London's big guns line up for Cadbury defense

Wed Sep 16, 2009 8:48am EDT

By Victoria Howley

LONDON (Reuters) - Three of London's top rainmakers are set to square up against a superstar of the 1980s merger era if the looming takeover battle between Kraft (KFT.N) and Cadbury (CBRY.L) ignites.

North America's largest food group has yet to make a formal offer for the British confectioner, but both sides have engaged big name bankers in case battle ensues.

The stakes are high, with Cadbury's bankers set to share a fee pot of up to $49 million and Kraft's advisers looking at up to $42 million, according to estimates from Thomson Reuters and U.S. consulting firm Freeman & Co.

In Kraft's corner is Bruce Wasserstein, the Wall Street veteran who achieved fame as an adviser to buy-out house KKR on its titanic acquisition of RJR Nabisco in 1989, recorded for posterity in the book Barbarians at the Gate.

Wasserstein -- chairman and chief executive of investment bank Lazard (LAZ.N) -- is flanked by senior bankers James Agnew and David James from corporate brokers Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Citigroup (C.N).

Cadbury is backed by the trio that ran last year's demerger of its U.S. soft drinks business Dr Pepper Snapple -- Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) Karen Cook, Simon Robey of Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Nick Reid of UBS (UBSN.VX).

City "superwoman" Cook combines her role as a partner at the bank with raising six children and a non-executive directorship at UK supermarket group Tesco (TSCO.L).

She has worked on four deals in the last three-and-a-half years with Roger Carr, chairman of both Cadbury and Britain's largest gas retailer, Centrica (CNA.L).

LONG-STANDING TEAM

Robey, Morgan Stanley's co-chair of global M&A, has worked on a string of high-profile deals for the bank, including the defense work that helped UK-listed miner Rio Tinto (RIO.L) see off a $66 billion hostile bid from rival BHP Billiton (BLT.L).

Reid is working with his co-head of UK investment banking Tim Waddell and senior M&A banker James Robertson.

"This team has been advising Cadbury for over two years. They are used to working together in adverse conditions," said a consumer banker who knows them.

"They all have big reputations in London," he added.

Reid and Cook go back further than that, having worked together at Schroders, the UK investment bank that was acquired by Citigroup in 2000, and Goldman Sachs. Reid joined UBS from Goldman in September 2006.

The tactics Cadbury's bankers have used for other clients offer a glimmer into how an engagement with Kraft might unfold.

They helped salvage Cadbury's exit from the drinks business with last year's demerger of Dr Pepper Snapple when private equity firms could no longer afford to buy the assets.

Cadbury's shares rose sharply after the disposal, the final reversal of the buying binge that had seen the company bulk up to become a global beverages player at the expense of its focus on confectionery.

Cook and Reid have also shown they can extract a good price from buyers. Cook was one of the advisers that helped Cadbury sell its European soft drinks business in February 2006 to Blackstone (BX.N) and Lion Capital for $1.85 billion.

That was a fairly good price considering trade buyers were wary after the French government blocked Coca-Cola's (KO.N) acquisition of the business on anti-trust grounds in 1999.

Reid and the UBS contingent also helped underperforming UK brewer Scottish & Newcastle extract two raised offers out of Carlsberg (CARLb.CO) and Heineken (HEIN.AS) before it agreed to sell itself for 7.8 billion pounds in January 2008.

Robey was Rio Tinto's lead adviser in the determined defense against BHP Billiton (BHP.AX). He worked with Rio this year on the canceled $19.2 billion investment from Chinalco.

That was a hard sell to UK shareholders, but a vital lifeline at the height of the credit crisis for a company saddled with $38 billion in debt.

When markets improved, Rio dumped Chinalco in June, opting instead for a $21-billion rights issue and iron ore joint venture with BHP.

Analysts said the final outcome was better for Rio's credit quality than the Chinalco deal, and praised the level of cost savings and synergies that would be achieved.

(Editing by Sitaraman Shankar)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Taiwan Mobile to pay Carlyle $1 billion in swap deal

Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:51am EDT

By Faith Hung and Michael Flaherty

TAIPEI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Carlyle Group and Taiwan Mobile struck a $1 billion deal on Wednesday, with Carlyle taking a big chunk of the telecommunications group in a sign the private equity firm has faith in the island's economy.

The deal creates Taiwan's largest pay TV operator and marks the second major acquisition in Taiwan's telecoms sector in the last five months after China Mobile agreed to buy 12 percent of Taiwan's Far EasTone (4904.TW) for $529 million in April.

Though Taiwan's economy is still recovering, investors are betting that improved relations with China will open up business prospects and profits.

Carlyle will exchange its stake in Taiwan cable company Kbro for a 15.5 percent stake in Taiwan Mobile (3045.TW), while Taiwan Mobile will pay T$32.8 billion ($1 billion) via a share swap and cash. It will also assume T$24 billion of debt.

