Baird Reiterates AAPL with Outperform, price target: $175
- price target raised to $175 from $172
- Firm's latest Apple survey suggests strong interest for both iPhone 8 and X, with a higher skewing toward the newer models than in years past. Firm believes that should boost ASP and raised their ASP and EPS forecasts modestly, though still below consensus
*ALL 28 MEMBER STATES BACK EXPANSION OF EU-IRAN TRADE: SCHMID
Uber’s board of directors unanimously voted today to move forward with a proposed investment by SoftBank and Dragoneer Investment Group. The deal isn’t finalized just yet, so it’s not clear how much money the firms will invest in Uber. As TechCrunch previously reported, the amount could be between $8 billion and $10 billion.
“Today, after welcoming its new directors Ursula Burns and John Thain, the Board voted unanimously to move forward with the proposed investment by SoftBank and with governance changes that would strengthen its independence and ensure equality among all shareholders,” the board said in a statement to TechCrunch. “SoftBank’s interest is an incredible vote of confidence in Uber’s business and long-term potential, and we look forward to finalizing the investment in the coming weeks.”
Last week, Uber appointed Burns and Thain to the board, even though SoftBank reportedly wanted those seats. The board of directors also voted to remove super-voting rights from some shareholders, Axios reports. What the board of directors reportedly did not approve was making changes that would formally prevent former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick from regaining control of the company. However, the changes did reportedly reduce Kalanick’s board power.
“Today the Board came together collaboratively and took a major step forward in Uber’s journey to becoming a world class public company, Kalanick said in a statement. “We approved moving forward with the Softbank transaction and reached unanimous agreement on a new governance framework that will serve Uber well. Under Dara’s leadership and with strong guidance from the Board, we should expect great things ahead for Uber.”
SoftBank has been making headlines in the tech industry as of late. After raising a $100 billion fund, it’s invested in ride-hailing companies that rival Uber, and now Uber itself.
While Uber, the board and Kalanick see this as a win, Uber investor Shervin Pishevar is not on board with the Board. In a statement, Pishevar said:
Be careful what you wish for …….They may think they have won a battle today but rest assured they will lose the war.After today’s Board decision, stripping early employees and others of the voting rights they bargained for , we are moving forward with a class action lawsuit. We have given full authority to our attorneys to pursue any and all legal actions across the globe to bring justice for those wronged by this action.The board’s action today was unfair and illegal and we will be relentless in rectifying this wrong.We will hold these people accountable under the law.Todays action by the board was the culmination of a blatant bait and switch, essentially robbing loyal employees , including the more than 200 early founding Uber employees and advisors, of their hard earned shareholder rights worth billions in value. Today’s action is a naked violation and repudiation of those rights.We will not rest until the employees rights are fully vindicated.
BofAML
* BAML BUILDING CONFERENCE - Day Two; 20 corps and 160 clients attending.......
* PIRELLI - Day 1, PIRC IM, priced at e6.5, total deal size 400m shrs inc g/s..
* 888 - Sinitus selling entire stake via bookbuild, $150m @ 243/shr; JPM/MS....
* ONE SAVINGS BANK - JC Flowers selling c8% stake @ 375p/shr; Citi/CS on deal..
