(Exane) Accor - a reassuring bet and a promising recomposition of ownership

ACCOR : a reassuring bet and a promising recomposition of ownership

Why revisiting the Accor case now ?
• The group will release its full-year accounts on 02/18/16
• The share has fallen 16% below the 12/08/15 €40.11 level on which was based the payment of the Fairmont transaction ,whose completion in Q2 will grant to QIA and Prince Alwaleed a combined 16.3% stake in Newco
• Jin Jiang -largest Chinese operator- has just disclosed a 6% stake ,in a move
- probably aimed at challenging the Accor-related ambitions of its rival Huazhu
- reflecting a tangible confidence over the AC price outlook
Why reassuring and promising ?
• In an unusual move by French standards ,CEO Bazin spent at 2014-end €4.25m to acquire 1.4m €42.00 calls exercisable at “Q4 2016 expiry”
• The ongoing capitalistic entry of 4 prestigious newcomers is bringing to the table of the group ,which used to be dominated by the “old guard” Colony-Eurazeo , a privileged network of international connections

>>> BMPS Announced complete Q4 ’15 results after mkt hours plus held a conferenc

BMPS Announced complete Q4 ’15 results after mkt hours plus held a conference call. (preliminary results had already been announced). During the conf call mgmt. focused on Asset quality and stated that expects NPE to decline in ’16 (from Euro 46.9 bn gross or Euro 24.2 bn net as of YE ’15) due to reduced inflows from performing loans to NPE, increase in recoveries, increase in cure rate and disposal’s of NPL’s. CEO Mr Viola added that BMPS is considering setting up a partnership with a specialized bad loan operator. Mgmt reiterated that deposit outflows had stabilised at the beginning of the year (no figs reported but Bloomberg reports comment’s that outflows mainly from corporates, wholesale with only a small %age from retail). Mgmt guided for a stable NII in ’16 and a return to profit. No comment ref M & A.

>>> Volkswagen will offer generous compensation packages for the roughly 600,000

Volkswagen will offer generous compensation packages for the roughly 600,000
U.S. owners of diesel vehicles that emit an illegal amount of emissions, the
head of its claims fund told a German paper. The German car maker has still not
decided whether vehicle owners will be offered cash, car buy-backs, repairs or
replacement cars, Kenneth Feinberg told Frankfurter Allgemeine
Sonntagszeitung.Volkswagen in December asked Feinberg -- who earlier headed the
compensation funds for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the BP. Deepwater Horizon
oil spill and General Motors' ignition switch crashes -- to create and
administer the program. On Friday Volkswagen postponed the publication of
financial results for 2015 and delayed its annual shareholders' meeting as it
struggles to put an exact price on its diesel emissions scandal. (Reuters)

(GS) Oil Services : Sector Raised to Neutral

Oil services in 2016: Focus on working capital, valuation

We expect cash outflows on working capital, risks to profit
In this report, we focus on working capital analysis, which we believe will
be the key theme for the oil services sector in 2016. As low oil prices lead
to negative free cash flow generation for oil producers, we believe oil
services companies will face delayed payments that they will largely have
to accept given the high competition for new orders created by a lack of
order intake in the industry. We expect a negative funding gap, mostly
driven by a build-up of receivables. We highlight Tenaris and Hunting as
having opportunities to destock, while we see working capital risks for
Petrofac, Wood Group, Aker Solutions, Fugro, PGS and CGG.

Valuation: Sector at trough EV/GCI; coverage view up to Neutral
We have long argued that in order to turn less bearish on the sector, we
would need to see it trading at trough EV/GCI – a point at which valuation
would reflect the fundamental shifts and structural deflation in the industry.
Following the ytd sell-off, we believe the sector is now trading at trough
EV/GCI, and thus raise our coverage view to Neutral from Cautious. We
move from an EV/EBITDA-based valuation to an EV/GCI framework and
update our estimates to reflect recent market trends.