"This is not an exit for us," Carlyle Managing Director Gregory Zeluck told a news conference. "We continue to be confident in the Taiwan market, and hope to help Taiwan Mobile become a bigger player in the industry."

The share swap values Carlyle's Taiwan Mobile stake at NT$55 per share, representing about a 5 percent premium to Wednesday's closing price of the Taiwan telecom operator.

JPMorgan is the adviser to Carlyle on the deal.

BIGGEST CABLE OPERATOR

The transaction will create the largest pay TV operator in Taiwan, with a 32 percent market share of 1.6 million subscribers, Taiwan Mobile said at the news conference.

"The deal would allow Taiwan Mobile to post a major threat to Chunghwa Telecom (2412.TW) in the ADSL Internet business," said Chang Chi-sheng, a fund manager at Uni-President Asset Management.

The deal will make Carlyle the second-largest shareholder of Taiwan Mobile after the Tsai family.

The Tsai family also controls Fubon Financial (2881.TW), which has become the parent of Taiwan's No. 2 life insurer following its $600 million acquisition of ING's (ING.AS) domestic insurance operation.

The enterprise value of Kbro -- market value and debt -- is $1.8 billion, according to sources close to the deal who were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal.

Taiwan Mobile aims to close the deal some time late this year, pending regulatory approval, President Harvey Chang said.

Shares of Taiwan Mobile ended up 1.16 percent at T$52.50, roughly in line with the broader market's 1.28 percent rise.

($1=T$32.55)

(Additional reporting by George Chen in Hong Kong; Editing by Anshuman Daga and Jacqueline Wong)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

M&A firm Lincoln International eyes Japan expansion

Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:19am EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Lincoln International, a Chicago-based advisory firm for mergers and acquisitions, plans to increase its Japan operations fivefold in the next few years, saying there is plenty of opportunity to take share in small M&A transactions.

Lincoln now has four professional bankers in Tokyo and may have as many as 20 within two to three years, said Keiji Miyakawa, who became chairman of Lincoln's Tokyo unit this month.

Miyakawa, who used to be the head of Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) Japan mergers and advisory business, said the number of transactions would increase as Japanese companies seek growth by consolidation and going overseas.

"Some 95 percent of Japan's mergers and acquisitions are less than $100 million, and major investment banks are targeting transactions worth more than $1 billion," Miyakawa told Reuters in an interview, adding the market for smaller transactions was not well covered in Japan.

Japan had 2,948 M&A transactions last year, of which 94 percent, or 2,776 deals, were worth less than $100 million, according to Thomson Reuters data. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Adobe rachète Omniture pour 1,8 milliard de dollars

La Tribune.fr - 16/09/2009 | 22:07 - 169 mots

Avec cette opération, le fabricant de logiciels souhaite renforcer sa présence au sein des entreprises.

Adobe Systems, fabricant américain des célèbres logiciels Photoshop et Acrobat, a annoncé ce mercredi qu'il allait racheter son homologue Omniture, l'un des principaux éditeurs de logiciels pour l'optimisation de l'activité en ligne des entreprises. La transaction s'élève à 1,8 milliard de dollars. Le groupe a offert 21,50 dollars en numéraire par action pour Omniture, soit une prime de 24% par rapport au cours de clôture de mardi soir.

Cette annonce a été faite en marge de la publication des résultats d'Adobe au titre de son troisième trimestre. L'éditeur a dégagé un bénéfice net de 136 millions de dollars sur la période, soit 35 cents par action et hors exceptionnels. C'est un cent de mieux que le consensus des analystes. Le chiffre d'affaires est ressorti à 698 millions de dollars, contre 686 millions attendus.

A la Bourse de New York, les investisseurs ont logiquement recherché le titre Omniture ce mercredi, celui-ci s'est envolé de 26,29% à 21,88 dollars. En revanche, Adobe a chuté de 6,37% à 33,35 dollars.

(Retrouvez le communiqué de Adobe)

latribune.fr

Air France-KLM pourrait entrer au capital de Japan Airlines

La Tribune.fr - 15/09/2009 | 06:40 - 169 mots

Après Delta et American Airlines, le transporteur franco-néerlandais discuterait également d'une prise de participation dans la première compagnie japonaise.

Les spéculations se poursuivent autour de la levée de fonds annoncée par Japan Airlines (JAL). Après Delta Airlines et American Airlines, des sources proches du dossier citées par l'agence Reuters évoquent désormais le nom d'Air France-KLM pour entrer au capital du transporteur japonais en difficulté. Les deux groupes auraient entamé des discussions.

L'entrée d'Air France dans les négociations bouleverse la donne. En effet, le gouvernement japonais, qui envisageait de privilégier Delta Airlines dans les discussions, inclut désormais Air France dans ses favoris. Un choix qui se fait au détriment d'American Airlines, jugée trop fragile financièrement. Cette dernière est pourtant la préférée de JAL en raison de l'accord qui les lie au sein de l'alliance Oneworld.