TESCO - Profit 1.2% ahead, resumes div.Pension contribution inc to £285(196)+3%
BALFOUR BEATTY - Wins a $260m contract to build Miami shops,residences (272)+1%
JMAT - US heavy duty diesel orders +63% y/y in Sept is positive read(3432)+0.5%
ULTRA ELECTRONICS - Gets $16m modification contract. Wont move dial (1829)..u/c
MINERS - Copper -0.1%,Iron Ore fut closed with BHP OZ -0.3%, RIO OZ -1.5%.-0.5%
HOUSEBUILDERS - May to announce once in generation inc in council houses....-1%
TRAVIS PERKINS - Negative read across from Topps Tiles lowering exp (1433)..-1%
ROYAL MAIL - Workers have voted in favour of strike action via ballot (380).-1%
INT PERSONAL FIN - Polish tax reforms means taking a £30m write down (200)..-5%
TOPPS TILES - Pretax to be at the lower end of exp with LFL revs -2.9% (71).-5%
CS
Air Liquide -2% Guide to Q3 -4% from FX, CS est -1.7%
Commerzbank +0.5% Macron would favor tie-up between BNP and CBK, Le Canard
Daimler +0.5% Sept US Class 8 truck orders came in at 22.6k, up +63% y/y
Deut Post M/P Plans to raise postal charges for business clients by 5%
EFG +1% Giorgio Pradelli to Succeed retiring CEO Straehle
Miners -0.5% Copper UNCH, Brent -0.75%, Iron Ore Closed, China Closed
Oils -0.5% US API -4.1m barrels vs draw of 800k last week
PGS -1% CS DOWNGRADE to NEUTRAL (Weak Q4 marine acquisition)
Renault UNCH Nissan -1.5% on reports falsified inspection documents
SGS M/P Acquires Australian Win Services
Subsea 7 +1% CS UPGRADE to OUTPERFORM (Positioning)
Tesco +1-2% Q2 LFL 2.1% vs cons 2.5%, div reinstated
VAT Group +1-2% JOLED plans to start mass production of OLED panels
Volvo +0.5% Sept US Class 8 truck orders came in at 22.6k, up +63% y/y
Volkswagen +2% US SAAR +5% y/y, Volkswagen was positive
MainFirst Pre Mkt Indications
*D/POST-To cut discounts to large clients by 3%,ave increase 5.1%.....+0.5%
*BNP/CBK-Macron in favour of BNP/CBK tie-up reports Canard............U/C
*RENAULT-Nissan -1.4% is said to have falsified inspection docs.......-0.5%
*SGS-Buys Win Services & Leadership Directions,ann rev AUD4.6m........U/C
*BBVA/ABANCA-Bid for Deut Banks Spanish Assets,offers €400m-€500m.....U/C
*SKANSKA-Expands Portland Intl Airport,order value SEK1.3bln..........+1%
*THYSSEN-Combines forge units to develop new markets - FAZ............-0.5%
*ALSTOM-Le Maire says will be no Alstom job cuts,site closures........U/C
*DSV-Raises prices amid shortage of truck drivers says CEO............+0.5%
*AIR FRANCE/DELTA/CHINA ESTAREN-Each hold 10% of share capital........U/C
*MERCK-Japan Display +25%,going 2 mass produce OLED panels 2019.......-1%
*GRENKE-9m new bizz leasing +22.7%,FY Leasing guidance 16%-21%........+0.5%
*TESCO-H1 Adj OP £759m(703),Q2 L-F-L UK Sales +2.1%(+2.5%)............+1%
*PANALPINA-To become more active in M&A,Foundation remains committed..+0.5%
Rumeur de rachat de Publicis
Le parcours de Capgemini n'a pas toujours été un long fleuve tranquille. Le groupe traverse une phase très compliquée après le rachat, en 2000, de la division consulting de Ernst & Young. La greffe ne prend pas entre consultants américains et ingénieurs informatique européens. «Il y avait d'un côté les boyards et de l'autre les moujiks.» Ce souvenir est douloureux pour Paul Hermelin, qui doit, de 2002 à 2004, reprendre en main le groupe, simplifier les structures, tailler dans les effectifs et afficher de lourdes pertes financières. «Pendant cette crise, Serge Kampf m'a toujours soutenu», avance Paul Hermelin qui reconnaît tout de même que l'establishment français ne donnait pas cher de sa peau.
C'est cette expérience très compliquée qui explique aujourd'hui la prudence du PDG alors que les rumeurs de rachat de Publicis agitent le marché. «Avec le digital, il faut désormais vendre l'informatique aux directeurs marketing des grands groupes. Or nous ne les connaissons pas. Nous avons l'habitude de traiter avec les directeurs informatiques», reconnaît le PDG. L'américain Accenture s'est engouffré très tôt dans la brèche et il devient un concurrent très sérieux des grands groupes de communication WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, Dentsu et Havas. «Aujourd'hui, ce que l'on appelle la digitalisation de l'expérience client ne représente que 15 % de notre chiffre d'affaires, mais est en forte croissance. Pour compléter notre offre sur ce segment de marché, plutôt que de faire des acquisitions dans la publicité, je préfère passer des alliances ; par exemple, avec Publicis nous avons remporté ensemble le budget McDonald's et nous travaillons sur d'autres compétitions», avance-t-il.
«Nous avons beaucoup de fronts à couvrir, comme la cybersécurité, le big data, le cloud ou l'intelligence artificielle, qui sont notre cœur de métier. Mais si Accenture rachetait un grand groupe mondial de publicité, la pression du marché et des actionnaires deviendrait forte. Il faudrait alors réfléchir à la manière d'aller dans le secteur de la publicité.»
