TheChek News Flow

>>> Applied Materials : To end merger agreement with Tokyo Electron; to repurcha

To end merger agreement with Tokyo Electron; to repurchase $3B in stock (11.2% of market cap)

Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron Limited today announced that they have agreed to terminate their Business Combination Agreement (BCA). No termination fees will be payable by either party.

The decision came after the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) advised the parties that the coordinated remedy proposal submitted to all regulators would not be sufficient to replace the competition lost from the merger. Based on the DoJ's position, Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron have determined that there is no realistic prospect for the completion of the merger.

Applied Materials today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a new share repurchase program authorizing up to $3 billion in repurchases over the next three years beginning in the third quarter of fiscal 2015.

>>> Swedish Orphan Biovitrum confirms has received preliminary and conditional n

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum confirms has received preliminary and conditional non-binding proposal

The Board of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) notes the recent speculation in the press and elsewhere regarding a potential acquisition of the company.

The Board confirms that it has received a preliminary and conditional non-binding proposal in relation to a possible offer for all shares issued by the company.

There can be no certainty that an offer will be made, nor as to the terms of any such offer. A further announcement will be made when appropriate.

*TOKYO ELECTRON, APPLIED MATERIALS TO CANCEL MERGER

*APPLIED MATERIALS $3B SHR REPURCHASE AUTHORIZATION

>>> Genel may consider acquisitions (translated)

Genel may consider acquisitions

Genel Energy, the Turkish energy company, is interested in acquisitions, according to a report in Milliyet.

The company has been looking for opportunities to acquire, and has been actively holding talks with small and large businesses in the Kurdish region of Iraq, although it is not clear whether any will lead to a deal, the Turkish-language report noted citing Tony Hayward, Genel CEO, who said this earlier in the week.

Decreasing energy prices are affecting independent oil and gas companies with valuable energy assets, and there may be new mergers in the sector, the report noted, based on unidentified sources.

Genel Energy. has a cost of USD 2 per barrel of oil it produces in Iraq's Kurdish region, although it has been facing difficulties in claiming all its receivables in Northern Iraq, the report added.

Link to the original source.

Source Milliyet

>>> Altice S.A. announces that CEO has agreed to acquire additional shares in Al

Altice SA : Altice S.A. announces that CEO has agreed to acquire additional shares in Altice

Altice S.A. announces that CEO has agreed to acquire additional shares in Altice

April 26, 2015 - Altice S.A. ("Altice" Euronext: ATC) today announced that More ATC, an entity controlled by Altice's CEO Dexter Goei, has agreed to acquire 70,000 ordinary shares in Altice from Penta Limited. The Sale and Purchase Agreement was signed on April 25th and the transaction is expected to close by June 15, 2015.

>>> European Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 27th of April 2015

>>> Up

*BASHNEFT RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS

*DASSAULT SYSTEMES RAISED TO HOLD VS UNDERWEIGHT AT HSBC

*GAZPROM RAISED TO EQUALWEIGHT VS UNDERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS

*PALFINGER RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT DEUTSCHE BANK

*SPORTS DIRECT RAISED TO SECTOR PERFORM VS UNDERPERFORM AT RBC

*SUPERGROUP RAISED TO OUTPERFORM VS SECTOR PERFORM AT RBC

*VOLKSWAGEN RAISED FROM NEUTRAL TO BUY AT EVERVORE ISI, PT€300

>>> Down

*ALLIANZ CUT TO UNDERPERFORM VS HOLD AT JEFFERIES

*ALTEN CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT SOCGEN

*CAP GEMINI CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT SOCGEN

*GAZPROM NEFT CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS

*MAIL.RU CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS

*MUNICH RE CUT TO UNDERPERFORM VS HOLD AT JEFFERIES

*NOVATEK CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS

*PIRELLI CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT SOCGEN

*SEADRILL CUT TO SELL VS NEUTRAL AT CITI

*SURGUTNEFTEGAS CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS

*TATE & LYLE CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT UBS

>>> PT Change

>>> Initiation

*ALTICE RATED NEW EQUALWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS, PT EU90

