(Exane) Special Sit. : Stake Building & Fights for control

• the fresh release of the respective annual reports often provide valuable clarifications on sensitive ownership data ahead of Spring AGMs
• the possible re-stabilization of markets ,following a gloomy start of the year ,may help investors refocusing on such non-fundamental elements

A 22-company selection
the companies are introduced as follows : name ; in-house rating ; next date
• Companies which Vivendi invested
- Telecom Italia : (=) ; 05/05
- Telefonica : (NR) ; 04/29
- Ubisoft : (+) ; 05/12
- Gameloft : (+) ; 04/28
- Mediaset : (=) ; 04/27
- FNAC : (NR) ; 04/21
- Vivendi: Obliquity: (+) ; 04/21
• 3 French cases of parallel stake-buildings
- Accor : (NR) ; 04/19
- Carrefour : (+) ; 05/17
- Rexel : (+) ; 04/29
• 3 Potential fights
- LSE : (+) ; 04/27 ; DB1/LSE - expect a counter offer from ICE
- Deutsche Boerse : (=) ; 04/27
- Darty : (NR) ; 06/16
- Home Retail : (=) ; 04/27
• 2 Very special Italian situations
- Ansaldo STS : (=) ; 05/05
- Parmalat : (=) ; 04/29
• 3 worth-watching German situations
- Adidas : (+) ; 05/04
- Kloeckner : (-) ; 05/04
- Kuka : (NR) ; 05/04
• 4 other noteworthy situations
- BT Group : (-) ; 05/05
- Sunrise Communications : (NR) ; 04/15
- Fimalac ; (=) ; 06/15
- Pierre Vacances : (=) ; 05/26

>>> Fed's Dudley (voter): Monetary policy adjustments are likely to be gradual a

Fed's Dudley (voter): Monetary policy adjustments are likely to be gradual and cautious; more needs to be done on regulatory front - opening remarks at Economics Conference 
- Labor market conditions have significantly improved over the past few years
- Housing is recovering, banking is much healthier and the corporate sector is highly profitable, even as business fixed investment spending remains quite weak.
- Although inflation has fallen short of our objective, I am confident that inflation will return to our 2 percent objective over the next few years 
- After years at the effective lower bound for short-term interest rates, economic conditions have finally warranted the start of U.S. monetary policy normalization.
- EU is experiencing a cyclical recovery and the unemployment rate has been steadily declining over the past two years. The end of fiscal tightening appears to be a key factor in this recovery.
- The risks of low inflation remain a concern for the ECB

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: HAS +5%, MS +2.5%, PEP +0.8%, JBHT +0.5%, .

M&A news: MDVN +3.4% (AstraZeneca (AZN) may bid for MDVN, according to Times UK, also presents Phase I Talazoparib data), .

Select Brazil related names showing strength after lower house calls for impeachment: ITUB +6.1%, CIG +5.9%, BBD+2.3%, VALE +1.9%, VIV +1.3%, PBR +0.6%, .

Other news: IMMU +6.3% (its anti-HLA-DR IgG4 antibody, was superior to anti-CD20 therapy using rituximab), RPRX +3.5% (cont strength), CGEN +2.9% (achieves a first preclinical milestone for CGEN-15022), ONCS +2.3% (names Robert Pierce Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board & Chief Scientific Strategist), LEI +2% (amends existing convertible note & increases conversion price to $3.25/share from $1.50/share), CCL +1.2% (still checking), JKS +0.8% (announces that it will supply 49 MW of solar modules to China Resources Power Investment Co for three solar PV plants)

Analyst comments: CNHI +3.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merril), JOY +1.8% (upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill)

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: CLMT -46.3%, (reports prelim Q1 results; suspends quarterly cash distribution of $0.685/unit; prices private placement of senior secured notes) GIGA -8.5%

M&A news: ATHM -1.8% ( receives non-binding $31.50/share acquisition proposal from a consortium)


Select oil/gas related names showing early weakness: OAS -9.2%, WTI -7.8%, WLL -6.8%, SDRL -6.8%, CHK -5.6%,MRO -5.3%, EVEP -5%, DVN -4.5%, RIG -4.1%, APC -3.9%, COP -3.3%, STO -2.7%, APA -2.4%

Other news: CHMA -57.7% (receives Complete Response Letter for its NDA for Mycapssa), SUNE -8.1% (is negotiating with creditors for a loan to carry it through bankruptcy reorganization, according to Bloomberg), KITE -6.3% (announces review of National Cancer Institute's manufacturing facilities), SNE -5.1% (Nikkei -3.4%, assessing damage from weekend earthquake),SOL -5.1% (announces the shipment of solar modules to 2 customers with aggregate volume of 81.5 MW ), SBGL -2.7% (advised stakeholders that it has revised and is implementing its organisational structures), MNKD -1.2% (filed $500 mln mixed self offering)

Analyst comments: ARMH -2.9% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies), ECR -2.8% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Johnson Rice), COTY -1.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill), CHD -1.5% (downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill), ALV -1.4% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman ), C -0.5% (downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette)

FT : London’s super-rich turn to renting

London’s super-rich turn to renting

The UK’s “generation rent” may be priced out of home ownership, but renting is also on the rise among a very different group: London’s super-rich.
After stamp duty increased on expensive homes and prices began falling in the capital’s wealthiest areas, potential buyers of homes worth more than £10m are increasingly opting to become tenants instead.

