MARKET CURRENTS
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MARKET CURRENTS
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Tuesday, June 18, 2013
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7:31 PM Dish (DISH) is all but officially abandoning its bid for Sprint (S). In a fresh update, the satellite TV provider says the revised SoftBank (SFTBF.PK) deal makes it "impracticable" for it to submit a new offer by Sprint's June 18 deadline, and that it will now focus its "efforts and resources" on the Clearwire (CLWR) tender offer. It increasingly looks as if SoftBank will end up with Sprint (vote on June 25), and Dish with a big minority stake in Clearwire that it could use to obtain a 4G network/spectrum deal with the 3 other parties in this saga. S -1.8% AH. CLWR +1.8%. (previous) 7 Comments
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4:22 PM MRC Global (MRC) buys the operating assets of Flow Control Products, a leading provider of pneumatic, electric and electro-hydraulic valve automation packages and related field support to the energy industry in the Permian Basin. Flow Control reported revenues of $28M in 2012. Concurrently, MRC is expanding its existing facility in Odessa into a 110K square foot Regional Distribution Center. When completed, the Flow Control business will operate from this newly expanded facility. Shares -0.5% AH. Comment!
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4:02 PM Huawei says in an e-mailed statement it "has no plans" to acquire Nokia (NOK +4.6%). Shares have given back a big chunk of their earlier gains, but they still closed up sharply. Huawei consumer group chairman Richard Yu qualified his remarks about his company being willing to buy Nokia by suggesting Nokia's commitment to Windows Phone could be an issue. "Whether Windows Phone will be successful is difficult to say ... It has a very small market share." Huawei launched the W1, a low-end WP8 device, earlier this year. 15 Comments
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3:50 PM Is a bidding war breaking out for Kabel Deutschland? Bloomberg reports Vodafone (VOD +0.4%) has raised its preliminary bid for the German cable giant to €7.5B ($10B), or €85/share, matching an offer recently made by Liberty Global (LBTYA -0.1%). Vodafone is said to be studying Kabel's books "before it presents an official offer in the coming weeks." Kabel closed at €85.51 in Frankfurt, up 3.7%. (previous) Comment!
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3:23 PM Moneygram (MGI +3.1%) pops higher on a Dealreporter story the company is in talks with potential suitors and has hired Bank of American to advise. Comment!
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1:47 PM Helix Energy Solutions (HLX +4%) gains after saying it's closed the previously announced sale of its pipelay vessel, the Caesar, to Trevaskis Limited for a total of $138M. Comment!
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1:14 PM Nokia (NOK +9.3%) soars after the chairman of Huawei's consumer business group says his company would be open to buying Nokia in an off-hand remark. Any offer from Huawei would face intense EU scrutiny, given long-standing worries about the company's Chinese government/military ties. Is this a repeat of BlackBerry/Lenovo? 26 Comments
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1:07 PM Carl Icahn has bought 72M Dell (DELL +0.4%) shares from would-be buyout partner Southeastern Asset (half its stake), and is proposing a $14/share tender offer for 62% of Dell's outstanding shares (1.1B shares). The Southeastern deal makes Icahn Dell's largest outside shareholder. Dell, whose shareholder vote on Michael Dell/Silver Lake's LBO offer remains set for July 18, has edged higher to $13.45. (previous) 3 Comments
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11:30 AM Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK +2%) pops as M&T Bank (MTB +0.6%) looks to soon be able to move forward with its purchase after agreeing with regulators to beef up its anti-money laundering policies. Comment!
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10:55 AM Reuters backs up the WSJ in reporting Siemens (SI +0.8%) is talking to P-E firms TPG, KKR, and Blackstone about selling its 50% stake in Nokia Siemens; the news service adds past attempts to sell to P-E firms have failed due to price disagreements. Meanwhile, Goldman is assigning NSN a value of €6B, based on a valuation of 6x 2014E EV/EBITDA. Comment!