>>> Call

>>> What to look at this week end & Today - 27th of April 2015

Upside momentum in China markets is being helped by more benign economic data. March industrial profits continued to fall but the YTD decline was less than in the first two months of the year. Comments from PBoC chief economist Ma were also more reassuring, suggesting China may eschew strong stimulus, as employment situation remains strong and economic restructuring has made positive progress. Late last week, China labor ministry put urban jobless rate in Q1 unchanged from Q4 around 4.1%. Also helping sentiment was the assistance offered by China Construction Bank to state owned the power-equipment maker Baoding Tianwei, which was unable to a make an interest payment of CNY85.5M after posting a large loss for 2014, marking the first onshore default by a China state firm in history...As Greek negotiators continue their work with European lenders, there is renewed chatter concerning the the possibility of Grexit when the current program expires at the end of June. Slovenia Fin Min Mramor raised the Plan B discussion, though his German counterpart hinted it would be extremely unexpected. The latest from Athens meanwhile saw over 70% of population leaning in favor of a debt agreement with EU and only 23% indicating they were prepared to leave the Eurozone. Greek PM Tsipras reportedly held more talks with Germanys Merkel over the weekend, and conversations will continue on Monday.

Nikkei -0.26% Hang Seng +1.46% Shanghai +2.24%

Eur$ 1.0871 RUB $50.5785 CHFEUR 0.9646 CHF 0.9536 GBP 1.5175 WTI $57.06 (-0.16%)

S&P +0.07% EuroStoxx +0.25% Dax +0.42% SMI +0.41%

Macro :

- U.S. Money Managers Less Optimistic, See 4Q Rate Hike: Barron’s

- Nepal Earthquake Kills Hundreds, Triggers Everest Avalanche

- According to a Greek press survey, over 70% of respondents are in favor of a deal agreement with EU creditors; Only 23% would support a split with EU

- *SPAIN GOVT WILL PREDICT ALMOST 3% GROWTH IN 2015, ABC REPORTS

- Greek PM Urged Merkel to Hold Emergency Summit This Week: Bild

Keep an eye on :

- ABE SM : oros Bids for EU250m of Cellnex Shares in IPO, Expansion Says (127,4mil shares price Range E12/E14) - Abertis selling

- AIR FP : Airbus’s Leahy Sees Strong A380 Demand From 2020: WSJ

- AER LN : Decision on €1.4bn takeover of Aer Lingus set to drag into May , meeting next tuesday

- AAPL US : iPhone 6s, Apple's next-generation iPhone, coming fall 2015 - MacRumors http://bit.ly/1b0UMgO

- ACS SM : ACS May Win EU4b Contract on Toronto Light Train: Cinco Dias

- ARI US : Ariad in talks to end proxy battle, CEO would retire,Sarissa Cap. will nominate 3 board members - Deal Reporter

- ATL IM : Atlantia close to sell minority(30 to 40%) stake in Aeroporti di Roma, Adia, Temasek cited as pot. buyers - Il Sole 24 Ore

- BA/ LN : FT : BAE Systems considers sale of US consultancy unit- FT http://bit.ly/1b0UMgO

- BAYN GY : Bayer hires Goldman Sachs to find buyer for Bayer Garten unit (Plant protection) Price Range (100/150mil for 220mil revenues) - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

- BP/ LN : U.K. Government Said to Tell BP It Would Oppose Any Takeover: FT

- CAP FP : Cap Gemini 1Q Rev. Rises 11%, Raises 2015 Rev. Goal; Buys IGATE

- CAP FP : Cap Gemini Buys IGATE for $48/Shr Cash

- CELLNEX IPO (SPAIN) : Soros Bids for EU250m of Cellnex Shares in IPO, Expansion Says (127,4mil shares price Range E12/E14) - Abertis selling