Buy structural winners, sell deepwater/cash-squeezed companies
We view the sector’s current trough EV/GCI valuation as offering an
attractive entry point into industry leaders with strong balance sheets,
namely Technip and Tenaris, which we upgrade to Buy from Neutral. We
would avoid E&Cs that appear at risk of a build-up in receivables and therefore
an expanding funding gap, putting pressure on cash flow generation. We
downgrade Petrofac to Neutral from Buy on receivables build-up risks and a
more moderate outlook for order intake in the Middle East. We downgrade
Aker Solutions to Sell from Neutral as we expect increasing competition in
the subsea market in the absence of orders from integrated oils, and think
the risk of receivables build-up is also high. For the same reasons, we remain
Sell rated on Subsea 7. We also downgrade Wood Group to Sell (from
Neutral) and add it to our Conviction List, as we see risks of a material miss
vs. 2016 consensus expectations given indications of spending cuts from US
E&Ps and muted North Sea activity. In our view, the market overestimates the
company’s resilience in the current environment. We reiterate our CL-Buy on
Hunting based on the strong recovery we expect in 2017 in the US, to which
the company is geared. Hunting also screens as a potential M&A candidate.


>>> What to look at today - 8th of February 2016

Asia is treading water and volatility is lukewarm as China and other regional indices begin a week-long celebration of the Lunar New Year. Nikkei225 was down marginally early on even though USD/JPY was up some 60pips from opening lows above 117.30, testing the highs seen after the sound non-farm payrolls data out of the US on Friday. Toyota shares are weighing on the market after unimpressive results post-close on Friday. China is closed, the release of January foreign reserves data was closely watched by investors to gauge the extent to which PBoC was forced to prop up the Yuan. Although reserves fell for the 3rd straight month to a 3-year low, the decline of $99.5B was less than the record high $107.9B in Dec and should ease some worries. Mizuho economists said the smaller decline suggests that some capital outflow restrictions imposed in January worked while anticipating another benign figure in Feb. last week, Premier Li reiterated that China will not boost its economy via Yuan devaluation and is not at risk of a hard landing as long as it maintains its reform goals.

Nikkei +1.10% Hang Seng Closed Shanghai Closed

Eur$ 1.1139 CNH 6.5749 CNY 6.5743 JPY 117.46 GBP 1.4504 CHF 0.9939 RUB$ 76.93 WTI $31.19 (+0.97%)

S&P+0.43% EuroStoxx+0.49% DAx+0.65% SMI+0.17%

Macro :
- BOJ Could Decide on Additional Easing in March, JPMorgan Says
- Gulf Stocks Retreat From Highest Level in More Than Three Weeks
- Iran Seeks Payment for Oil Exports in Euros: Shana
- Russia Weighs Convertible Bonds for Privatization Deals: Finmin
- Iran Sees Oil Exports to Europe at 300,000 Barrels/Day: Shana
- China Willing to Negotiate W/ WTO Members on Steel Overcapacity
- China Jan. Retail Auto Sales Rise 13.5% on Year, PCA Says
- Italy Will Probably Consider Bank Measures on Wednesday: Stampa

Keep an eye on :
- ABG SM : Ericsson in Talks to Buy Abengoa’s Abentel Unit: Expansion
- AIR FP : Airbus to Perform First A321neo Flight With CFM Engines
- AF FP : Air France-KLM January Passengers Increase 3% to 6.4m
- ATC NA : CVC: NYC and New York State have continud to object to Altice's $10B takeover plan of Cablevision
- AAL LN : Anglo American rumoured to have made progress with potential Samancor stake sale - FT
- AZN LN : AstraZeneca Cancer Treatment Shows Promise in Study: FT
- CS FP : Axa Takes 8% Stake in Africa Internet for EU75m, Les Echos Says
- BMPS IM : Paschi Offers Considerable Upside Though Visibility Low: Exane
- BARC LN : Barclays urged to dispose of US investment bank - The Times
- BINCK NA : BinckBank 4Q Adjusted Profit Falls to EU11.6m vs EU12.7m, 2015 Adj Profit Up, Has Had a Slow Start in January
- BWO NO : BW Offshore 4Q Net Loss $235m Due to Impairments
- CO FP : TCC Said to Buy Groupe Casino’s Big C Stake for $3.46b: WSJ
- CO FP : Casino Expects to Meet or Exceed Debt-Reduction Target, CFO Says
- CSGN VX : Credit Suisse CEO to Take Substantial Bonus Cut: SonntagsZeitung
- ERICB SS : Ericsson shareholder Industrivarden could sell its stake (15.2%)- Dagens Industri
- GBF GY : Bilfinger Sells Water Technology Business to Chengdu Techcent
- GPRO US : GoPro, Microsoft Sign Licensing Pact; GoPro Gains Post-Mkt --> +6.42% in after hours
- GSK LN : GlaxoSmithKline Investors Divided Over Break-Up Calls: Telegraph
- BMPS IM : Paschi Considering Actions to Speed Recovery, Sale of Bad Loans
- BT/A LN : BT Group Finance Chief Chanmugam Said to Retire This Year: Sky
- EZJ LN : EasyJet Investors Reject Founder’s Call to Boost Div: Telegraph
- KGX GY : Kion Agrees to Buy Retrotech from Savoye
- NOVN VX : Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation Gets Orphan Status
- OPERA NO : Opera Software could be takeover target for Qihoo - Dagens Naeringsliv, Finansavisen
- PAL AV : Palfinger has shortlist of potential takeover targets; talks ongoing - OOeNachrichten
- RR/ LN : Rolls-Royce Planning to Cut Dividend, Sunday Times Reports
- SIE GY : Siemens to Cut Jobs in Process, Drive Technology: Handelsblatt
- SYNN VX : ChemChina Won’t Restructure Syngenta HQ for Five Years: SamS
- TKA AV : Telekom Austria could be fully privatised without infrastructure
- VOLVB SS : Volvo CEO not planning disposals
- VNA GY : Vonovia CEO Says Deutsche Wohnen to Remain Listed Company: FAZ
- VOW3 GY : Volkswagen Delayed Earnings Report May Come in Late April: Bild
- VOW3 GY : VW Trucks Chief Open to IPO, Acquisitions in Expansion Strategy

