Roads & Transportation

Eurotunnel shareholders in denial

8 Mar 2004

A group of rebel shareholders want to give the crossChannel operator s management the chop at the annual meeting in April. The trouble is they don t have a credible game plan for fixing Eurotunnel.

UK links Eurotunnel rescue to Crossrail – report

20 Feb 2004

Help the crossChannel tunnel operator out and you could get valuable contracts for a big London rail project, seems to be the message. Nothing better illustrates Eurotunnel s dire plight.

London needs Crossrail

10 Feb 2004

The £10bn fast rail link whizzing from Heathrow to Canary Wharf would cut travel times, ease congestion and improve London's competitiveness One big snag: raising the cash to pay for it.

Eurotunnel faces yet another debt restructuring

9 Feb 2004

The crossChannel rail operator is hoping to jumpstart business by slashing tunnel access charges. That might be sensible, but it could lead to even less revenue to service its mountain of debt. No wonder investors are fed up.

P&O sells shipping jv to Nedlloyd

2 Feb 2004

The venture will be listed to exploit the shipping boom. But the break is not a clean one. Nedlloyd will need to raise money in a discounted rights offering. And P&O will still be left with a quarter of the company.

Tui to float Hapag-Lloyd shipping business

21 Jan 2004

Selling at the top of the shipping cycle is a smart move. The deal should free up the travel company's balance sheet for acquisitions. But consolidation may not be the panacea the German group's investors may be hoping for.

Second bite of the cherry for TBI

4 Dec 2003

The airports group got egg on its face when it let a bid from Vinci slip out of its grasp in September 2001. Now Hochtief has come knocking. Investors can only hope that the architect of its last defence, Keith Brooks, doesn't muck things up this time.

Network Rail ordered to economise

17 Oct 2003

The UK rail regulator has rightly refused to let the profligate operator increase its spending as much as it wanted. The snag is that there is nothing to stop Network Rail from blowing whatever budget it is set.

Colaninno back in the saddle

25 Sep 2003

A modest E100m or 31% of the equity buys the exTelecom Italia boss control of Piaggio, and a geared take on any upside he can deliver. But Colaninno has also managed to get himself some downside protection. The lower the valuation of the company, the bigger slice he takes.

Eurotunnel faces restructuring fears

8 Aug 2003

Despite fears about its balance sheet, the crossChannel rail operation is protected from its debts until 2006. Equity investors are hoping that the fundamentals of the business can radically improve before that deadline. That is a gamble.

Alstom plays down bid approach

1 Apr 2003

It is hard to see why anyone would choose to inherit the French group's liabilities. Investors buying the shares on bid speculation may be taken for April fools.

Benettons struggle to finance Autostrade bid

7 Jan 2003

The deal was only saved at the last minute after Goldman put up E2.8bn of the E10.3bn loan. It has extracted its price. The facility is shorter than the Benettons wanted. Mediobanca, the Benettons main adviser, is left with egg on its face.

Stagecoach MBO could make sense – for Souter

4 Dec 2002

But finding a backer for the deal would not be easy. For the Scottish transport boss, taking the company private could have its merits.

Stagecoach MBO could make sense – for Souter

4 Dec 2002

Running London Tube may be licence to print money

29 Nov 2002

Autostrade needs independent advice

7 Nov 2002

The Benettons, who are bidding for the motorway group, already control the board. The tiny bind of independent directors must appoint a vigorously independent adviser. Naming Merrill wouldn't be smart.

Autostrade needs independent advice

7 Nov 2002

Play Motorway – an Italian game of high finance

5 Nov 2002

Imagine you are the Benettons trying to gain control of a vast empire with as little capital as possible. breakingviews has developed an interactive game that allows you to mimic their actions.

Play Motorway – an Italian game of high finance

5 Nov 2002

Benetton family plans crafty bid for Autostrade

4 Nov 2002

The offer is structured to allow the bidder to get control for the minimum cost. That is good for the Benettons, of course, but less so for minorities.