(BN) Israel’s Financial Algorithms Gets $4B Buy Bid, Calcalist Says

Israel’s Financial Algorithms Gets $4B Buy Bid, Calcalist Says
2014-06-26 08:31:57.155 GMT


By Shoshanna Solomon
     June 26 (Bloomberg) -- An unidentified foreign company has
offered $4 billion for Financial Algorithms, a programming
service-provider for hedge funds and traders, Calcalist reported
today without saying where it got the information.
     Financial Algorithms, founded in 2001 with offices in
Herzliya, Israel, is considering the offer, Calcalist said on
its website, naming possible buyers as Chicago-based Citadel LLC
or New York-based Renaissance Technologies LLC.
     Financial Algorithms employees said no one was available to
comment when contacted by phone today and there was no immediate
reply to an e-mails sent to the company. Citadel and Renaissance
didn’t immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment. No one
answered calls made to Renaissance offices in London.
     An acquisition of Financial Algorithms for $4 billion would
be one of the largest of an Israeli company on record. Lucent
Technologies Inc. acquired Chromatis Networks Inc. in 2000 for
more than $4 billion, Cisco bought NDS Group Ltd. in 2012 for $5
billion, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. paid $4 billion in 2006 for
an 80 percent stake in Iscar Metalworking Cos.
     Financial Algorithms employs about 100 workers in Herzliya
and posted a profit of $330 million in 2013, Calcalist said.


For Related News and Information:
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--With assistance from Yaacov Benmeleh in Tel Aviv. 

To contact the reporter on this story:
Shoshanna Solomon in Tel Aviv at +972-3-542-7108 or
ssolomon22@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Samuel Potter at +971-4-3641050 or
spotter33@bloomberg.net
James Doran, Gwen Ackerman

>>> Gabelli duscusses Aereo US Supreme Court Decision

Gabelli duscusses Aereo US Supreme Court Decision (SSP, GCI, GHC, GTN, JRN, LIN, MEG, MDP, NFLX, NXST, SBGI, TRBAA)

Gabelli notes the US Supreme Court handed down its decision in ABC v. Aereo yesterday. For the broadcasters, they believe the decision should put to rest investor concerns regarding work-arounds by the broadcast networks and/or cable providers. They continue to favor the diversified names. GCI and JRN are trading at ~7x or less average 2014/2015 EBITDA. SSP trades at about 1.5 turns higher, but should capitalize on above-average increases in retransmission consent fees in 2014, 2015 and 2016. They think that today's decision helps cement the trajectory.

>>> Fed's Bullard: The US economy actually looks pretty good, markets are correc

Fed's Bullard: The US economy actually looks pretty good, markets are correct in minimizing Q1 GDP disappointment and moving right along
- First quarter US GDP doesn't really seem to match up with other data, seems to be an aberation 
- Most CEOs are confident about underlying level of demand in the economy 
- Transportation, financial services and tech are all strong sectors right now 
- Employment picture has been pretty good

WSJ : Russia's Severstal Puts North American Unit on the Block

Russia's Severstal Puts North American Unit on the Block
Sale Could Net Steelmaker $1.5 Billion or More

Russian steelmaker OAO Severstal, CHMF.MZ -1.51% the U.S.'s fourth-biggest producer of alloy, has put its North American operations on the auction block, according to people familiar with the matter.

Together, the two steel plants in Michigan and Mississippi that the business comprises could fetch $1.5 billion or more, some of the people said. Nonbinding bids for the business were due this week, one of the people said.

Severstal, Russia's second largest steelmaker, has fielded interest from at least two potential buyers, some of the people said: U.S. Steel Corp. X +0.78% and Brazil's Companhia Siderurgica Nacional SA CSNA3.BR -0.42% .

Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel is said to be most interested in Severstal's mill in Dearborn, Mich. The plant services U.S. auto makers in Detroit with long coils of sheet steel, the essential building blocks of cars and trucks, and is near a U.S. Steel facility.

Severstal bought the Dearborn plant, which makes steel from scratch using a blast furnace, in 2003 from Rouge Industries for $285.5 million. It has spent over $1 billion upgrading the facility, which was launched a century ago by Henry Ford and is still near one of Ford Motor Co. F +1.36% 's largest automotive assembly plants.

Severstal's other U.S. plant in Columbus, Miss., is a so-called minimill that makes steel out of scrap metal, and its location makes less sense for U.S. Steel. However, industry experts say it is the more valuable asset. Brazil's CSN, which this year lost out in a bid to buy a plant in Alabama from ThyssenKrupp AG, has expressed interest in buying both assets, one of the people said.

A successful sale of the two plants would mark a complete unwinding of the company's strategy to expand in the U.S. In 2011, Severstal sold three unprofitable U.S. plants—in Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia—to family-owned Renco Group Inc.

Severstal last week said that the unit reported revenues of about $1 billion in the first quarter.

The harsh winter, which inflated costs for steelmakers by boosting natural-gas prices, has offset what should be a buoyant period for U.S. steelmakers given robust production by U.S. auto makers.

