Posts for Ticker ‘ABN’

ABN Amro (ABN): The Last Big Bank Deal

It appears that the group lead by Royal Bank of Scotland has won the right to buy bank ABN Amro (ABN) for $101 billion. RBS and buy-out partners Fortis and Banco Santander will break ABN into pieces. Each of the three buyers will take the part that is most valuable to its current businesses, and all will be right with the world.

The deal is huge, but because there were, in essence, three buyers, the prey could be digested. As one banker told The Wall Street Journal "Size on its own is no longer a safety net for financial institutions."

The banking world has changed since ABN Amro went into play. Bank balance sheet have become mine fields primarily due to leveraged buy-out loans and pools of mortgages. Although many of these problems are being written off in third quarter earnings. much of this debt cannot be marked to market, because there is no liquid market at this time. Determining the value of many bank balance sheets has become an exercise in modeling and theory.

Until the current set of credit problems are washed out of the banking system, and that could take two or three years, due diligence on financial company balance sheets will become extremely difficult.

And, that may put a halt to banks buying other banks for quite some time.

Of course, there is always KKR.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 5, 2007 – 4:55 am in Banking,

Media Digest 10/5/2007 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Barron’s

According to Reuters, RIM (RIMM) posted strong earnings and added it 10 millionth subscriber.

Reuters writes that Wal-Mart (WMT) is already getting ready for holiday price wars by beginning to drop prices.

The Wall Street Journal writes that a group lead by RBS now has enought shares to complete the takeover of ABN Amro (ABN) for $101 billion.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Sprint (S) has started a search for a new CEO.

The Wall Street Journal writes that GE (GE) will lay-off 1,400 people in its light bulb division.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Pfizer (PFE) will add a new research chief as it pushes into biotech.

The New York Times writes that Bear Stearns (BSC) says it has no need for cash from an outside investor.

The FT writes that Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) is in danger of losing a huge piece of AT&T (T) business.

The FT writes that an outside investor in Sears (SHLD) is pressuring the company for better performance.

Barron’s reports that Akamai (AKAM) may be hit by Level 3’s (LVLT) plan to enter the CDN business with low rates.

Bloormberg writes that Ford (F) and Chrysler are not interested in putting huge sums into an employee health fund run by the UAW. The program is part of the GM (GM) contract.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 5, 2007 – 3:08 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 10/5/2007 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Barron’s

According to Reuters, RIM (RIMM) posted strong earnings and added it 10 millionth subscriber.

Reuters writes that Wal-Mart (WMT) is already getting ready for holiday price wars by beginning to drop prices.

The Wall Street Journal writes that a group lead by RBS now has enought shares to complete the takeover of ABN Amro (ABN) for $101 billion.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Sprint (S) has started a search for a new CEO.

The Wall Street Journal writes that GE (GE) will lay-off 1,400 people in its light bulb division.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Pfizer (PFE) will add a new research chief as it pushes into biotech.

The New York Times writes that Bear Stearns (BSC) says it has no need for cash from an outside investor.

The FT writes that Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) is in danger of losing a huge piece of AT&T (T) business.

The FT writes that an outside investor in Sears (SHLD) is pressuring the company for better performance.

Barron’s reports that Akamai (AKAM) may be hit by Level 3’s (LVLT) plan to enter the CDN business with low rates.

Bloormberg writes that Ford (F) and Chrysler are not interested in putting huge sums into an employee health fund run by the UAW. The program is part of the GM (GM) contract.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 5, 2007 – 3:08 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 7/30/2007 Reuters, WSJ, NYTmes, FT, Barron’s

According to Reuters, ABN Amro (ABN) has withdrawn support for a bid from Barclays (BCS)

Reuters writes that Liberty Media (LCACA) may make a bid for UK cable company Virgin Media.

Reuters reports that Boeing (BA) raised its outlook saying India will need over $86 billion in planes over the next 20 years.

The Wall Street Journal writes taht Adobe (ADBE) is being criticized for a deal with Fedex Kinko which give the office support firm access to some of the software companies applications which could hurt outsets of smaller printing retailers.

The Hew York Times wirtes that the controlling Bancroft faimly has not made a decision about the sale of Dow Jones (DJ).

FT writes that Sony’s (SNE) proftts would drop if the yen strenthens.

Barron’s writes that Internap (INAP) and Limelight (LLNW) are taking market share from content deilvery network leader Akamai (AKAM)

Posted on: July 30, 2007 – 3:09 am in Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

Is ABN Amro (ABN) Too Expensive Yet

Like two poker players who have been up for 36 hours straight, RBS and Barclays (BCS) keep upping their bids for ABN Amro (ABN),

Barclays will use money raised from China Development Bank and Temasek Holdings to up its bid to $93.34 billion. That is still a bit below the RBS bid, but, according to The Wall Street Journal "Barclays is counting on an increase in its stock price to close the gap". Why that would be true is anyone’s guess. Raising its bid for ABN should lower Barclays stock. But, that is their problem.

