RTRS - ITALIAN GOVERNMENT BANK LIQUIDITY GUARANTEE SCHEME HAS A CEILING OF 150 BLN EUROS - SOURCE
Mobileye (MBLY), Intel (INTC) and BMW (BAMXY) are hosting a news conference today at 10:00 to announce autonomous driving plans; news of a fatal crash in a Model S using autopilot broke last night
Mobileye (MBLY), Intel (INTC) and BMW (BAMXY) are expected to announce an autonomous driving initiative at a news conference today at 10:00.
- Mobileye has said it expects the first fully autonomous cars on the road by 2021. MobilEye also flagged upcoming additional business development wins on its Q1 call in May. The hashtag tied to the event on MBLY's site is #futureofdriving2021.
- MBLY already works with effectively every auto OEM, providing semi-autonomous features, which are most prominent on Tesla (TSLA) EVs.
- MBLY surged 10% to an eight month high yesterday on the news.
Interestingly, yesterday afternoon, news broke that the NHTSA is opening a preliminary evaluation into the performance of Autopilot during a recent fatal crash that occurred in a Tesla (TSLA) Model S.
- Tesla downplayed the investigation on its blog last night, citing driving statistics and its controls and disclaimers about the autonomous features.
- The fatal crash was caused by a tractor trailer that came across the highway from the side and the driver never breaked.
- Current MBLY crash avoidance technology (automatic emergency braking) only prevents the Model S from 'rear ending' collisions.
Premarket price action: TSLA is down 3% premarket while MBLY is down 1.2%. BMW (OTC: BAMXY) is up 3% in Germany while INTC is down 0.2%; other stocks involved in autonomous driving: NVDA, NXPI, IFNNY, ALV.
Early premarket gappers
Gapping up: PKY +19.5%, ARRY +6.7%, SBGL +5.4%, PAAS +4.6%, KGC +4.3%, AG +4.2%, HMY +4.2%, GFI +4.1%,WING +3.8%, AU +3.8%, NFLX +3%, GOLD +2.9%, SLV +2.3%, GDX +2.2%, SLW +2%, NEM +1.9%, ABX +1.7%, SHPG+1.4%, BP +1%, RYAAY +0.9%
Gapping down: CVRR -9.7%, MU -9.7%, CJES -7%, CLVS -6.9%, ARNA -6.4%, AXAS -4.4%, TSLA -2.9%, ARMH -2.8%, FC-2.5%, SAN -2.3%, VALE -2.2%, ASML -1.8%, WDC -1.8%, BHP -1.7%, MBLY -1.5%, SWKS -1.3%, RIO -1.3%, GSK -1.3%,ING -1.2%, QCOM -1.1%, VMW -0.9%, TSRO -0.7%
Gapping down: CVRR -9.7%, MU -9.7%, CJES -7%, CLVS -6.9%, ARNA -6.4%, AXAS -4.4%, TSLA -2.9%, ARMH -2.8%, FC-2.5%, SAN -2.3%, VALE -2.2%, ASML -1.8%, WDC -1.8%, BHP -1.7%, MBLY -1.5%, SWKS -1.3%, RIO -1.3%, GSK -1.3%,ING -1.2%, QCOM -1.1%, VMW -0.9%, TSRO -0.7%
RTRS - DEUTSCHE TELEKOM DTEGn.DE TO LAUNCH THE SALE OF ITS GERMAN MOBILE-PHONE TOWERS IN A POTENTIAL 4-5 BILLION EURO DEAL AFTER SUMMER BREAK - SOURCES
U.K.'S GOVE DOESN'T EXPECT ARTICLE 50 TRIGGERED THIS YEAR
RTRS - ACTIVE OWNERSHIP FUND TO PREPARE JOINT SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL FOR THE ELECTION OF SHAREHOLDER REPRESENTATIVES TO THE SUPERVISORY BOARD OF STADA ARZNEIMITTEL AG
RTRS - STADA SHAREHOLDER ACTIVE OWNERSHIP SAYS HAVE NO FAITH IN ABILITY OF CURRENT MANAGEMENT TO SELECT NEW SUPERVISORY BOARD CANDIDATES
RTRS - STADA SHAREHOLDER ACTIVE OWNERSHIP SAYS EXECUTIVE SEARCH CONSULTANCY SPENCER STUART TO ASSIST IN SELECTING INDEPENDENT BOARD CANDIDATES
ECB's Praet (Belgium): Reiterates viewpoint that monetary policy can't be only remedy for current challenges; need fiscal and structural reforms - comments from London
- Brexit one of many uncertainties in EMU
- Does not see Brexit outcome putting European project at risk
- Negative interest rates reinforce impact of ECB policy
Mondelez/Hershey: bitter and sweet
How much longer can Hershey defy the march of time? The confectioner is an anachronism. It is headquartered in rural Pennsylvania. Despite a $21bn market capitalisation, is controlled by a family trust. It is decidedly non-global; 85 per cent of its revenue comes from North America. On Thursday, snack juggernaut Mondelez — Oreo cookies, Trident gum — made a bid for Hershey. If not for its idiosyncrasies, Hershey would have been gobbled up long ago. But times change, and this may be Hershey’s moment to catch up.
Mondelez is everything that Hershey is not. Despite a Chicago headquarters, just a quarter of its business is in the US. It has made deep inroads in emerging markets. Its board is thoroughly modern and features respected activist, Nelson Peltz. Mr Peltz harboured ambitions of combining Mondelez with Pepsi’s snack business. Until now boss Irene Rosenfeld has had to eschew any big deals and slash costs instead (Hershey’s 20 per cent operating margin remains superior to Mondelez’s). In the last two years Mondelez shares are up a tenth, ahead of the broader market and Hershey, which has moved sideways.
With an enterprise value of $80bn, Mondelez has plenty of firepower. Half the $23bn consideration is reported to be offered in shares. Mondelez sports a price/earnings ratio of 21 times; Hershey’s multiple at the deal price will be higher, but with cheap debt readily available expect the bidding and the valuation to escalate, likely with multiple suitors.
This, however, assumes that Hershey is ready to change. Nearly 15 years ago it backed out of a deal to sell itself to Wrigley. A few years back it opted against chasing Cadbury. Instead, Mondelez (then Kraft) controversially snatched the UK food group (oddly enough, Hershey licenses the Cadbury name in the US). Mondelez consolidated Cadbury in a ruthlessly efficient way. This may give Hershey pause; or it may shed its provinciality, and go for the money.