American Airlines proposerait un investissement de 200 millions à 300 millions de dollars en échange d'une prise de participation dans le capital, mais les chiffres seraient encore en discussion.

JAL, qui a enregistré une perte de 99 milliards de yens (750 millions d'euros) au premier trimestre 2009-2010, envisagerait de lever 2,8 milliards de dollars d'ici mars 2010.

latribune.fr

DoCoMo to sell stake in Malaysia's U Mobile

Tue Sep 15, 2009 12:33pm EDT

By Mayumi Negishi

TOKYO (Reuters) - NTT DoCoMo (9437.T), Japan's biggest mobile operator, will sell its 16.5 percent stake in cell phone company U Mobile this month, pulling out of the Malaysian market.

The move follows South Korean partner KT Freetel's (030200.KS) sale of its 16.5 percent stake in U Mobile earlier this year, which analysts said was due to lowered expectations for growth for the Malaysian company.

U Mobile entered the Malaysian cell phone market in the spring of 2008, providing 3G services to customers with technological assistance from DoCoMo and others. But it has been unable to take market share away from larger carriers.

NTT DoCoMo, which had hoped the stake would help it bring in new revenue streams, plans to sell to U Mobile's parent U Television for $100 million -- the same amount it paid for the stake last year.

NTT DoCoMo, which competes with KDDI Corp (9433.T) and Softbank Corp (9984.T) in the saturated Japanese cell phone market, has been seeking footholds in other parts of Asia to grow.

It has bought stakes in India's Tata Teleservices and in Axiata's (AXIA.KL) Bangladesh unit.

Shares in NTT DoCoMo closed down 0.7 percent prior to the announcement, which had been well-flagged by Japanese media, in line with KDDI's 0.2 percent fall but outperforming Softbank's 1.5 percent decline.

(Additional reporting by Rhee So-eui in Seoul and Ashutosh Joshi in Bangalore; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Kraft CEO plans further deal talk with Cadbury

Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:14pm EDT

TORONTO (Reuters) - Kraft Foods (KFT.N), North America's biggest food group, plans to hold talks in coming weeks with British bid target Cadbury (CBRY.L) that may lead to a new bid offer for the global No. 2 candy and chocolate maker.

"In the weeks ahead we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue with the board and management of Cadbury," Kraft Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld said in a speech to business students in Toronto. She said the company would continue to assess the opportunity and consider progressing to a formal offer, correcting an earlier statement that talks might result in a "final" offer.

Kraft wants to buy the British chocolate giant as it targets growth after revamping operations in recent years, although the candy maker immediately rejected an initial offer worth 10.2 billion pound ($16.7 billion).

Kraft has rewired its executive team, decentralized decision-making and refurbished and reformed its brand under Rosenfeld to focus on quality after a slide in customer satisfaction.

Rosenfeld said the next step is to target growth, and an acquisition of Cadbury would be one way of doing that.

"If this transaction were completed, Kraft Foods would expect to revise our long-term growth targets to 5 plus percent for revenue and 9-11 percent for earnings per share, from our previously announced, 4-plus percent and 7-9 percent, respectively," she said.

(Reporting by Pav Jordan; Editing Bernard Orr)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Kraft: No need to sell assets for Cadbury bid

Tue Sep 15, 2009 11:05am EDT

By Brad Dorfman

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc does not need to sell operations like Oscar Mayer hot dogs, Maxwell House coffee or any of its other brands to afford its $16 billion bid for British confectioner Cadbury, Kraft said on Tuesday.

"The financing for this proposal does not require any divestitures," Kraft spokeswoman Perry Yeatman said.

Yeatman was responding to a report on Tuesday in the New York Post that said Kraft, the world's second-largest food company, could sell assets to finance its bid for Cadbury. The report cited sources familiar with the matter.

Kraft's bid was originally worth $16.7 billion (10.2 billion pounds) when it disclosed its proposed offer on September 7, though a decline in Kraft's share price has since lowered the value of that cash-and-stock bid.

Cadbury has rejected the offer, with CEO David Carr saying the prospect of being absorbed into Kraft was unappealing.

"Under your proposal, Cadbury would be absorbed into Kraft's low growth, conglomerate business model, an unappealing prospect which contrasts sharply with our strategy to be a pure play confectionery company," Carr told Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld in a letter seen by Reuters over the weekend.

Analysts have said that Kraft will likely have to raise its bid in order to get a deal with Cadbury.

Kraft has maintained it will be "disciplined" in its pursuit of Cadbury and that it wants to maintain an "investment grade" credit rating, a strategy that could limit how much higher it is willing to go with its bid.

Kraft shares were down 8 cents at $26.03 in early New York Stock Exchange trading. Cadbury shares were up 0.5 percent in London.

(Reporting by Brad Dorfman; additional reporting by Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Obama warns Wall Street to get behind reforms

Mon Sep 14, 2009 4:29pm EDT

By Caren Bohan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Barack Obama warned financial firms on Monday to heed the lessons of Lehman Brothers' collapse a year ago and get behind a regulatory overhaul he wants Congress to pass this year.