Last summer, Severstal's chief executive, Alexey Mordashov, said he had no plans for expansion in the U.S. "We are in a ramp-up period" after big investments in the two plants, he told reporters.

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: CIDM -24.1%, SCS -8.3%, BBBY -7.7%, MLHR -5.8%, CACI -4.6%, FUL -3.5%, FUL -3.5%, PM -2.4%, .

M&A news: RDEN -8.9% (reports that LG is no longer interested in the company).

Select EU financial related names showing weakness: BCS -4.8% (confirms fraud charges against Barclays in connection with marketing and operation of its dark pool), CS -2.9%, DB -2.8%, ING -1.9%, HSBC -1%.

Select metals/mining stocks trading lower: HL -1.8%, GG -1.7%, IAG -1.5%, HMY -1.4%, SLW -1.2%, GOLD -1.1%, GDX -0.8%, NEM -0.8%, SLV -0.4%.

Other news: KPTI -2.3% (announces proposed public offering of 2.2 mln shares of common stock; consist of 2,000,000 shares to be offered by Karyopharm and 200,000 shares to be offered by existing stockholders), BRX -1.6% (prices 29,950,000 shares of common stock at $22.50 per share), STM -1.5% (announces a $1 bln dual-tranche offering of Convertible Bonds and the launch of a share buy-back program), MRD -1% (priced private placement to eligible purchasers of $600 mln in aggregate principal amount of 5.875% senior unsecured notes due 2022 at par).

Analyst comments: XRX -1.6% (downgraded at Argus), EL -0.7% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley & Co), NFLX -0.6% (initiated with a Underweight at Barclays), UAL -0.5% (downgraded to In-line from Outperform at Imperial Capital).

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: EXFO +20.1%, WGO +4.8%, CAG +1.5%, BIG +1.4%, WOR +1.4%, ACN +1.1%, LEN +1%.

M&A news: AUXL +17.4% (QLT Inc and Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (AUXL) to merge), CJES +10.6% (entered into agreement to merge with Nabors Industries' (NBR) completion and production business in transaction valued at $2.86 bln), NBR +10.1% (confirmed agreement to combine its completion and production services business with C&J Energy Services (CJES)), AA +5.2% (confirms agreement to Acquire Firth Rixson to Grow Global Aerospace Portfolio for $2.35 bln in cash), .

Select oil/gas related names showing strength: GLNG +1%, PXD +0.8%, WNR +0.7%, PSX +0.7%, GLOG +0.4%, UNG +0.4%, EPD +0.4%.

Other news: UNXL +23.1% (achieves roll-to-roll pilot production of InTouch Sensors), IRM +21.6% (reports Favorable Private Letter Rulings Received from Internal Revenue Service; Iron Mountain expects its full-year 2014 annual distribution as a REIT to be $400 to $420 million), DRWI +16% (still checking), AGEN +14.9% (vaccine shows significant reduction in viral burden after HerpV generated immune activation), ROYL +11.3% (announced results of independent review of the prospective resource potential of two recently identified North Slope Alaska drilling targets), GLUU +4.9% (announces support for Google's (GOOG) Android TV and new game services), ICLD +4.9% (announces $3.95 mln managed services contract), ONVO +3.8% (still checking), BIIB +3.3% (light volume, following AUXL / QLTI merger news), EQIX +2.9% (on IRM REIT news), CLF +1.3% (issues letter to shareholders; says 'Casablanca's Short-term Agenda is Value Destructive in Current Pricing Environment'), MDT +1.2% (announced study results showing that continuous cardiac monitoring with the Reveal XT Insertable Cardiac Monitor was superior to standard of care).

Analyst comments: ZU +3.6% (upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Mkts), FMS +2.7% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse), PRXL +2.6% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird and upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at William Blair), HRC +2.1% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman), HBIO +1.9% (initiated with a Buy at Janney), NUVA +1.8% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman), TTWO +1.8% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at The Benchmark Company), BLMN +1.6% (initated with a Buy at Longbow), TWTR +1.4% (initiated with an Overweight at Barclays), FSC +1.1% (initiated with a Buy at Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey), FB +0.9% (initiated with an Overweight at Barclays)

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up: IRM +25.3%, UNXL +24.3%, EXFO +20.1%, CJES +12.8%, RSH +5.5%, FMS +3.2%, EQIX +2.9%, VOD +1.8%, AA +1.7%, TTWO +1.5%, BIG +1.4%, WOR +1.4%, AES +1.3%, MDT +1.2%, LEN +1.2%, NBR +1.1%, LO +0.8%, WGO +0.8%

Gapping down: CIDM -18.3%, BBBY -7.5%, WIT -6.2%, MLHR -5.8%, BCS -4.9%, CACI -4.6%, FUL -3.5%, FUL -3.5%, CS -3%, DB -2.8%, KPTI -2.3%, HL -1.8%, STM -1.7%, ING -1.5%, IAG -1.3%, PM -1.2%, MRD -1%, VNCE -1%, SLW -0.9%, GOLD -0.9%, SLV -0.8%, HSBC -0.8%, GLD -0.7%, GDX -0.7%, HMY -0.7%