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9:48 AM Yahoo (YHOO +1.1%) is looking to buy address book app developer Xobni for $30M-$40M, and video creation app developer Qwiki for $50M, Kara Swisher reports. Xobni, reported to be on Yahoo's shopping list earlier in June, is said to consider Yahoo "the most natural home for it, given its strong e-mail offerings." Qwiki originally built a site and iPad app that automatically created multimedia "stories" for reference topics (a deal was reached with Yahoo partner Bing), but has since shifted its attention to an app for creating movies out of a user's photos and videos. Regardless, its video automation tech likely intrigues a company that just bought Summly. 1 Comment
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9:43 AM More on GSK (GSK -0.3%) / Aspen (APNHF.PK) deal: Reuters speculates that GSK's sale of its thrombosis drug brands Arixtra and Fraxiparine to Aspen could be worth £700M, or twice this year's anticipated sales of around £350M. That would be down from £420M in 2013 and £510M in 2011. Around 1,000 GSK workers, mostly in France, would transfer to Aspen. News of the prospective sale prompted speculation that GSK may look to offload other older drugs. Comment!
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8:33 AM GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has received an offer from South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare (APNHF.PK) for its thrombosis drug brands Arixtra and Fraxiparine (excluding China, India and Pakistan), and the related manufacturing site. GSK said any sale would fit in with its strategy of focusing on growth products and the delivery of its pipeline. (PR) Comment!
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7:55 AM Royalty Pharma withdraws its request for a judicial review of a decision which required it to lapse its bid for Elan (ELN). Previously, the Irish Takeover Panel said the company could not modify the terms and conditions of its takeover bid after the fact. (previous) Comment!
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4:43 AM Smithfield Foods (SFD) intends to review a letter from activist investor Starboard, which reckons that the pork producer could earn more value by splitting up into three and then selling itself rather than going through with its $4.7B acquisition by Shuanghui. However, Smithfield reiterated its recommendation that shareholders vote for the Shuanghui deal, as it provides "significant, immediate and certain" cash value to shareholders. Comment!
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2:55 AM Talisman Energy (TLM) has reportedly approached potential buyers, including private-equity firms, for its shale assets in the Eagle Ford basin in south Texas with a view to raising $2B. The speculation could come as a bit of a surprise, because while Talisman has said it is looking to offload non-core assets, its Eagle Ford interest is seen as core. Comment!
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2:05 AM Johnson Controls (JCI) is reportedly in talks with P-E firms about selling them its automotive electronics unit, which is valued at $1B, after industry interest weakened due to the unit's softer-than-expected performance. Delphi Automotive (DLPH) has pulled out the running, although Visteon (VC) and SAIC (SAI) subsidiary Huayu Automotive Systems are still involved. Comment!
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Monday, June 17, 2013
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8:28 PM Sprint (S) files suit to end Dish's (DISH) $4.40/share tender offer for Clearwire (CLWR), alleging the deal (endorsed by Clearwire last week) violates Delaware law and the rights of Sprint and other "strategic" Clearwire investors. Among other things, Sprint claims the Dish offer can't be concluded without the approval of both Comcast and Clearwire shareholders owning at least 75% of shares (Sprint has a majority stake). Clearwire investors aren't bothered, shares +0.4% AH to $4.65. (previous: I, II) 3 Comments
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5:21 PM Emcor Group (EME) agrees to buy privately held RepconStrickland, an industrial and refinery service company, in a ~$455M deal. RepconStrickland includes five brands offering turnaround and specialty services such as shutdowns, overhauls, engineering and constructability reviews, project management, welding services, and emergency repair; it generated ~$400M in revenue last year. Comment!
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5:08 PM Campbell (CPB) is acquiring Denmark's Kelsen Group, owner of the Kjeldsens and Royal Dansk baked snack brands (the latter is known to U.S. consumers for its butter cookies), from P-E firm Maj Invest for an undisclosed sum. Kelsen had 2012 sales of $180M, has been growing at a "compound double-digit rate" since '09, and has seen its Chinese sales grow at a 28% CAGR over the last 3 years. The deal will bolster a baked snack business that includes the Pepperidge Farm cookie/cracker brand, and the Arnotts Australian biscuit brand. It's expected to be "modestly accretive" starting in 2014. Comment!
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