Obama, who has focused most of his energy on healthcare reform in recent weeks, went to Wall Street to highlight another top priority of his administration -- updating financial rules to prevent another economic collapse.

While the economy and the financial system are showing signs of recovery, Obama said that was not an excuse to avoid reform.

"Normalcy cannot lead to complacency," he said at Federal Hall in the heart of Wall Street.

"Unfortunately, there are some in the financial industry who are misreading this moment. Instead of learning the lessons of Lehman and the crisis from which we're still recovering, they're choosing to ignore those lessons."

Lehman, once the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, triggering a global financial crisis that also helped propel Obama to the presidency as Americans welcomed his cool response to the problem.

SLOW PROGRESS ON GLOBAL ISSUE

Financial reform will be a key issue at a G20 summit of leading developed and developing nations in Pittsburgh next week but progress on Obama's agenda has been slow.

Obama's speech also sought to show other countries his administration is serious about tackling weaknesses and excesses in the U.S. financial system that are blamed for setting off the global crisis.

"As the United States is aggressively reforming our regulatory system, we're going to be working to ensure that the rest of the world does the same," he said.

Under a proposal put forward in June, the Federal Reserve would get new powers to monitor big financial firms and a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency would be created.

Obama emphasized the CFPA as he outlined his proposals, indicating it has become a top priority.

"This crisis was not just the result of decisions made by the mightiest of financial firms. It was also the result of decisions made by ordinary Americans to open credit cards and take on mortgages," he said, adding some lenders were deceitful even as some people took on loans they could not afford.

"This is in part because there is no single agency charged with making sure that doesn't happen. That's what we intend to change."

Many of the overhaul provisions are controversial and the legislation has bogged down in Congress, possibly delaying reforms until 2010 or resulting in a watered-down package.

Obama told financial firms not to wait for a law to pass before they started making reforms, urging them, for example, to put 2009 senior executive bonuses up for shareholder votes.

Despite heavy rhetoric in the United States and Europe about reining in executive pay, there has been little real action as Wall Street and London fret about losing their competitiveness as leading financial centers and companies work to insulate top earners from the effects of any changes.

WARY OF REGULATION

Alan Lancz, president of Ohio-based investment advisory firm Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc, said Wall Street was wary of too much regulation.

"It could really restrict our progress, growth and our economic system," he said, reacting to Obama's speech.

Obama said there would be no return "to the days of reckless behavior" and that Wall Street could not expect further taxpayer bailouts without repercussions.

"Those on Wall Street cannot resume taking risks without regard for consequences, and expect that next time, American taxpayers will be there to break their fall," he said, adding he wanted to work with financial firms to make sure regulation did not stifle innovation.

One lawmaker at the center of efforts to overhaul U.S. financial rules said the legislation will be completed.

"We are very much on track," Barney Frank, chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said on Monday. "This will be done.

The Treasury Department said on Monday the U.S. financial system remained fragile and that withdrawing stimulus measures had to be done carefully to avoid disrupting a nascent recovery.

The stock market has rebounded in the last eight months, with the Dow index around 9,625 points on Monday afternoon, more than 1,300 points higher than its close at 8,281.22 points on the last trading day before Obama took office on January 20.

Still, unemployment has worsened significantly. The joblessness rate was 7.6 percent in January but hit 9.7 percent in August and is expected to stay high well into next year.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Patricia Zengerle and Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by John O'Callaghan and Jackie Frank)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Oil falls, traders eye position limits, China

Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:13pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell on Monday, weighed down by trader concerns that the top U.S. commodities exchange could tighten enforcement of position limits and about a U.S. decision to impose special duties on Chinese tires.

The duties could open the door for a host of trade complaints against China, the world's No. 2 oil consumer, raising tension ahead of the G20 meeting and pressuring U.S. stock markets.

U.S. crude -- which has been looking to stocks and macroeconomic data for signs of a turnaround in the economy and weak fuel demand -- traded down 46 cents to $68.83 a barrel by 1:50 p.m. EDT (1750 GMT). London Brent crude fell 50 cents to $67.19 a barrel.

(For graph on the link between oil and equities, please click here )

The CME Group Inc (CME.O), which runs the New York Mercantile Exchange where U.S. oil primarily trades, on Friday sent an advisory warning to traders and brokers of tighter enforcement of existing position limits on NYMEX, CME, and other exchanges as of September 14.

A source familiar with CME's plans told Reuters on Monday the advisory was routine and did not mark any shift in policy at CME on how it would enforce position limits.

But analysts said the note, which comes amid growing efforts by the Obama administration to curb speculation and manipulation of energy markets, could scare some participants out of the market.

"There's a little bit of concerns or question marks about the CME notice on position limits ... with effective date of today," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland.

