Commentaries

If Xstrata is to shut up on Anglo it should say so

Alexander Smith

Oct 12, 2009 14:38 UTC

Only a week to go before decision time and it looks increasingly as though Xstrata boss Mick Davis has already made up his mind and opted to walk away from making a formal bid for mining rival Anglo American.

Reuters correspondent Raji Menon quotes an unnamed top-10 shareholder in Xstrata saying: “They have pretty much indicated to us that they will be walking away”.

 

This makes sense – nothing has changed since Xstrata got a “put up or shut up” notice from the UK’s Takeover Panel, giving it until October 20 to make a formal offer or walk away for six months.

If Xstrata has indeed made up its mind, it should waste no time in telling investors that it has no plans to make an offer. Why wait?

Takeover Panel sets Cadbury clock ticking for Kraft

Alexander Smith

Sep 30, 2009 16:23 UTC

So Cadbury has succeeded in convincing the UK’s Takeover Panel — the City of London body which polices M&A — to slap a “put up or shut up” order on Kraft.

Kraft now has until Nov. 9 to decide whether to make a formal offer for the British confectionery group. If it decides to walk away, it is not allowed back for six months.

Stitz-up at Merrill Lynch?

Was it a gaffe or was the poor man misquoted? We certainly have two very different accounts of Todd Stitzer’s contribution to a closed conference at Merrill Lynch on 22 September. Maybe it would be better if these sort of briefings just didn’t take place.

According to a Merrill specialist salesman, who jotted down his remarks, Cadbury’s chief executive devoted his entire performance to sharing some thoughts about Kraft’s bid proposal. This was a pretty sensitive subject to pick but, hey, these were serious investors. So he allegedly indicated the possible exit price and the scale of the possible synergies from the deal. The salesman noted that:

Cadbury’s share price says it’s stuck with Kraft

Neil Collins

Sep 22, 2009 10:57 UTC

Here’s a curiosity. Cadbury shares have not moved by more than 10p away from 790 pence since the day after Kraft popped the question with its 10 billion pound cash and shares “proposal.” 

The falling Kraft share price cut the value from 745p to just under 730p, but the Cadbury price has stuck like gum to a shoe. After the spike on the September 7 approach, trading volumes are almost back down to pre-bid levels. The usual suspects among the arbs don’t seem interested. Could this be the bid that died of boredom?

Too hot a Venture for Centrica?

Neil Collins

Jul 10, 2009 14:52 UTC

It promises to be a tricky weekend for Sam Laidlaw and his colleagues at Centrica, the owner of British Gas, as they decide what to do about Venture Production. Centrica bought 22 percent of Venture, a North Sea exploration company, in March for 725p a share, and is now sitting on a 24 percent stake, wondering whether to stick or twist.

The Takeover Panel has given Centrica until Monday July 13 to make up its mind, and investors have been betting that the company will bid something over 800p for the rest, which would value Venture at 1.2 billion pounds, a sum which Centrica could comfortably afford.