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & DOwngrades - 7th of February 201

>>> Up
*IBERDROLA RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS UNDERPERFORM AT MEDIOBANCA
*MUNICH RE RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS UNDERPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE
*OHL RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*ORION OYJ RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS SELL AT GOLDMAN
*TECHNIP RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN
*TELECOM ITALIA RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS UNDERPERFORM AT MACQUARIE
*TENARIS RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN (Note Atatched)
*VINCI RAISED TO BUY AT HSBC


>>> Down
*AKER SOLUTIONS CUT TO SELL VS NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN
*AMADEUS CUT TO SELL VS NEUTRAL AT CITI
*AMEC CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT NOMURA
*ARCELORMITTAL CUT TO SELL VS REDUCE AT ALPHAVALUE
*ASTRAZENECA CUT TO HOLD AT HSBC
*FUGRO CUT TO REDUCE VS NEUTRAL AT NOMURA
*GIVAUDAN CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT GOLDMAN
*INMARSAT CUT TO UNDERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*JM CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT KEPLER CHEUVREUX
*NESTE CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*PETROFAC CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT GOLDMAN
*SSAB CUT TO REDUCE VS ADD AT ALPHAVALUE
*WOOD GROUP CUT TO SELL, ADDED TO CONVICTION SELL LIST: GOLDMAN

>>> PT Change


>>> Initiation
*EIFFAGE RATED NEW OUTPERFORM AT MEDIOBANCA; PT EU75
*VINCI RATED NEW NEUTRAL AT MEDIOBANCA; PT EU68

>>> Call
>> Sector
*EUROPE OIL SERVICES SECTOR RAISED TO NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN (Note attached)

Les Echos : Un changement de réglementation boosterait les titres TF1 et M6

Un changement de réglementation boosterait les titres TF1 et M6


Une remise à plat des relations producteurs-diffuseurs pourrait doper les deux cours, décotés de 30% par rapport au secteur européen

Si les grandes chaînes de télévision se battent tant pour une refonte des relations producteurs/diffuseurs, c’est parce qu’elles ont beaucoup à y gagner. Y compris en termes boursiers. C’est en partie à cause de la réglementation, au cœur de l’actualité avec les très contestés amendements du sénateur Leleux, que TF1 et M6 font partie des mauvais élèves de la classe européenne dans le secteur des médias.

Les deux chaînes affichent en effet une décote marquée face à leurs pairs. Selon les calculs de Mainfirst, prenant en compte trois indicateurs - le multiple cours/bénéfices, la valeur d’entreprise (capitalisation et dette) rapportée à l’Ebit (grosso modo le résultat opérationnel) et la valeur d’entreprise rapportée au chiffre d’affaires -, ces deux groupes sont décotés de presque 30 % face au secteur européen.

Une rentabilité inférieure à bon nombre de concurrents
Il faut dire que ces deux groupes ont une rentabilité inférieure à bon nombre de leurs concurrents. La marge opérationnelle est attendue autour de 7 % pour TF1 et 16 % pour M6 en 2016, selon les calculs de Mainfirst, à comparer avec... une médiane autour de 20 % pour le segment européen.