"That might have made the market a little bit nervous and I would expect that the market is going to remain a little bit cautious until we can see through this notice."

Some oil traders said they interpreted the advisory as a CME warning it could soon offer fewer exemptions for exceeding position limits in the future.

The U.S. government has proposed imposing position limits in oil and some other commodity markets as a step toward curbing speculation and volatility following crude's record run to near $150 a barrel in 2008.

(Reporting by Richard Valdmanis, Matthew Robinson, Robert Gibbons, and Gene Ramos in New York; Catherine Boslet in London; Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Stocks rise, helped by utilities

Mon Sep 14, 2009 3:18pm EDT

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged higher on Monday, helped by utilities after a news report that China's sovereign wealth fund is eyeing a stake in U.S. power company AES Corp.

However, concerns about trade friction between the United States and China limited gains after Washington imposed special duties on Chinese tire imports.

Shares of AES rose 4.2 percent to $14.75, while the S&P utilities index gained 1.4 percent after the Wall Street Journal's report on the China-AES talks.

"M&A activity is definitely starting to heat up. (The AES news) sparked interest in the whole utility sector," said Owen Fitzpatrick, head of U.S. Equity Group at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management

Shares of U.S. tire makers also rose, with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co up 4.3 percent to $18.02, and Cooper Tire & Rubber Co adding 9.7 percent to $15.98.

But analysts said the trade decision by President Barack Obama could open the door to a host of trade complaints against Chinese products, creating tensions as Western nations seek support from the world's third-largest economy at G20 meetings later this month.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 9.75 points, or 0.10 percent, at 9,615.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 4.25 points, or 0.41 percent, at 1,046.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 7.22 points, or 0.35 percent, at 2,088.12

In other corporate deal news, Sprint Nextel Corp shares jumped 13.5 percent to $4.28 after a British newspaper reported that Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG was considering a bid for its U.S. rival.

China's commerce ministry said Sunday it launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of U.S. chicken products and automotive exporters.

"Although on the surface it could lead to something serious, I think both sides, and certainly China, realize that it not in their best interest to really escalate this," said Bruce Zaro, chief technical strategist at Delta Global Advisors in Boston.

Stocks showed little reaction when Obama spoke earlier in New York and called on financial firms not to fight regulatory reform, He also urged Congress to pass his legislative proposals on the subject, speaking one year after Lehman Brothers' collapse sent world markets into a tailspin.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

M&A report boosts shares of Sprint Nextel

Mon Sep 14, 2009 6:50am EDT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Shares in Sprint Nextel (S.N) soared in Frankfurt (S.F) on Monday, boosted by a newspaper report that Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) is mulling a bid for the company.

By 0724 GMT (3:24 a.m. EDT), Frankfurt-listed shares in Sprint Nextel jumped 14.2 percent, while shares in Deutsche Telekom dropped 1.7 percent. The pan-European DJ STOXX Telcom Index .SXKP was 1.8 percent lower.

"Even though strategically it would be the best move forward since quite some time for (Deutsche Telekom), it will weigh on the share price firstly because of that potential capital raising effort but secondly because of the time span needed to return the U.S. peer to profitability," Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland Research wrote in a note. (Reporting by Christoph Steitz)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Spéculations autour de Japan Airlines, le titre bondit

La Tribune.fr - 14/09/2009 | 06:20 - 217 mots

L'action de la première compagnie aérienne japonaise s'envole de 8%. Selon des informations de presse, les compagnies aériennes Delta et American Airlines seraient intéressées pour entrer au capital du transporteur asiatique.

Belle séance ce lundi pour l'action de la première compagnie aérienne japonaise Japan Airlines (JAL). Le titre bondit à la mi-séance de la Bourse de Tokyo de 8% à 176 yens, dopé par des informations faisant état d'une possible entrée dans son capital de Delta Airlines ou d'American Airlines. Dans le même temps, l'indice Nikkei chutait, lui, de 2,2%.

Plusieurs informations de presse au cours du weekend ont évoqué la possibilité d'une entrée de l'américain Delta Airlines au capital de JAL, à hauteur de 550 millions de dollars. AMR, la maison-mère d'American Airlines, serait également sur les rangs pour prendre une participation dans JAL.

Selon les médias japonais, le gouvernement nippon souhaiterait pousser JAL dans les bras de Delta. Mais les dirigeants de la compagnie seraient au contraire plus favorables à American Airlines, avec qui ils sont déjà partenaires au sein de l'alliance OneWorld.

