Tom Tom...i see that has potentially positivs a\s chinese investors could turn to another Target...
Chinese bid for mapping company falls at US hurdle
Investors seeking stake in Europe-based Here told to ‘apply directly’ to Trump
Chinese investors seeking to buy a stake in a European mapping company were told to “apply directly” to the US president after their €241m offer failed to win regulatory approval, according to one of the bidders.
Beijing-based NavInfo, a mapping provider for tech giant Tencent, together with Tencent and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC agreed last year to buy a 10 per cent stake in Amsterdam-headquartered Here to provide high-resolution maps of China for autonomous cars. The mapping technology company is owned by German carmakers Audi, BMW and Daimler, and US chipmaker Intel.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US weighed in on the deal, which received the green light from German regulators in January, due to Here’s assets in Chicago. Cfius made NavInfo and its fellow investors go through multiple hoops, but did not ultimately approve the deal.
“[Cfius] didn’t stop us from reapplying again, and actually recommended we apply directly to [US President Donald] Trump,” said NavInfo.
“We think there are two main reasons: the whole atmosphere after the election has changed at Cfius, and we hear there are not enough employees,” the company added, suggesting the new and smaller team at Cfius was more likely to withhold approval.
The Here decision comes at a time when China-US relations have been strained by Mr Trump’s harsh rhetoric against Chinese trade, as well as foreign policy disagreements over North Korea.
Mr Trump earlier this month blocked a $1.3bn plan by Canyon Bridge, a China-backed private equity group, to acquire Lattice Semiconductor. Financial holdings company China Oceanwide is in the midst of re-filing an application to Cfius to acquire Virginia-based insurer Genworth Financial for $2.7bn.
As Beijing has moved to rein in an ambitious spate of offshore dealmaking by private groups, Chinese outbound investment by government-backed groups soared in the first half of the year to $28.7bn, despite scrutiny overseas over national security concerns.
“For the past six months [Cfius] has continuously asked us to change our application, but even the emails they gave us were very vague, and just mentioned ‘national security reasons’,” NavInfo said on Wednesday.
NavInfo said Cfius had told the consortium to refile its application, which it did, giving up investor rights such as shareholder votes, but the group still did not receive approval and does not understand why. The consortium decided to drop the deal rather than apply directly to the US president, NavInfo said.
The company added that although the decision changes its plans for shareholding, it will not affect its mapping projects with Here, with which it has a joint venture in China. NavInfo said it will cancel the loan it had arranged with BNP Paribas to finance its part of the acquisition.
Tencent and GIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
As Uber fights to retain its license in London, the company also faces questions over its tax structure and the fact that it does not pay value added tax on fares — concerns that were raised with the London transport regulator just weeks before it decided to revoke Uber’s license.
At least one board member of Transport for London raised Uber’s tax structure in writing, although tax is not under the purview of TfL.
According to an email sent to board members and TfL officials in August and seen by the Financial Times, Michael Liebreich said the question of tax was “relevant to Uber’s relicensing” and asked “how Uber [does not pay] tax in the UK on services it provides in the UK”.
Uber books all of its UK rides through a Dutch subsidiary, which allows it to avoid paying the 20 per cent value added tax charged on goods and services in the UK.
“I know tax is a question for HMRC, but I have never understood how Uber’s services can be London-based for the purposes of the Taxi and Private Hire Act 1998, but non-UK based for the purposes of taxation, in particular VAT,” wrote Mr Liebreich.
The email also raised concerns about safety and Uber’s use of “Greyball” software that blocks regulators from seeing the app in the city.
Mr Liebreich’s email was sent to almost 50 TfL board members, officials and assistants, including Helen Chapman, head of the taxi and private hire division, and Val Shawcross, deputy mayor for transport. Uber declined to comment on the email.
TfL did not cite tax in its decision to revoke Uber’s license, instead pointing to its concerns in areas such as reporting criminal offences and obtaining medical certificates and background checks for drivers, as grounds for the denial.
Uber will continue to operate while it appeals against the decision, a process that could take months. The company’s new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi is weighing a trip to London to meet regulators.
Uber’s strategy to circumvent the UK’s 20 per cent VAT is not unique, but was the subject of a court case this year where the plaintiff sued Uber to demand a VAT receipt for an Uber trip. That case, which is still ongoing, could push Uber to collect VAT taxes if the plaintiff wins.
Uber argued in that case that it is only an agent acting on behalf of the drivers who are self-employed, and is not itself a service provider, and thus not responsible for collecting VAT.
Separately, the company’s lawyers will begin an appeal on Wednesday against an employment tribunal ruling last year that found its drivers were “workers” owed the minimum wage and holiday pay.
NESTLE (UP, TP CHF76.00): The basic message from CEO Schneider appears to be there was not a lot wrong with Nestle that some improved coordination, more aggressive resource allocation and clear accountability for delivering structural savings to the bottom line won't put right. As we had expected the margin target was not particularly stretching and the rationale was that Schneider does not want to compromise growth. Whilst this might disappoint those subscribing to Third Point's play book, we deem margins of c18% by 2020 as sensible and deliverable (notwithstanding the implied c70% retention rate on the structural savings).