« Les chaînes sont handicapées par rapport à leurs homologues européennes : elles ont l’obligation d’investir en production, mais ne détiennent qu’une part limitée des droits, souligne Jean-Baptiste Sergeant, analyste chez Mainfirst. En outre, le fait qu’elles ne puissent pas détenir plus de 15 % d’un producteur si ce dernier veut rester considéré comme indépendant limite l’intégration verticale. Si cela changeait, ce serait un net coup de pouce pour leur valorisation ».

Contexte publicitaire atone
Natixis estimait en 2014 que l’introduction des parts de coproduction et l’augmentation à environ 40 % (contre 26 % aujourd’hui) de la part « dépendante » de TF1, le quota qui lui permet de produire en interne ou dans des conditions plus favorables, pouvait générer 50 millions d’euros d’Ebit supplémentaire à horizon 2018. « L’ordre de grandeur est toujours le même aujourd’hui, précise l’analyste Jérôme Bodin. Un changement encouragerait les diffuseurs à investir dans la production plutôt que de conserver des liquidités au bilan. Cela conduirait à une dynamique créatrice de valeur pour l’ensemble de l’industrie ».

Mais ce n’est pas la seule raison du retard des groupes français, loin de là. Les analystes pointent aussi du doigt le contexte publicitaire relativement atone en France, la forte concurrence, ou encore des stratégies pas forcément en ligne avec ce que voudraient les investisseurs.

Trop faible diversification dans le digital
En particulier sur la diversification des chaînes dans le digital : le chiffre d’affaires numérique ne représente que 7 % des revenus de M6 et environ 4 % de TF1... contre plus de 20 % pour Prosieben en Allemagne, relève Jean-Baptiste Sergeant. Or, « le digital apporte plus de croissance et est mieux valorisé par le marché », explique-t-il. En outre, TF1 en particulier, et M6 dans une moindre mesure, disposent d’une trésorerie pléthorique. Près de 600 millions d’euros pour la première chaîne. « Or, le cash n’est pas très apprécié par la Bourse », rappelle-t-il.

Toutefois, rien n’est figé. « C’est une industrie qui, compte tenu de coûts fixes importants, présente un important effet de levier. Une reprise du marché publicitaire, un changement de réglementation pourraient permettre d’avoir un net effet sur la marge », conclut Alexandre Koller, analyste chez Gilbert Dupont.

WSJ Altice : New York City Still Down on Cablevision Deal


New York City Still Down on Cablevision Deal

The city submitted its complaints regarding Altice’s takeover to state regulators

New York City is dialing up its negative rhetoric about Altice NV’s planned purchase of Cablevision Systems Corp.
The city spelled out its specific complaints in a Friday filing with the state’s regulator the New York Public Service Commission, saying it has “serious concern” about the $10 billion deal and that it raises “key public interest questions.” While the filing details its concerns, New York City won’t make a formal decision on the deal until early spring, one city official said.

The city and the companies have been in a dispute over whether the city has authority to approve or block the deal. The Mayor’s office thinks it does, but Altice and Cablevision disagree. The deal has sparked the city’s interest, in particular, because Cablevision’s 3.1 million customers are concentrated in the greater New York market.

City officials also accused Altice of not cooperating fully, saying the European telecom operator has “improperly failed to produce information requested by the City to inform its analysis.”

A spokesman for Altice, on the other hand, said the company “remains actively engaged in the regulatory process, which is well underway in all regions and proceeding as we anticipated.”

Among its concerns, the city says Altice hasn’t explained how it can keep investing in Cablevision’s network and deliver fiber-to-the-home Internet service if it plans to achieve its stated goal of $900 million in cost savings through the deal. Such significant cost savings also raise questions about the impact of the deal on customer service and jobs, the city said.

Local authorities have a history of playing hardball with cable companies in a bid to extract concessions. The increasing importance of broadband—both as a populist political issue and as a vital service to attract businesses—has raised the stakes.

The city proposed a number of concessions in the filing, including that Altice should offer a 30 megabits-per-second, $10-a-month broadband plan for low-income families. It said the plan should exceed no more than $14.99 a month once installation and modem costs are included.

City officials would also like Altice to commit to keeping “non-executive suite” jobs for a minimum of four years.

Altice said its proposed deal will already deliver a number of public interest benefits. At the state regulator’s hearings in recent weeks, Charles Stewart, co-president and chief financial officer of Altice U.S., has outlined plans to boost investment in improving network speeds and reliability, add innovative products and make bills simpler for customers.

“New York will serve as our hub as we grow our business in the United States,” he said.