Cette prise de participation de l'un ou l'autre des transporteurs américains pourrait intervenir dans le cadre d'une levée de fonds de JAL. La première compagnie aérienne envisagerait de lever 2,8 milliards de dollars d'ici mars 2010. En difficulté en raison de la crise économique mondiale, le transporteur japonais a subi une perte nette de 99 milliards de yens (750 millions d'euros) au premier trimestre 2009-2010, 29 fois supérieure à celle de la même période de 2008-2009.

latribune.fr

NEC, Hitachi et Casio unissent leurs activités de mobiles

La Tribune.fr - 14/09/2009 | 08:37 - 166 mots

Les trois grands groupes d'électronique japonais vont créer une société commune pour réunir leurs activités de téléphones portables. Objectif : gagner en compétitivité.

téléphonie smartphones et appareils clas

Nouvelle concentration dans le secteur de la téléphonie mobile. Les trois grands groupes d'électronique japonais NEC, Casio et Hitachi, ont décidé de réunir leurs efforts face à la crise. Ils se sont ainsi entendus pour unifier leurs activités de téléphones portables, ce qui leur permettra, espèrent-ils, de réduire les coûts de développement et de fabrication.

Casio et Hitachi ont déjà une société commune depuis 2004, Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications. C'est avec cette entité que va s'associer NEC pour former dès avril 2010 une nouvelle société, baptisée NEC Casio Mobile Communications et doté au départ d'un capital de 1 milliard de yen dont NEC détiendra 66%, Casio 17,34% et Hitachi 16,66%.

Ces participations seront légèrement modifiées après l'augmentation de capital prévue en juin 2010. La part de NEC passera à 70,7%, celle de Casio à 20% tandis que celle d'Hitachi tombera à 9,26%. L'ensemble qui devra développer, produire et vendre les mobiles pour les trois marques, comptera quelque 2.200 salariés.

(retrouvez le communiqué commun de Casio, Nec Corporation et Hitachi).

latribune.fr

Brilliance near vehicle deal with Daimler, Toyota: source

Fri Sep 11, 2009 5:23am EDT

DALIAN, China (Reuters) - The state parent of Brilliance China Automotive (1114.HK) is near a deal to make special purpose vehicles in China with Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) and Toyota Motor (7203.T), a company source said on Friday.

Executives at Brilliance Auto, parent of Hong Kong-listed Brilliance, had said previously the company was in discussions with Daimler to convert Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles into special purpose models in China.

However, Ulrich Walker, head of the German carmaker's Northeast Asia operations, said last month that talk of a joint venture between Daimler and Brilliance to make special purpose vehicles in China was just a rumor.

"Everything is going very smoothly and we're expecting final announcements to come no later than the end of this year," said the source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the deals.

A Toyota spokesman said he had no knowledge about any talks with Brilliance.

($=6.83 yuan)

(Additional reporting by Fang Yan in SHANGHAI; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

AIG's Chartis eyes IPO decision next year

Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:02am EDT

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS (Reuters) - Chartis Inc, the insurer in the process of distancing itself from bailed-out parent AIG (AIG.N), aims to reach a decision before the end of next year on a possible stock market listing, a leading director told Reuters.

"We will be in a position to adequately evaluate the value that we can get from an IPO (initial public offering) sometime before the end of 2010. It's not a 2009 event," Chartis Europe Chief Executive Julio Portalatin said in an interview.

Chartis, a property and casualty insurer, is building on plans first announced in March to put space between itself and the troubles of parent AIG.

AIG nearly collapsed during the financial crisis and was rescued by the U.S. government around a year ago. It lost nearly $100 billion in 2008 but its Chartis division had profits of more than $2 billion.

Chartis has said it plans to sell a stake of up to 20 percent either through an initial public offering or transactions with private investors, cutting AIG's ownership, depending on market conditions.

An offering could raise billions of dollars for AIG, helping it to repay the U.S. government, which has committed up to $180 billion in aid, including about $85 billion in loans.

Portalatin said Chartis Europe had been broadly unaffected by AIG's woes and that 2008 was a record year for profits, with pre-tax profit up 67 percent.

While he said it was too early to give an outlook for 2009, Portalatin was upbeat about Chartis Europe's prospects.

"Chartis Europe continues to do very well. We're financially strong," he said. "If you look at customer retention, it's still very high, north of 90 percent."

FIGHTING SPIRIT

He added that employee morale in his business was high despite AIG's near-demise last year and that Chartis Europe was actually looking to expand and hire new staff. Chartis Europe has 2,100 workers out of over 30,000 at Chartis Inc.

"We like to think that we have a lot of employees who are very dedicated and loyal and when their backs are up against the wall, they'll come out fighting. I think you'll find that the fighting spirit lives very strongly," he said.

Portalatin said Chartis wanted to hire people to develop new products for the aviation industry and also aimed to target a segment known as "High Net Worth Individuals" -- rich people who might need to insure property, cars or works of art.

He added that Chartis Europe could take advantage of regulatory changes brought by the European Union's Solvency II rules to make small-scale, niche acquisitions.

The directive, which enters into force in 2012, will introduce more sophisticated solvency requirements that take better account of the risks insurers must tackle.

Chartis Europe currently counts for around 10 percent of Chartis' group-level premium income. Portalatin wants Europe to contribute more to the group and said his company was keen to expand in markets such as Russia or Scandinavia.

"I think that, in years to come, if you look at Solvency II, there will be opportunities that will present themselves," he said.

