & Spencer, HBOS s withdrawal from the race for Abbey looks like bad news for UK investment bankers. But pessimists should focus on the fact that two incredibly ambitious bids were seriously considered in the first place.

Carrefour comes out with defence plan

1 Sep 2004

Well, it certainly looks that way, as the French retailer is offering disposals, buybacks and enhanced dividends to shareholders. The financial engineering may buy the group's boss time and dampen takeover speculation. But the real test is operational improvement.

M&S follows Google down auction route

22 Aug 2004

The UK retailer is using an auction to buy £2.3bn of shares from investors not sell stock. But it will still involve fun and games. This will be an opportunity for arbs to make a profit. But they can t be too greedy or they will end up in the cold.

Swatch buckles under tax evasion allegations

13 Aug 2004

The Swiss watch group's shares initially fell more than 10% on news it was charged with tax evasion. Allegations of a coverup make this case more dramatic than a plain vanilla tax evasion charge. But how bad can it be?

KarstadtQuelle must break itself up

4 Aug 2004

By turning itself into a miniconglomerate, it has taken the eye off its core business. Turning round its lossmaking stores will be hard. But unless it grasps the nettle, Karstadt will become an irrelevance.

Who should be M&S’s permanent chairman?

30 Jul 2004

Paul Myners would be ideal. He fought Philip Green, so has the biggest incentive to show M&S was right in refusing 400p a share. Having him stay for a year is a reasonable compromise. But it is a shame that M&S has to cast around when the best option is under its nose.

UK takeover rules don’t need revamp

18 Jul 2004

M&S wants it to be harder for phantom bidders like Green who never made a hard offer to lay siege to a company. This would be a bad idea. The threat of hostile takeover is an important tool for galvanising companies to improve performance.

Permira strikes deal on WH Smith pensions

16 Jul 2004

The bidder isn t just reducing the debt it s putting into the retailer; its banks seem to have agreed to rank equally with the pensioners. While that may seem a huge concession, in some ways it s just a recognition of the reality.

M&S boss considers taking options at 400p

13 Jul 2004

Rose shouldn t just consider it; he should do it. Even better would be to accept an exercise price that ratchets up every year. This would amount to Rose putting his money where his mouth is when he says shareholders should reject Green s 400p of cash.

M&S probably delivers just enough

12 Jul 2004

The UK retailer hasn't produced a knockout defence. But a £2.3bn buyback plus £320m cost cuts should just see off Philip Green. Green will find it hard to rabblerouse shareholders. Both his plan and M&S's are worth about 400p. Green also has to swallow poison pills.

Continuing his bear-hug wouldn’t have guaranteed success. But delivering an ultimatum guaranteed that he wouldn’t succeed.

12 Jul 2004

The move was odd given that the tide among investors was shifting in his direction.

M&S rejects Green – softly

8 Jul 2004

Although the UK retailer says Green's 400p proposal undervalues it, it has left open the door for shareholders to take a different view. The soft rejection makes Green's task harder. But this battle will still be determined by how good a defence M&S comes up with on Monday.

Sainsbury remuneration vote to expose family’s weakness

8 Jul 2004

The retailer s controlling family can t really vote for the remuneration report following the Peter Davis fiasco. It can t easily vote against, either, given its previous support for Davis. But an abstention will just underline its impotence.

Green finally makes interesting M&S offer

7 Jul 2004

The board cannot reject the 400p a share offer out of hand not least since it is acceptable to Brandes, its largest shareholder. There are some queries about Green's financing. But M&S will only be able to see him off if it comes up with a compelling defence on Monday.

Green needs to woo M&S pension trustees

6 Jul 2004

Trustees may be worried that a leveraged bid could increase the risks of a pension scheme already in deficit. If Green can't convince the trustees he is someone they can work with, he will have trouble drafting a firm bid.

Green told to put up or shut up on M&S

6 Jul 2004

The takeover panel has given the retail entrepreneur only one month to construct a bid for the company. This makes Green's already hard task even more arduous.

Sainsbury’s governance not that dysfunctional

4 Jul 2004

The palace coup that ejected Peter Davis shows shareholder power can be felt even in unfertile areas. Despite being effectively controlled by a family, the voices of minority shareholders still got heard.

Has Morrison bitten off more than it can chew?

2 Jul 2004

The retailer warned profits this year will be lower than expected due to plummeting sales and margings at its new business, Safeway. It is too soon to say for sure that the acquisition has backfired on Morrison. But the early signs are certainly not good. The retailer warned profits this year will be lower than expected due to plummeting sales and margins at its new business, Safeway.