Un futur chantier en perspective. À 65 ans, Paul Hermelin est candidat à un dernier mandat de PDG en mai 2018. Mais il pense déjà à faire émerger un successeur. «Au sein de Capgemini, nous avons un vivier de managers très talentueux qui gèrent déjà des pays avec une grande autonomie. À nous de les faire monter pour leur donner une vision de l'ensemble du groupe», conclut-il.
Pirelli, Syngenta and China’s most ambitious global dealmaker
One thing to start: DD is hosting a get together/networking event in Manhattan in two weeks. Come join James, Sujeet, Arash and Neil from the team from 6.30pm to 9pm at Louie and Chan on October 18. RSVP: DDrsvp@ft.com
Around 15 months ago, a senior global dealmaker sat down with DD to discuss something he had never seen before. "Not even General Electric behavesike this," the exasperated adviser said. He was talking about a Chinese company that had simultaneously pursued a $43bn bid for agrichemicals behemoth Syngenta, and a $50bn+ offer to snatch BG Group from Royal Dutch Shell.
What was the company? ChemChina. And the dealmaker behind the state-owned group? Ren Jianxin, or as he is better known, Chairman Ren (you can read up on him here).
While the BG Group deal did not come off (the world learned about it thanks to this excellent Reuters scoop), the Syngenta deal did. And while that transaction completed earlier this year, it continues to be plagued by questions over ChemChina's financing.
Here's a quick timeline of our reporting of the situation:
September 25: Syngenta postpones $7bn bond sale after investor pushback. Investors are concerned about the overhang of lawsuits from US corn farmers.
September 26: Syngenta reaches a settlement with US corn farmers, for an undisclosed sum.
September 27: This story outlines how investors and analysts want Syngenta to explain how it will fund the settlement while retaining its investment grade rating with S&P. The agency said in an earlier report that ChemChina and China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) are committed to an investment grade rating, but that funding needs to come from Sasac in the form of equity.
September 28: We report the head of Sasac as saying that ChemChina and Syngenta can handle the situation on their own, without any Sasac funding.
October 2: S&P puts Syngenta on "CreditWatch negative", saying that the company's communication around its Chinese support has been "inconsistent".
All of which brings us to a rather important event for Chairman Ren and ChemChina, which is taking place this week: the initial public offering of Italian tyremaker Pirelli. ChemChina led a €7.3bn takeover and delisting of Pirelli two years ago, before setting its sights on Syngenta.
As Rachel Sanderson and Lucy Hornby write here:
Pirelli — –he “Prada of tyres” — –ill be among the biggest IPOs in Europe this year with an expected enterprise value of about €6.5bn when shares start trading on Wednesday.
But it will also provide an insight into investor interest in ChemChina subsidiaries, amid questions about its debt levels and state support for its Syngenta purchase.
ChemChina, a state-backed chemical company, is selling up to 40 per cent of its stake in Pirelli, which it bought two years ago.
Investors are watching the deal closely and trying to decipher what it will mean for what comes next with Syngenta. So far, the IPO has been met with scepticism. Pirelli priced the offering on Friday at the low end of a proposed range and slightly below the level it was delisted at back in 2015.
Publicis takeover by Capgemini rumours resurface – report (translated)
04 OCT 2017
Rumours of a possible acquisition of French advertising group Publicis [EPA:PUB] by French IT consulting giant Capgemini [EPA:CAP] have resurfaced, French daily Le Figaro reported without citing any source.
The report cited Paul Hermelin, head of Capgemini, as saying that in order to improve and supplement the group’s offering in the marketing and digital sectors, he would rather build alliances with advertising companies
than acquire them.
than acquire them.
Hermelin however added that because of the digital transformation of businesses and the digitalisation of the customer experience, companies like Accenture have become a competitor to advertising groups.
And if Accenture [NYSE:ACN] decides to acquire a major advertising company, then the shareholders and the markets would likely put strong pressure on Capgemini. Meaning that the company could have to think about how to “go into” advertising, Hermelin went on to say.
Capgemini has 200,000 employees and reported sales of EUR 12.5bn in 2016.
ZALANDO (OP, TP EUR47.50): Following weaker than expected margins in 2Q we are cutting current year EPS forecasts by c10%, however we don't see this as being significant to the investment case, which is largely predicated on long-term growth. The key announcement from 2Q was that Zalando will be building two more RDC’s giving it >€10bn of capacity by 2020, compared with LTM sales of €4bn and GMV of €5bn. In the ongoing battle for customers, which is being played out through the delivery proposition, this scale and proximity to customers, gives Zalando a huge advantage vs peers, and gives brands a compelling alternative to the Amazon platform in EU.
FULL NOTE
FULL NOTE
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