Agents said uncertainty over the UK’s referendum on EU membership and concerns about the use of offshore companies for property purchases following the Panama Papers leak may add to the shift.
The number of lettings deals on homes worth more than £10m each year has more than doubled since 2011, and rose almost a third in the year to March 2016 from the previous year, according to figures from Knight Frank, an estate agency.
At the same time, sales of such homes fell to 138 in the past year from a peak of 206 a year earlier, a drop of 33 per cent.
“No one is predicting that homes at the top end will be worth 10 per cent more in the near future and most people think they will be worth less,” said Henry Pryor, a buying agent. “It is much easier to make a decision to rent and make sure that if you do buy it’s something you really want.”
Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank, said stamp duty on a £15m home now totalled £1.7m — equivalent to three years’ rent. The duty is even higher if the buyer already owns another home, following reforms brought in this month.
The length of “super prime” rentals has also been increasing, reaching an average of two years after moving between 12 and 17 months for the previous five years.

Leases costing £5,000 a week or more are clustered around areas such as South Kensington, Knightsbridge, Mayfair, Regent’s Park and Holland Park. Yields for landlords of such homes can top 4 per cent, compared with an average 2.9 per cent in London, because properties in the top bracket are scarce, Knight Frank said.
Mr Pryor said the Panama Papers leak, which revealed the owners of a series of offshore companies used to buy London properties, had highlighted that “no one can [buy] quietly”. He added: “There are some people who will be put off by that, and they should be.”
Charles McDowell, a high-end estate agent, said he had received several rental offers on properties that had been marketed for sale.
However, Tom Smith, head of super-prime lettings at Knight Frank, warned potential landlords of such homes to expect demanding tenants. “A common mistake is to think the requirements of a tenant are less stringent than they are if they were buying the house,” he said.

>>> CVT US - To be acquired by Vista equity for $36.00/shr in cash valued at $1.

Cvent To be acquired by Vista equity for $36.00/shr in cash valued at $1.65B

Announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Vista Equity Partners (Vista), a leading private equity firm focused on investments in software, data and technology-enabled businesses.

The terms of this all-cash deal provide substantial value to Cvent stockholders. Vista will acquire 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Cvent common stock for a total value of approximately $1.65 billion. Cvent stockholders will receive $36.00 in cash per share, representing a premium of approximately 69 percent over Cvent's closing price on April 15, 2016 and a 70 percent premium to Cvent's average closing price over the past 30 trading days.

Cvent will become a privately held company. Cvents Board of Directors unanimously approved the deal and recommended that stockholders vote their shares in favor of the transaction. Cvents headquarters will remain in Tysons Corner, VA. Closing of the deal is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of Cvent stockholders and required regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2016.

Morgan Stanley is serving as financial advisor to Cvent, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation is serving as legal advisor to Cvent. Vistas legal advisor is Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

TechCrunch : Alibaba confirms $1.25B investment in food delivery service Ele.me

Another billion dollar deal? Sure, why not! Southeast Asia wasn’t the only new market that Alibaba spent big to enter last week. Beyond a deal with Rocket Internet’s Lazada, the e-commerce giant also confirmed a $1.25 billion investment in Ele.me, a leading food delivery service in China.

Alibaba invested $900 million in the Shanghai-based company, with Ant Financial, its finance-focused affiliate, providing the rest of the cash.

The deal was first reported back in December 2015, and it increases Alibaba’s efforts in ‘online to offline’ — the buzzword for platforms that enable traditional retailers to use growing access to internet and mobile to reach and engage with customers. Alibaba sold $900 million in shares in Dianping-Meituan, the local deals giant formed by a billion-dollar merger between China’s top two players. That move, it is suggested, was motivated by the fact that rival Tencent is also a stakeholder. In Ele.me, Alibaba has a new focus in the space with a company that it could acquire outright further down the line.

There are also other synergies in Alibaba’s portfolio. It has a joint venture called Koubei which helps restaurants offer promotions via mobile. Alibaba recently inked a new $3 billion loan facility, and it has plenty of cash on hand, so expect more acquisitions to come this year.

For now, Ele.me remains an independent company, although Alibaba executive vice chairman Joe Tsai has joined the company’s board. Tsai is part of the Magic Leap board after Alibaba led a recent investment in the billion-dollar augmented reality company.