New York City has yet to be convinced. It said Altice’s claims that the city doesn’t have approval power is “an attempt by the company to evade the exercise of lawful authority” and “does not bode well for the company’s future engagement with state and local authorities.”

New York state is set to make a decision on the deal by April 29. On Friday, the state regulator’s staff submitted initial comments to the Public Service Commission saying that the companies have failed thus far to prove their deal is in the public interest and that they must agree to a number of conditions to win approval.

“The unmitigated risks of this transaction are real and potentially substantial,” the staff wrote.

Their concerns mirrored many of New York City’s, including that Altice’s debt burden from swallowing Cablevision would result in scant investment for customer service and fast broadband. “While Altice promises that its global reach will enable more investment at the Cablevision level, Staff believes that the increased leverage, negative credit outlook” and cost savings goals may have the opposite effect, the staff wrote.

To be sure, the staff had a similarly dire-sounding preliminary analysis of Charter Communications Inc.’s pending deal to acquire Time Warner Cable. But, in January, the New York state regulator approved Charter’s deal with a number of conditions such as low-cost broadband and a “most-favored state” clause to make sure New York customers get the best deal that Charter might strike with another state.

Altice has said it expects the Cablevision deal to close in the first half of 2016.

On Friday, Cablevision’s shares closed at $31.68, about 9.2% below the all-cash takeover price from Altice of $34.90 a share.

>>> Asian Update

Asian Market Update: China FX reserves fall to 3-year lows, though decline is less than feared; North Korea irks western world with the launch of long-range rocket

***Economic Data***
- (CN) CHINA JAN FOREIGN RESERVES: $3.23 V $3.21TE; 3rd month of decline; Lowest in over 3 years
- (JP) JAPAN DEC LABOR CASH EARNINGS Y/Y: 0.1% V 0.7%E; REAL EARNINGS (EX-INFLATION) Y/Y: -0.1% V -0.4% PRIOR
- (JP) JAPAN JAN BANK LENDING (INCL TRUSTS) Y/Y: 2.3% V 2.2% PRIOR; BANK LENDING (EX- TRUSTS) Y/Y: 2.4% V 2.2%E
- (JP) JAPAN DEC CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE: ¥961B V ¥1.05TE; ADJUSTED CURRENT ACCOUNT: ¥1.64T V ¥1.59TE; TRADE BALANCE: ¥188.7B V +¥305BE
- (AU) AUSTRALIA JAN ANZ JOB ADVERTISEMENTS M/M: +1.0% V -0.1% PRIOR
- (HK) Macau China visitors 58.8K, +2.6% y/y, Hong Kong China visitor 62.8K on Feb 7th

***Index Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 -0.2%, S&P/ASX -0.2%, Kospi closed, Shanghai Composite closed, Hang Seng closed, Mar S&P500 +0.2% at 1,878

***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Apr gold -0.2% at $1,166/oz, Mar crude oil flat at $30.98/brl, Mar copper -0.4% at $2.09/lb
- (CN) China Dec oil demand fell 0.8% y/y to 11.35M bpd; 2015 oil demand in the country expanded by 5.8% - Platts
- (SA) Saudi Oil Minister al-Naimi met with Venezuela minister on Sunday; No announcement of plans of any production cuts - financial press
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings rise 4.9 tonnes to 698.5 tonnes; highest since Oct 15th; 5th straight increase
- (CN) PBoC injected CNY110B in 14-day reverse repos; Offer yield at 2.40%, unchanged from prior
- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$500M in 2029 Bonds; avg yield: 2.829%; bid-to-cover: 2.95x

***Market Focal Points/FX***
- Asia is treading water and volatility is lukewarm as China and other regional indices begin a week-long celebration of the Lunar New Year. Nikkei225 was down marginally early on even though USD/JPY was up some 60pips from opening lows above 117.30, testing the highs seen after the sound non-farm payrolls data out of the US on Friday. Toyota shares are weighing on the market after unimpressive results post-close on Friday. In other USD majors, AUD/USD rose about 40pips above 0.71 and NZD/USD also up about 40pips above 0.6640, reversing some of the broader USD strength on Friday's jobs numbers.

- Although China is closed, the release of January foreign reserves data was closely watched by investors to gauge the extent to which PBoC was forced to prop up the Yuan. Although reserves fell for the 3rd straight month to a 3-year low, the decline of $99.5B was less than the record high $107.9B in Dec and should ease some worries. Mizuho economists said the smaller decline suggests that some capital outflow restrictions imposed in January worked while anticipating another benign figure in Feb, while IHS said "the rapid pace of depletion in recent months is simply unsustainable" forcing PBoC to eventually capitulate. Note that late last week, Premier Li reiterated that China will not boost its economy via Yuan devaluation and is not at risk of a hard landing as long as it maintains its reform goals.