>>> Lennar beats by $0.10, beats on revs --> +2.82% Pre-Open

Lennar beats by $0.10, beats on revs

Reports Q2 (May) earnings of $0.61 per share, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.51; revenues rose 27.5% year/year to $1.82 bln vs the $1.68 bln consensus.
Key metrics:
  • New orders of 6,183 homes - up 8%; new orders dollar value of $2.0 billion - up 21%
  • Backlog of 6,858 homes - up 11%; backlog dollar value of $2.4 billion - up 26%
  • Gross margin on home sales of 25.5% - improved 140 basis points S,G&A expenses as a % of revenues from home sales of 10.8% - improved 10 basis points
GMs
Gross margins on home sales were $695.7 million, or 25.3%, in the six months ended May 31, 2014, compared to $492.3 million, or 23.3%, in the six months ended May 31, 2013. Gross margin percentage on home sales improved compared to the six months ended May 31, 2013, primarily due to a decrease in sales incentives offered to homebuyers as a percentage of revenue from home sales, an increase in the average sales price of homes delivered, a greater percentage of deliveries from the Company's new higher margin communities

NY Post : Barnes & Noble retail to split from Nook

Barnes & Noble hopes to survive by splitting in two.
The largest U.S. brick-and-mortar bookseller, beset by tough competition from online retailers like Amazon and discount stores like Wal-Mart, said Wednesday that it plans to split off its Nook e-reader division as it looks to boost shareholder value.
Investors applauded the news, sending shares up more than 6 percent in midday trading.
The company’s retail business, which has been outperforming its Nook unit, includes its bookstores and BN.com businesses. Nook Media, which counts software company Microsoft Corp. and educational book publisher Pearson Inc. among its investors, houses the digital and college businesses of Barnes & Noble.
CEO Michael Huseby said in an interview with The Associated Press that the separation is the best option for shareholders.
“The businesses can achieve a more favorable capital structure and also operate at a higher level,” if they are separate, he said.
Barnes & Noble spent years investing heavily in its Nook e-book reader and e-book library, but they struggled to be profitable. In December, the company said it was evaluating the future of its tablets, but it still offered a new non-tablet e-book reader during the holiday season. Huseby said the company will continue to offer its Nook glowlight e-reader but for the most part the Nook business will focus on software and its e-book library.
The company expects the separation to be complete by the end of the first quarter of the next calendar year, implying April of 2015.
The New York-based chain, which announced earlier this month that it was teaming with Samsung to develop Nook tablets, said that its board has approved the separation plans. It hopes to complete the separation by the end of 2015′s first quarter.
Barnes & Noble Inc. also reported its fiscal fourth-quarter loss narrowed to $36.7 million, or 72 cents per share, from a loss of $114.8 million, or $2.04 per share, a year earlier. Revenue for the period ended May 3 edged up to $1.32 billion from $1.28 billion.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected a loss of 49 cents per share on revenue of $1.19 billion.
Looking ahead, the company anticipates that fiscal 2015 sales at bookstores and college stores open at least a year will decline in the low-single digits.
Shares rose $1.26, or 6.1 percent, to $21.82 in midday trading. The stock had been up 38 percent since the beginning of the year.

NY Post : New York regulators may grant BNP Paribas a grace period

BNP Paribas, the French bank being investigated for money laundering for Sudanese agencies and companies, could see some leniency from New York regulators.
The state Department of Financial Services, headed by Benjamin Lawsky, is focusing on how long of a grace period to allow the bank before dropping the hammer and barring it from clearing transactions in US dollars — the lifeblood of the bank, according to people familiar with the matter.
The ability to process and move around money in the US currency, or dollar clearing, is “central” for BNP Paribas, said Erin Davis, a banking analyst at Morningstar.
“The real question is if they’re not able to transact dollar payments,” she told The Post. “That’s a very critical underlying service for most of their corporate customers.”
A phase-in period would likely allow the bank to complete transactions that are already taking place, she said.
Lawsky’s office is also weighing whether to bar dollar clearing for the whole bank or the units more closely responsible for the alleged money laundering, one person said.
Those areas include the trade finance divisions and commodities businesses in the US and abroad, the person said.
If regulators banned all of BNP from processing dollars, “they would probably go out of business,” Davis said.
Regulators and the bank are still working out settlement terms, which are expected to be announced next week, the person said.
All told, BNP could be on the hook for around $9 billion in fines, a guilty plea for money laundering for entities in blacklisted countries, and the firing of more than 12 people, the person said.
The bank is also likely to claw back salaries from those targeted, the person said.
US prosecutors have alleged that BNP used regional banks outside the US to hide assets from business it did with Sudan, Iran and Cuba, The Post exclusively reported early this month.
The French bank also was alleged to have deliberately changed documents in order to disguise about $100 billion in transfers, much of which came about in the years directly after the 9/11 attacks in New York.
Cesaltine Gregorio, a BNP spokeswoman, wasn’t immediately available for comment.