(Editing by James Regan)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Hershey and Cadbury, a matter of Trust

Thu Sep 10, 2009 7:29pm EDT

By Brad Dorfman

CHICAGO (Reuters) - British confectioner Cadbury (CBRY.L) has rebuffed a $16.7 billion takeover from Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N), but if it is looking for an alternative, it probably should not get sweet on Hershey Co (HSY.N).

For U.S. chocolate maker Hershey, it's a matter of Trust. That is, the investment trust that company founder Milton Hershey created 100 years ago.

Hershey is not likely to merge with Cadbury, in part due to the influence of the Hershey Trust Co, which owns about 80 percent of the voting shares at Hershey. Giving too much stock to Cadbury shareholders in either a buyout by Hershey or a takeover of Hershey by Cadbury would dilute the trust's sake in the company.

"As always, we believe the trust remains staunchly opposed to any takeover," J.P. Morgan analyst Terry Bivens wrote in a research report. "However, the ongoing consolidation of the confection industry ... could shift the trust's position."

Bivens said Hershey could conceivably come up with a cash and stock bid for Cadbury that would still give the trust majority control of the combined company. ID: nN10392764

UNLIKELY BIDDER

The trust was not always opposed to merging.

In 2002, the trust pushed then Hershey Chief Executive Richard Lenny to put Hershey up for sale, though it canceled the auction at the last minute amid pressure from the community of Hershey, Pennsylvania, including alumni of the boarding school Milton Hershey created in 1909.

An overhaul of the trust's board followed, and it has since said repeatedly that it cannot give up control of Hershey.

The Hershey Trust manages the stake in Hershey on behalf of the school. A trust spokesman declined to comment on its current plans, and a spokesman for the company declined to say if Hershey was planning a response to Kraft's bid for Cadbury.

A source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Tuesday that JPMorgan (JPM.N) was advising Hershey on a possible strategy regarding Cadbury.

But Bivens, like other analysts, says Hershey is an unlikely bidder for Cadbury, in part because Kraft would be tough to outbid as its "synergies" in any deal would be far greater than Hershey's, which does not operate in the same parts of the world as Cadbury.

The company also might not have room financially to raise the cash required to buy Cadbury, analysts said.

"Hershey already has a fair amount of debt on their balance sheet," Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo said.

JOINT VENTURE?

Cadbury has so far rebuffed Kraft. But if a deal is eventually cut, analysts expect that Kraft would eventually want to sell Cadbury bars in the United States. Those bars and Carmello chocolates are currently made by Hershey in the United States under a licensing agreement with Cadbury.

That said, many analysts think Hershey will need to do something.

"If there was more competition on their home (U.S.) turf, having a broader international presence would be beneficial," Morningstar analyst Erin Swanson said.

If Kraft buys Cadbury, Kraft and U.S. candy maker Mars Inc would each hold about 15 percent of the global confectionery market, according to Euromonitor International. Nestle (NESN.VX) has about 8 percent and Hershey has less than 5 percent.

Hershey combining with Cadbury would expand the global footprint of both companies. But if Hershey cannot buy Cadbury, a joint venture with another company would make sense, Euromonitor's Lee Linthicum said.

"Everyone today is fixated on global share growth and leveraging global equity," Linthicum said.

Such a venture could be formed between Hershey and a company such as Switzerland's Lindt & Spruengli (LISP.S) or Hershey and Turkey's Yildiz Holding, which owns Ulker Group and bought Godiva's from Campbell Soup Co (CPB.N) in 2008.

While Hershey has made some moves to achieve an international presence including a manufacturing venture in China with Lotte Confectionery Co Ltd (004990.KS), a larger joint venture could be the company's most likely way to get bigger international footprint.

"They're big, but they aren't big enough to eat up one of the other big companies," Linthicum said.

(Additional reporting by David Jones in London; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Alliance Microsoft-Yahoo : la justice américaine veut en savoir plus

La Tribune.fr - 11/09/2009 | 06:35 - 93 mots

Le Département de la justice américaine prolonge son enquête sur l'opération comme Microsoft et Yahoo! s'y attendaient.

Microsoft et Yahoo ! doivent montrer patte blanche face à la justice américaine qui réclame plus d'informations sur leur récente alliance.

Le Département (ministère) de la justice a en effet prolongé son enquête sur l'opération. Microsoft avait indiqué en juillet dernier, lors de l'annonce de cette union, s'attendre à une longue procédure.

L'accord qui doit durer dix ans vise à accroître la coopération entre les deux firmes, notamment autour du nouveau moteur de recherche Bing de Microsoft et su savoir-faire de Yahoo! en matière de publicité sur Internet, le tout, bien sûr, pour contrerGoogle.

latribune.fr

GM to sell control of Opel to Russia-backed Magna

Thu Sep 10, 2009 7:21pm EDT

By Dave Graham and Philip Halstrick

BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - General Motors agreed to sell a 55 percent stake in Opel to a group led by Canada's Magna after months of fraught negotiations that had weighed on the European unit and its 50,000 workers.