Temasek, which is controlled by the government of Singapore ad China Development Bank will buy shares in Barclays to help the UK bank fund its takeover. What happens if the ABN bid does not work is unclear.

At some point the price of ABN may become to high. Or perhaps that has already happened.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: July 23, 2007 – 4:53 am in Mergers and Buy Outs, ,

Media Digest 7/23/2007 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Barron’s

According to Reuters, Barclays (BCS) raised its bid for ABN Amro (ABN) to $93 billion.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Yahoo! (YHOO), Microsoft (MSFT) and Ask.com are updating their privacy policy as pressure to keep search data confidential increases.

The New York Times writes that hackers have found a way to get into the Apple (AAPL) iPhone to steal infomation.

The FT writes that Microsoft (MSFT) will offer Office software with the ability to use the internet to access data, a plan that competes with Google (GOOG)

Barron’s writes that Bear Stearns has upped its price target on Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: July 23, 2007 – 3:06 am in Uncategorized, , , , , ,

ABN Amro (ABN) Prefers Barclays (BCS)

According to Reuters, the head of ABN Amro (ABN) says that he prefers the bid by Barclays (BCS) over one from Royal Bank of Scotland. The RBS bid is higher and ABN’s CEO says that it is still likely to prevail, unless Barclays will raise its figure.

But, he may be right in his preference. RBS would break the big bank into a number of pieces. Fellow bidders Santander and Fortis would take the parts that they think mesh best with their operations and RBS would keep the balance.

Breaking ABN into pieces almost certainly carries a great deal of execution risk, and a number of jobs would be eliminated. If the RBS program does not work, it could hurt investors in all three of the companies involved with the higher bid.

Damaging three financial institutions in not better than damaging one.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: July 21, 2007 – 8:44 am in Uncategorized, ,

News Digest 7/16/2007

According to Reuters, the CEO of McDonald’s (MCD) believes that the company can still grow a great deal in the US.

Reuters writes that Hollywood is starting labor negotiations with screenwriters with revenue from the internet as a major deal point.

The Wall Street Journal writes that a special committee of the Dow Jones (DJ) has accepted Rupert Murdoch’s offer of $5 billion. The deal now goes to the board and founding Bancroft family.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Google (GOOG) is developing a new search engine for phones.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Sprint (S) will launch a new service that will allow customers to find  and track their friends using GPS technology.

The FT writes that a lawsuit charges that Facebook may have taken its source code from another project.

The FT also writes that oil prices are near their all-time high.

The FT also writes that Barclays (BCS) will sweeten its bid fof ABN Amro (ABN) now that a competing bid has been increased.

The New York Times writes that Nintendo is getting more support for its game system from video game publishers.

The New York Times also writes that Ford (F) is having success selling cars in Russia.

Barron’s writes that Novellus (NVLS) announced earnings inline with expectations.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: July 17, 2007 – 3:10 am in Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Media Digest 7/15/2007

According to Reuters, the group lead by RBS has raised its bid for ABN Amro (ABN) by increasing the cash component of the offer.

Reuters writes that Ford (F) is now cosidering selling its Volvo unit.

Reuters reports that the Dubai stock market is making a bid for OMX that will compete with Nasday (NDAQ).

Philips Electronics (PHG) increased earnings by 22% according to Reuters.

The Wall Street Journal reports that one of the members of the founding family that controls Dow Jone (DJ) is trying to block its sale to Rupert Murdoch.

The Wall Street Journal writes that China is about to pass Germany as the world’s third largest economy.

The New York Times writes that Sony (SNE) will launch a new website for aspiring film markets.

The FT says that the head of Cisco (CSCO) believes that Web 2.0 will lead to a period of productivity that has not been seen since the internet boom.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: July 16, 2007 – 3:11 am in Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Media Digest 7/10/2007 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Barron’s

According to Reuters, the CME (CME) purchase of the CBOT (CBOT) was approved by shareholders.

Reuters writes that BHP Billiton (BHP) is looking for a partner to make a bid for Alcoa (AA).

Reuters reports that Ford (F) plans to increase its output in Russia.

Reuters also writes that shares in Sprint (S) rose on rumors of a potential buy-out offer from Korea’s SK Telecom.

The Wall Street Journal writes that the New York Stock Exchange is looking into trades in ABN Amro (ABN) which occured around the time that Barclays (BCS) made a bid for the bank.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Gemstar-TV Guide (GMST) has put itself on the market.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ford (F) and GM (GM) will extend incentives on some of their vehicles to clear out inventories.

The New York Times writes that Danone (DA) will spend $16.8 billion to buy Royal Numico.