BofA-Ml
* BAML FINANCIALS CONFERENCE - Day 2 at the Landmark Hotel. Contact for agenda.
* OVS - Gruppo Coin selling 12.3% stake or $225m; CS sole bookrunner on deal...
CARILLION - At least one Middle Eastern firm is eyeing company; CityAM (53)+15%
BOOHOO - Net cash £119m v exp £88m. FY rev growth to be 80% up from 60%(272)+5%
MEDIASET - Revs inline,better ad growth but slightly cautious commentary(10)+2%
INMARSAT - Senti +ve. Selected by AirAsia to offer aviation broadband (633).+2%
ALSTOM - Agrees to merge transport biz with Siemens on c.50/50 basis (34).+1-2%
EON - Reaches agreement with Fortum to tender its Uniper shares in '18 (9)..+1%
JD SPORTS - Nike guides Q2 below cons. Nike mentions JD are doing well (378)+1%
FORTUM - Deal confirmed last night,tender offer eu22/shr to Uniper s/hs (17)+1%
ZALANDO - Nike guides Q2 below cons.Nike mentions Zalando are doing well(41)+1%
KINGSPAN - Acquires 51% of Isoeste Construtivos Isotermicos SA.No terms (34)+1%
HALMA - Strong performance, but is inline with board's expectation (1094)...+1%
GRAINGER - Reads well. Expects to report £70mn of 2017E adj EPS driven (260)+1%
ADIDAS - Nike -3% aft-hrs on low quality EPS beat.Guides Q2 below cons (194)+1%
MUNICH RE - Small positive. Is said to sell Ergo and Victoria Leben (177).+0.5%
SIEMENS - Agreed to merge its transport business with Alston, c.50/50(117)+0.5%
BOUYGUES - Siemens & Alstom have agrees to merge their transport biz (39).+0.5%
UNIPER - All confirmed last night, eur 22/shr offer for 46.6% EON stake (23)u/c
SSE - All msgs about the FY outlook are repetition of preview guidance(1416)u/c
BUNZL - CMD starting 1.30pm. Presentation will be available then too (2220).u/c
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HELLA - EBIT -2.2% & sales -0.7% miss v cons. FY18 outlook is confirmed (52)-1%
CS
Accor +0.5% Paris wants significant cut in Airbnb renting
Adidas M/P US peer Nike -2% after hours on weaker US outlook
Alstom +2% Agreed to merge their rail operations with Siemens
AMS +2% Apple +0.7% after Europe close, supply chain better in Asia
Dialog Semi +1% Apple +0.7% after Europe close, supply chain better in Asia
Essilor +0.5% Confidnt Phase II will be completed in a timely manner
Fortum +1% Fortum cash offer of EU22/SHR is the only deal, CEO
Georg Fisher M/P Acquires software developer Symmedia
Genmab +0.5% Darzalex Approved in Japan for Multiple Myeloma
Grainger +1% Trading update in line with board’s expectation
Halma +1-2% Strong 2nd half trends continuing, M&A pipeline strong
Hella -1-2% Q1 sales inline, adj EBIT 3% miss, confirms guidance
Luxottica +0.5% Confidnt Phase II will be completed in a timely manner
Mediaset It +1% Q2 rev EU956.4m est EU950.3m, Confirmed full year targets
Miners UNCH Copper +0.40%, Brent +0.35%, Iron Ore +0.20%, China +0.20%
Munich Re +0.5% Spec appointed WLTW to find buyer for closed-life books
Oils UNCH US API draw of -800k vs +1.4m build prior
Orpea +1-2% Recurring EBITDA ahead, Property sales better
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Siemens M/P Agreed to merge their rail operations with Alstom
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Uniper -3% Fortum cash offer of EU22/SHR is the only deal, CEO
CS have revisited the subject of family-owned businesses and analyzed close to 1,000 family-owned companies by region, sector and size. We see that the valuation headwinds have all but disappeared, while some perceived risks such as governance and accounting quality appear misplaced. We also see less of a succession risk. Our “Family 1000” universe has outperformed its peer group of non-family-owned companies by c400bps per year since 2006. We highlight 26 OP-rated family-owned companies with a strong mix of quality, momentum and shareholder value creation.
Siemens and Alstom join forces to create a European Champion in Mobility
* Signed Memorandum of Understanding grants exclusivity to combine mobility businesses in a merger of equals
* Listing in France and group headquarters in Paris area; led by Alstom CEO with 50 percent shares of the new entity owned by Siemens
* Business headquarter for Mobility Solutions in Germany and for Rolling Stock in France
* Comprehensive offering and global presence will offer best value to customers all over the world
* Combined company’s revenue €15.3 billion, adjusted EBIT of €1.2 billion
* Annual synergies of €470 million expected latest four years after closing