(CO5) Altice Sa: Altice acquires 34.6% stake in Numericable


Altice Sa: Altice acquires 34.6% stake in Numericable from Carlyle & Cinven and applies for listing of new ordinary shares
2014-07-24 15:37:43.553 GMT

http://cws.huginonline.com/A/156399/PR/201407/1837271_5.html

PageExcerpt:
Altice acquires 34.6% stake in Numericable from Carlyle & Cinven and applies for listing of new ordinary shares,July 24, 2014: Altice S.A. (Euronext: ATC NA) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Altice France S.A. ("Altice France"), is ...

(BN) Lululemon Traders Say Namaste to Takeover Speculation: Options

Lululemon Traders Say Namaste to Takeover Speculation: Options
2014-07-24 14:28:25.729 GMT


(For an Options column news alert: SALT OMA.)

By Jacob Barach and Callie Bost
July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Speculation that Lululemon Athletica
Inc.’s founder wants to sell the yoga-gear retailer has options
traders stretching toward calls to buy the shares.
Bullish one-month wagers on Lululemon cost the most on
record relative to bearish bets, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg. Traders own about the most calls relative to puts on
the stock in six months, the data show, with one of the most-
held contracts betting on a 20 percent jump by tomorrow.
Founder Dennis “Chip” Wilson has opposed the direction of
the current board and sought to regain greater control of the
company. Traders are betting Wilson’s efforts could prove
fruitful after about $3 billion was wiped from Lululemon’s
market value this year, making it more attractive to suitors.
“At these levels the valuation is quite compelling,” Pam
Quintiliano, a New York-based retail analyst for Suntrust
Robinson Humphrey Inc., said in a phone interview July 8. “It’s
come down dramatically from where it’s been historically. There
is a frenzy with takeover rumors.”
While Wilson stepped down as non-executive chairman of the
Lululemon board in December 2013 amid public relations
controversies, his 28 percent stake remains the largest in the
company. Advisers to Wilson have screened several private-equity
firms, including Leonard Green & Partners, the Wall Street
Journal reported on July 3, citing sources familiar with the
situation.

Slowing Growth

Shares of Lululemon have dropped 36 percent this year,
heading for the worst annual performance since 2008. The
retailer’s sales growth has stalled in the last year as
increased quality checks slowed deliveries of new apparel. It’s
also been forced to win shoppers back after recalling a popular
yoga pant line because they were too sheer.
The stock declined to the lowest in three years last month
after Lululemon cut its full-year earnings and revenue
forecasts. Analysts forecast Lululemon’s earnings to decline 8
percent in its current fiscal year after growth slowed to 3
percent in the year ended in March. The company reported profit
growth of at least 46 percent in fiscal 2013 and 2012.
“Chip is still the founder and he has been very actively
involved until recently,” Quintiliano said. “Perhaps his
noise-making will be a call to action to get people moving
quicker.”

Looking Up

In recent months, analysts have cited VF Corp., the $26
billion owner of the Vans and North Face brands, as well as
Adidas AG and Nike Inc. as potential buyers for Lululemon. A
takeover could be valued at $50 a share, according to a May
estimate from Omar Saad of International Strategy & Investment
Group LLC. That would be a 33 percent premium to yesterday’s
close.
Lululemon trades at 20.2 times earnings, the lowest
valuation for the stock since 2009. The shares rose 2 percent to
$38.30 at 10:05 a.m. in New York.
Calls with an exercise price 10 percent above the stock
cost 2 points more than puts betting on a 10 percent decline,
according to one-month data compiled by Bloomberg. Bullish bets
on Lululemon cost 6.9 points more than bearish ones on July 3,
the most expensive level for calls relative to puts on record,
the data show. On July 17, three-month bullish bets cost nearly
1.1 points more than bearish ones, an all-time high.
Open interest in Lululemon options has increased 40 percent
since mid-May, with traders owning about 1.4 calls for every
put. Six of the 10 most-owned options are bullish, with $45
calls expiring this month attracting the highest ownership among
them.

‘Could Pop’

“The upside calls are pricing in the possibility of a jump
in the stock,” Chris Rich, head options strategist at
JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC in Chicago, said in an
interview July 10. “People need a lot of premium for the out-
of-the-money calls to sell them, indicating they think there are
risks that the stock could pop.”
Alecia Pulman, a spokeswoman for Lululemon who works for
Integrated Corporate Relations Inc., did not immediately respond
to requests for comment on the company’s options trading.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the
gauge of S&P 500 options prices known as the VIX, rose 4.3
percent to 12.01.