- DBK GY : Deutsche Bank 1Q Earnings Strong, Capital Weaker, Barclays Says

- EDF FP : EDF in Advanced Talks to Sell 25% of Energie Steiermark: WiBlatt

- GSZ FP : GDF Suez Seeking to Grow Spanish Wind Power Business: Expansion

- GE US : Reportedly Suntrust and Apollo among potential bidders for GE's sponsored finance unit

- HSBA LN : Mulling spinoff of UK Retail Banking bus. for £20n & Move of headquarters --> stock +5.8% in Hong Kong

- MS IM : Mediaset Premium was approached by Sky Italia, Al Jazeera mentioned http://reut.rs/1ECsua1

- MYL US : Teva seeks Mylan shareholder support for bid, sources say - Deal Reporter

- NOK1V FH : Nokia Says Has No Plans to Manufacture, Sell Consumer Handsets

- UG FP : Peugeot Family to Discuss Stake in Co. at June Meeting: Echos

- ROBERTO CAVALLI : Clessidra to Buy Roberto Cavalli Fashion Co. This Week: Corriere

- ROG VX : Roche Mulls Takeovers of Small, Medium-Sized Cos.: Sueddeutsche

- RSA LN : Cevian Capital May Vote Against RSA’s Remuneration Report: Sky

- RYA LN : Ryanair Prices to Fall by 10%-15% Over Next Two Years: CEO

- SSABA SS : SSAB 1Q Op. Profit Beats Est.; Sees Shipments Stable in 2Q

- SIK VX : Sika Founders File Complaint to Overturn Board Elections

- VOW3 GY : VW chair. Piech still planning to oust CEO Winterkorn; undermines position as chairman http://bit.ly/1I8QYHK

- VOW3 GY : Volkswagen Says Chairman Piech and Wife Resign From Posts

- VOW3 GY : Wolfgang Porsche Candidate to Become VW Chairman: Sueddeutsche

>>> Asian Update

Asian Mid-session Update: China rally intact as SOE in default secures relief

***Economic Data***

- (CN) CHINA MAR INDUSTRIAL PROFITS YTD Y/Y: -2.7% V -4.2% PRIOR; Y/Y: -0.4%

***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)***

- Nikkei225 flat, S&P/ASX +0.8%, Kospi -0.2%, Shanghai Composite +2.1%, Hang Seng +1.5%, Jun S&P500 flat at 2,112

***Commodities/Fixed Income***

- Jun gold +0.6% at $1,181/oz, Jun crude oil -0.1% at $57.09/brl, May copper +0.6% at $2.7635/lb

- USD/CNY: PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1220 v 6.1241 prior setting (strongest Yuan setting since Jan 16th)

- (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥375B in 1-3yr JGBs, ¥375B in 3-5yr JGBs ,and ¥400B in 5-10yr JGBs

***Market Focal Points/FX***

Upside momentum in China markets is being helped by more benign economic data. March industrial profits continued to fall but the YTD decline was less than in the first two months of the year. Comments from PBoC chief economist Ma were also more reassuring, suggesting China may eschew strong stimulus, as employment situation remains strong and economic restructuring has made positive progress. Late last week, China labor ministry put urban jobless rate in Q1 unchanged from Q4 around 4.1%. Also helping sentiment was the assistance offered by China Construction Bank to state owned the power-equipment maker Baoding Tianwei, which was unable to a make an interest payment of CNY85.5M after posting a large loss for 2014, marking the first onshore default by a China state firm in history. In the property sector, largest developer Vanke reported underwhelming Q1 results, as net profit slid to CNY629M v CNY1.53B y/y on sales of CNY8.89B v CNY9.50B y/y.

USD majors were largely contained to narrow ranges despite the resounding risk-on sentiment on the mainland. AUD/USD is consolidating last weeks gains, with the focus tomorrow falling on first RBA Gov Stevens comments since the release of Q1 CPI last week. AMP economist noted the testimony is particularly critical, since the fixed income market is nearly split on probability of another rate cut next month. Meanwhile, research from Moodys saw housing affordability in Australia remaining steady, though the top-tier locations of Sydney and Melbourne saw declines.