- North Korea was also in the headlines over the weekend after snubbing international calls for restraint with a launch of a long-range rocket claimed to take a satellite into orbit. Initial reports over success of the launch were mixed, however South Korea military subsequently acknowledged that North Korea has probably put an object in orbit. UN Security Council convened a meeting about the launch on Sunday in New York condemning the move and may now seek to expand its sanctions on Pyongyang. South Korea and US defense officials also announced they would meet to discuss deploying a US missile defense system on Korean peninsula amid growing threat from the North, which has already been opposed by China foreign ministry. Saber-rattling on the peninsula continued on Monday when a North Korea patrol boat has intruded on the border with the South and retreated after warning shots were fired by the South.

- Japan economic data were largely mixed, with better than expected bank credit in January and soft headline wage inflation growth. Current account data for January were largely in line, though balance of payments trade was a bit soft. BOJ posted its January board meeting opinion summary when it introduced negative rates, noting the need to reinforce QQE objectives and also disclose its available options for further easing in the future while implementing additional measures so as to sustain credibility. The central bank maintains there is plenty of room for pursuing additional easing, even though analysts question its impact on the health of the JGB market. A report in The Economist this weekened also reflected on the issue, profiling the limits of negative rates as consumers find ways to keep cash out of the banks, thereby damaging the overall financial sector.

***Equities***
US equities / ADRs:
- NFLX: Media insider speculating Kevin Spacey may leave "House of Cards" as his character may be killed off in Season 4 - NY Post
- CVC: NYC and New York State have continud to object to Altice's $10B takeover plan of Cablevision - financial press
- F: Said to plan to build a new assembly plant in Mexico; Expansion cost estimated at over $1B - financial press

Asia movers on news:
- ANN.AU: Reports H1 Net $69.6M v $87.7M y/y; Rev $784.8M v $847.3M y/y; +6.4%
- BRS.AU: Guides FY16 underlying EBITDA $280-300M; Guides initial FY17 underlying EBITDA excess of A$300M; +3.7%
- JBH.AU: Reports H1 Net A$95.2M v A$88.5M y/y; Rev A$2.12B v $1.97B y/y; -0.2%
- ANZ.AU: ASIC said to be preparing a rate-rigging case against ANZ - Australian press; -2.0%
- TM: Reports Q3 Net ¥628B v ¥615.5Be, Op Profit ¥722.3B v ¥780Be, Rev ¥7.34T v ¥7.27Te; Announces share buyback of 0.74%; -2.5%
- Olympus 7733.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥42.85B v ¥31.93B y/y, Op Profit ¥73.67B v ¥62.07B y/y, Rev ¥592.94B v ¥550.02B y/y; -6.0%
- RWH.AU: Reports H1 Net A$4.7M, -26% y/y; Names Neil Littlewood as CEO, Effective July 1st; -6.7%
- OFX.AU: Terminates talks with Western Union; Cuts FY16 underlying EBITDA A$35-37M (prior A$38.5-40.5M); -39.8%

>>> Ericsson shareholder Industrivarden could sell its stake - Dagens Industri

Ericsson shareholder Industrivarden could sell its stake - Dagens Industri

Industrivarden [STO: INDU-A], the Swedish investment company, could sell its stake in the Swedish telco, Ericsson [STO: ERIC-B], according to Dagens Industri.

This comes after Industrivarden's managing director, Helena Stjernholm, announced via the company's annual report that Industrivarden will have "less patience with low-performing investments".

The Swedish business daily speculated that it is likely Industrivarden will conduct a larger sale this year as it will need the extra capital to acquire new portfolio companies. The paper wrote further that Industrivarden will probably have to participate in a new share issue by the Swedish steel company, SBAB, which will likely cost the investment company over SEK 1bn (EUR 106m).

The item noted the most likely sale candidate is the Swedish telecom giant, Ericsson, which would bring Industrivarden SEK 6.3bn (EUR 666m). It added Industrivarden's chairman, Fredrik Lundberg, has expressed "skepticism" towards Ericsson.

Ericsson's website noted Industrivarden is the company's second largest shareholder in terms of votes with a stake of 15.2%.

Dagens Industri