Cheaper Shares

While Lululemon’s valuation has declined, its price-sales
ratio is still the highest among specialty North American
clothing retailers with market values of at least $1 billion,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Lululemon’s price-
earnings ratio is 12 percent above its 17 peers, the data show.
Lululemon is too expensive to entice offers right now, Liz
Dunn, a New York-based senior consumer analyst for Macquarie
Group, said in a phone interview July 8. Increasing competition,
difficulty in expanding internationally and a minimal
advertising budget are all obstacles to Lululemon’s ability to
compete with more traditional names such as Adidas and Nike.
A yoga supporter with a history in the skate, surf and
snowboard business, Wilson founded Lululemon in 1998 as he
noticed an increase in women’s participation in athletics. He
served as CEO until December 2005. Wilson’s time with Lululemon
could end if he opts to sell his stake in the company rather
than attempt to buy it, a possible alternative reported by the
Wall Street Journal.

Sheer Pants

Wilson’s extended role in Lululemon has been marked by
controversy. In response to the recall of overly sheer pants,
Wilson said in an interview on Bloomberg Television that some
women’s bodies don’t work with Lululemon clothing.
“If somebody wants to take a risk and buy this company and
have Chip Wilson be involved, well good luck to them,” Dunn,
who rates the company as neutral, said by phone. “His history
with negative PR is certainly something a buyer would have to
consider if he would remain involved.”
In its first-quarter earnings report, Lululemon said that
fiscal 2014 is about expansion. It points to Canada, Australia,
New Zealand and the United Kingdom as its primary international
markets.
On March 18, Lululemon released its &go line. The new line
blends gym wear and street-friendly fashion for a clientele
that’s “out the door at daybreak and moving until midnight,”
according to its website. Development in men’s and girl’s
fashion is also a primary focus of this year’s expansion.
“I think that they’re still thought of as the premier
brand in the marketplace,” Quintiliano said. “They’re
considered the innovator of the athleisure lifestyle.”

For Related News and Information:
Lululemon Options Monitor: LULU US EQUITY OMON <GO>
Lululemon Volatility Graph: LULU US EQUITY GV <GO>
Peer comparison: LULU US <Equity> PPC <GO>
Options on Bloomberg First Word: NI OPTIONS BFW <GO>
Options Market Analysis: NI OMA <GO>
Options Volatility Tables: NI OIM <GO>

--With assistance from Lindsey Rupp in New York.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Jacob Barach in New York at +1-212-617-0707 or
jbarach1@bloomberg.net;
Callie Bost in New York at +1-212-617-3495 or
cbost2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Lynn Thomasson at +1-212-617-0506 or
lthomasson@bloomberg.net
Michael P. Regan, Jeff Sutherland

FT : BlackBerry looks to partnerships to compete with Apple and IBM venture

BlackBerry is in talks with rival technology groups about partnerships to compete with the newly forged alliance between Apple and IBM.
John Chen, chief executive, said the Canadian technology group was in early discussions with companies about working together in parts of the enterprise market. He declined to comment on which companies were in discussions.

Shares in BlackBerry fell almost five per cent last week after IBM said it would work with Apple to sell iPhones and iPads loaded with applications for business users. The tie-up was seen by analysts as a direct challenge for customers that use BlackBerry’s enterprise services.
IBM is planning more than 100 apps targeting industries such as retail, healthcare, banking, travel, transportation and telecommunications, with a focus on security and mobile device management.
Mr Chen has also focused BlackBerry on driving enterprise sales in similar areas since joining as chief executive last year, using its market leading security software combined with devices, servers and messaging services.
Mr Chen said that the partnership between Apple and IBM was both good and bad news for BlackBerry. He likened the tie-up to when “two elephants start dancing”, adding that it would be interesting to see how they worked together given both companies “are used to taking charge”.
“The IBM-Apple tie-up validates what is a huge market,” he said. “[But] the bad news is that you are waking up two giants. It’s competition but it’s good competition and we are going to be more nimble. You don’t want to be a strong guy in a market that is not growing.”

Mr Chen said that BlackBerry was in talks about its own partnerships. “I am working on some, and maybe we will collaborate with others. If I focus on security and identity management then we will be a good solid partner in this enterprise world.
“I am not afraid of competing when I know I am more nimble. I never think [that] going alone is the right strategy. But we have a value add that no one else can do.”
Mr Chen said that BlackBerry was out of danger having almost completed its restructuring. BlackBerry will focus on enterprise customers rather than the consumer business for now, said Mr Chen.
Consumer sales of BlackBerry phones for have fallen, with less than 2 per cent market share in many Western markets, according to Kantar, the research group.
Mr Chen said that even forthcoming handsets such as the square-shaped Passport – which is expected to be released in September – were geared towards being used by enterprise customers in core “regulated industries” such as financial services and healthcare.