As Greek negotiators continue their work with European lenders, there is renewed chatter concerning the the possibility of Grexit when the current program expires at the end of June. Slovenia Fin Min Mramor raised the Plan B discussion, though his German counterpart hinted it would be extremely unexpected. The latest from Athens meanwhile saw over 70% of population leaning in favor of a debt agreement with EU and only 23% indicating they were prepared to leave the Eurozone. Greek PM Tsipras reportedly held more talks with Germanys Merkel over the weekend, and conversations will continue on Monday.

Overseas financials were also in the spotlight, as Deutsche Bank released its Q1 results over the weekend. Net profit fell to Net €1.9B v €2.3B y/y, but Revenue rose 24%. Decline in profitability was widely attributed to some allocated to litigation expense in Q1. CET1 ratio remained at 11.7% and provisions for loan loss fell to €218M v €246M y/y. Also in the banking sector, UK press reported HSBC is considering a large-scale £20B spinoff of its UK retail bank.

***Equities**

US equities / ADRs:

- HSBC: Said to be considering a £20B spinoff of its UK retail bank - UK press

- EBAY: CEO: Supports Google's antitrust defense in a probe by European Commission - FT

- PWRD: Enters into Definitive Agreement for Going Private Transaction at $20.20/shr (Friday closing price $18.52)

- MRVL: Guides Q1 lower R$710-740M v $825Me ($810-830M prior); cites weak PC and storage markets and lower emerging market demand

- INAP: Said to be urged to seek a buyer by holder RDG Capital - financial press

- DB: Reports Q1 Net €1.9B v €2.3B; Pretax profit €1.5B, -12% y/y; Rev €10.4B, +24% y/y; Announces next phase of strategy, including deconsolidating Postbank; to announce Q1 results on Sunday and hold call on Monday

Notable movers by sector:

- Financials: Bank of Chongqing 1963.HK +2.6% (Q1 results); China Vanke 2202.HK +0.3% (Q1 results); China CITIC Bank 998.HK -0.6% (Q1 results)

- Materials: Norton Gold Fields NGF.AU +18.0% (receives raised offer); PanAust PNA.AU +0.7% (board recommends reject of takeover offer; E&Y's assessment of fair value); BHP Billiton BHP.AU +0.9%, Rio Tinto RIO.AU +2.8% (iron ore futures moved higher)

- Energy: Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology 2208.HK +6.9% (Q1 results); China Shenhua Energy 1088.HK -0.9% (Q1 results)

- Industrials: BAIC Motor 1958.HK +2.0% (Q1 results); Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings 4188.JP +3.4% (speculation on FY14/15 results); Mitsubishi Motors 7211.JP -4.8% (FY14/15 results)

>>> What to look at thjs week end - 25th & 26th of April 2015

The March quarter earnings season hit its stride this week, and just about half of the S&P500 components have released quarterly results. Global indices remain at or near all-time highs: in Asia, a PBoC RRR cut helped neutralize fears of a Chinese selloff after last Friday's regulatory crackdown (although there was another round of similar fears regulators would be tightening the screws), while in the US a few rounds of strong earnings propelled the Nasdaq above its March 2000 all-time closing high and kept the S&P near its March all-time highs. In Europe, Greece missed another deadline to present its European partners with reforms to unlock funding, but equity and bond markets seem to be reacting much less severely to the story. Leading manufacturing indicators in Asia showed a difficult start for Q2, as advance PMIs for China and Japan saw significant deterioration. Beyond the unending Greek drama, Europe was looking slightly better, with a 10-month high in the Germany April IFO survey and another month of expansion in the preliminary Eurozone manufacturing PMI data. For the week, the DJIA added 1.4%, the S&P500 rose 1.7% and the Nasdaq surged 3.2%.

Macro :

- U.S. Money Managers Less Optimistic, See 4Q Rate Hike: Barron’s

- Nepal Earthquake Kills Hundreds, Triggers Everest Avalanche

- According to a Greek press survey, over 70% of respondents are in favor of a deal agreement with EU creditors; Only 23% would support a split with EU

Keep an eye on :