The FT reports that the IPO of EMC (EMC) unit VMWare could raise $1.1 billion.

Barron’s writes that several solar energy stocks including Hoku (HOKU) rose sharply on news of new customers.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: July 10, 2007 – 3:09 am in Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Week of Buyout Picks (April 9-13, 2007)

Stock Tickers: GOOG, AQNT, VCLK, TFSM, MSFT, YHOO, TWX, SLM, NNI, FMD, MEDI,HAL, WHT, MEH, AAI, COT, IPS, PALM, DELL, NFI, BCE, AA, DOW, WYN, NDAQ,GFI, KR, ABN, BNI, DCX

This week was a huge week for the all of the buyout investors and speculators.  There were more ongoing discussions being reported in the media than you could imagine.  In a world of private equity gone wild, its hard to not be a bit cynical on the raw number of these.  This is also after Google (GOOG) announced it would pay $3.1 Billion to acquire the master online advertising company DoubleClick.

Since the Google buyout of DoubleClick you might as well go ahead and throw these three into the hat: aQuantive (AQNT), ValueClick (VCLK), and 24/7 Real Media (TFSM).  We addressed these back pre-market on April 2 when the DoubleClick buyout was starting to surface.  Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), and even Time Warner’s (TWX) AOL unit may have to all look after these companies now that they let Google takeover DoubleClick.

Sallie Mae (SLM)….media saying it could go to private equity, of course.  This even has Nelnet(NNI) and First Marblehead (FMD) up in hopes that if one student loancompany gets gobbled it means the others could too (or at least maybethe worst could be behind)…. who knows.

MedImmune (MEDI) exploring alternatives…."put itself up for sale."

Halliburton (HAL) for Weatherford (WFT)….WFT up 3% today as a result.

Midwest Air (MEH) snubbing Airtran (AAI) again, Airtran says the bid is high enough.  Do you believe them?

Cott (COT) in talks with private equity firms on a Cadbury Beverage combination…..stock up 28%…."Welcome Back Cot….."

IPSCO (IPS)….up $20 since earlier in the week, company confirmed "talks that could lead to a sale," but not with whom…..

Palm (PALM) re-rumored as potential bait for Dell (DELL), these rumors just won’t die.

Novastar Financial (NFI) exploring options….a Takeunder for subprime slime?

Bell Canada (BCE) now under potential takeouts by the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund, so to speak.

Alcoa (AA) survived its earnings after a crummy history…..many think this one still gets gobbled…..

Dow Chemical (DOW) rumors of a private equity buyout just won’t die,even if they deny the rumor and fire 2 executives for "holdingunauthorized talks" with outside parties.

Wyndham Worldwide (WYN) could be the next buyout for its valueaccording to Cramer, as the only Cendant piece that hasn’t made thegrade.

Kroger (KR) denied it is interested in going private…..maybe WallStreet recalls that grocery store margins are low.  The good news isthat you can now get a huge portion of the items you can at WholeFoods, without the "Whole Paycheck" price.

NASDAQ (NDAQ) held talks with the Oslo Stock Exchange.  Supposedly nodeal is imminent, but right now if you are an exchange you arebasically takeover bait (hence, our BAIT SHOP).

ABN AMRO (ABN) still on deck…..who, what, when, where????? Barclays (BCS)?

Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI) went up on what may have been a fake "buyout rumor or interest" from a Mr. Pastorini…..can you say "Weird?"

Interest in rails after Warren Buffett disclosed stake in BurlingtonNorthern Santa Fe Corp (BNI)….looks like Buffett feels differentlyabout rail companies than airline companies.

Magna International confirmed its role in ongoing Chrysler talks, part of DaimlerChrysler (DCX).

Jon C. Ogg
April 14, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: April 14, 2007 – 7:55 am in Bait Shop, Mergers and Buy Outs, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rumor Friday (APR 13, 2007)

Stock Tickers: SLM, NNI, FMD, MEDI, HAL, WHT, MEH, AAI, COT, IPS, PALM, DELL, NFI, BCE, AA, DOW, WYN, NDAQ, GFI, KR, ABN, BNI, DCX

What preceeds "Merger Monday"?  The answer isn’t really Sunday.  It’s "Rumor Friday," of course. 

This week we even heard about private equity guys admitting the deals are getting crazy because of the financing available.  By the size of this list, you can tell that there is no way under the sun that these can all occur.  It’s truly an M&A world gone wild.  Oh well, here is the list of stocks that have been rumored to be in merger discussions or potential targets this week, and there are probably a dozen or more others:

Read More »

Posted on: April 13, 2007 – 12:54 pm in Bait Shop, Cramer, Exchange News, Financial Stocks, Management Change, Mergers and Buy Outs, Private Equity, Rumors, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,