The decision, after a two-day meeting of GM's board, was welcomed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had lobbied for the Russian-backed Magna bid and could receive a boost from GM's choice in the run-up to an election on September 27.

Analysts said GM had no clear alternative to the Magna deal because of the costs of raising billions of dollars to keep the brand and fund its restructuring.

The deal also represents a victory for Russia, whose government had pushed aggressively to secure itself a foothold in the rapidly consolidating global car market.

Talks on Opel, control of which GM is giving up as part of a U.S. government-orchestrated restructuring, had dragged on for months, fuelling anger among the carmaker's staff, half of whom are in Germany.

Under the Magna deal, Detroit-based GM will retain a 35 percent stake in Opel, with Magna and its Russian partner, state-owned bank Sberbank, taking 27.5 percent apiece, and workers the remaining 10 percent.

"I am very happy about this decision. The government's patience and purpose has paid off," said Merkel, describing the deal as a "new beginning" for Opel.

GM opted for the bid by Magna and its Russian partners, Sberbank and GAZ, over a rival offer from Belgium-listed investor RHJ International.

The decision was approved by a trust set up to shield Opel while GM went through bankruptcy proceedings, but the trust's board did not back the deal unanimously, highlighting divisions about the logic of Magna's plan.

DEAL NOT YET DONE

Sberbank Chief Executive German Gref said the deal's structure was "unprecedented complicated" and Thursday's announcement by GM was an important intermediate step but not a final one.

Elsewhere, Opel trust board member Manfred Wennemer, the former head of auto supplier Continental, expressed doubts about whether Magna could make Opel competitive and said the risks of the deal lay with German taxpayers.

Germany had promised 4.5 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in government guarantees if GM opted for Magna, while refusing to support the rival bid from RHJ.

Auto analysts were also skeptical, describing the decision to sell to Magna as political.

"This is an industry that is burdened with excess capacity and we've just passed through one of the best opportunities in over a decade to see real capacity taken out of the industry," said Michael Tyndall, an analyst at Nomura International.

GM has controlled Opel, which traces its roots in Germany back to the 19th century, for the past 80 years.

Based in the western city of Russelsheim, it has four plants in Germany that make everything from the three-door Corsa subcompacts to Zafira vans, two factories in Britain under the Vauxhall badge, and major sites in Belgium, Poland and Spain.

"It's a relief that there is now a decision," said Anke Rezac, who works in vehicle electronics at Opel's development center in Ruesselsheim.

"We now have less uncertainty surrounding ownership although many questions remain. Among all the bad choices we had, Magna is the best option. They know about the auto industry and want to develop the business."

BIG GERMAN PRESENCE

GM said a definitive agreement should be ready to sign in a matter of weeks and predicted the deal would close no later than November 30.

"Magna brings with it an understanding of how to cooperate with other companies. Magna understands the auto business. These are all positive elements," said GM Europe head Carl-Peter Forster.

GM had raised concerns about its ability to control its intellectual property and vehicle technology in the Russian partnership and some of its senior management had said the rival bid by RHJ would be easier to implement.

Members of the GM board considered scrapping the sale altogether and keeping Opel, sources told Reuters. But that would have required GM to raise billions of dollars and turn its back on the guarantees offered by Berlin.

A report prepared by financial adviser KPMG and presented to GM's board this week said an earlier estimate of the cost of keeping Opel by GM management had been "overly optimistic."

KPMG put the price tag at more than $6 billion, in addition to the $50 billion in U.S. government funding for GM's bankruptcy.

By selling Opel, GM steps clear of the cost of restructuring an operation that lost $2.8 billion last year at a time when it needs to shore up still-faltering sales in its home market, analysts said.

But GM could also lose the opportunity to cut costs as dramatically as the other top-tier automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp and Volkswagen by sharing parts and technology by losing sales volume in the deal.

Opel represented 18 percent of GM's global sales in 2008, second only to its Chevrolet brand.

The deal is a coup for Magna founder and chairman, Frank Stronach, a toolmaker who left Europe half a century ago to start a company that has become one of the world's biggest automotive suppliers.

Magna and its Russian partners have vowed to inject 500 million euros into Opel, which they want to use to make an aggressive push into the Russian market.

They plan to cut 10,000 European jobs, a quarter of those in Germany, but have committed to keeping all the German plants running. Opel's Antwerp plant in Belgium and Vauxhall sites in England are seen at risk.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers, Sarah Marsh and Paul Carrel in Berlin, Angelika Gruber, Christiaan Hetzner, Michael Shields and Maria Sheahan in Frankfurt, Edward Taylor in Ruesselsheim, and Kevin Krolicki in Detroit; Writing by Noah Barkin; Editing by Dan Lalor and Matthew Lewis)

($1 = 0.6898 euros)

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