FT : SFO charges Alstom with corruption

A UK subsidiary of Alstom – the French industrial champion that accepted €12.35bn for its energy business from General Electric last month – has been charged with corruption by the Serious Fraud Office.
The UK’s main anti-corruption body said in a brief statement on Thursday that it was charging Alstom Network UK with three counts of corruption and three counts of conspiracy to corrupt relating to “large transport projects” in Tunisia, Poland and India. The first hearing in the case will take place in a London magistrates' court on September 9.

The charges are the culmination of a probe that has lasted more than four years, and which was temporarily halted when two former suspects challenged the SFO.
In that judicial review against the SFO, the court heard that the SFO was building a case around Alstom Network UK, which the agency alleged was used as a “cell” to siphon bribes to the company’s agents around the world. The company has countered that while it used the unit to pay its agents, those payments were legitimate and it was a way of centralising and controlling them, people familiar with the situation previously told the Financial Times.
The SFO’s investigation is just one of several around the world that the company is facing, the most pressing of which is by the US Department of Justice, where two individuals have already pleaded guilty.
Indian investigators were alerted by the SFO in February to separate allegations over whether the company paid £3m of bribes to secure a Delhi Metro contract, according to press reports in India.
The fact that the SFO’s charges related to the UK transport business means that GE – which is only buying Alstom’s energy business – would not be liable for any eventual fine if the company is found guilty.
The DoJ, meanwhile, has concentrated on investigating whether Paris headquartered Alstom or its executives had bribed officials in Indonesia to win power contracts.
The UK overhauled its criminal penalties for companies earlier this year, moving more in line with the US, which has fined companies hundreds of millions of dollars for infractions of its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Under the new guidelines, corrupt companies can be fined as much as 400 per cent of their alleged illicit profits.
Still, any UK fine levied on the company if it is found guilty of the SFO’s charges would be small by comparison to the US, even under the new penalty regime.
The SFO’s investigation into individuals is still continuing. It interviewed former Alstom employees in Paris in April and last month warned a number of individuals they might face charges.
While some of the individuals held senior management positions at the company, none were board members of Alstom. This is important because in order to prosecute the company under the UK’s old bribery laws, the SFO must be able to show that a “directing mind” at the company ordered any corrupt payments. That is normally limited to board members, chief executives or “superiors” who “speak and act as the company”, according to prosecutors’ guidelines.
The SFO said that it was still considering charges against individuals and declined to comment further.
Alstom said it was aware the SFO had initiated proceedings against Alstom Network UK and said it was “in ongoing communications with the SFO about its investigation and will continue to work with the SFO to seek a fair and appropriate resolution.”
It did not indicate whether it would contest the charges or plead guilty.

FT : PSA Peugeot, Fiat evaluate deal to boost scale

PSA Peugeot Citroen and Fiat-Chrysler are evaluating a deal that would create the world's fifth-largest carmaker producing around 8m cars and give both struggling companies global scale.

The French and US-Italian carmakers have held informal discussions about a merger earlier this year, according to sources familiar with the talks, as both companies consider a range of options to address their shared problems of high costs and patchy emerging market exposure, reports Henry Foy and Arash Massoudi.

Any deal would bring together two of Europe's most venerable automotive houses and carmaking family dynasties in an effort to tackle spiralling investment needs at both groups.

The two companies held talks that were paused by the completion of Dongfeng's investment in PSA, people briefed on the talks said, stressing that the discussions are preliminary in nature and any major movement is expected next year.

They see benefits in combining Fiat and Peugeot's European operations and leveraging Chrysler's US presence, while PSA's Chinese shareholder Dongfeng Motor would provide both greater Asian access and fresh capital, according to four people with knowledge of the talks.

The talks are part of a range of potential options to fix problems at both companies, which this year have their hands full dealing with their own separate restructuring programmes.

Fiat only this year completed its acquisition of Chrysler, with the new Fiat Chrysler Automobiles due to be listed in the Netherlands in August, while PSA completed a tie up with China's Dongfeng in January and is making an Asian push.

"Negotiations have not started yet, but there have been discussions and I believe that 2015 will be a critical year," said one Paris-based banker with knowledge of the talks.

A spokesman for Fiat-Chrysler said that the company was not currently in talks with PSA. "We have discussions with everyone on targeted projects," the spokesman added.

PSA declined to comment.