NY Post : FTC recommends lawsuit to block $27B cigarette merger

The Federal Trade Commission staff is recommending a suit to block the $27 billion merger of the second- and third-biggest cigarette makers, Reynolds American and Lorillard, a well-placed DC source not working on the case said.
The five FTC commissioners can overrule staff, although that is not a common occurrence.
Regulators are scheduled to meet Tuesday on a merger vote that sources believe is the Reynolds case.
Reynolds owns the Camel, Pall Mall and Winston brands, and by combining with Lorillard, owner of Newport, Kent and True, the combined company would have roughly 45 percent of the market for smokers under 30 years old.
Reynolds in July when signing the agreement said it would sell the combined company’s Blu, Kool and the Salem brands to Imperial Tobacco, pending approval.
Lorillard shares fell 2.6 percent Monday, to $66.42.
The FTC declined comment. Lorillard did not return calls.

>>> Aer Lingus CEO steps up attempts to persuade unions to back takeover by IAG

Aer Lingus CEO steps up attempts to persuade unions to back takeover by IAG

Aer Lingus chief executive Stephen Kavanagh has renewed efforts to persuade Irish unions to back International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG)’s proposed takeover of the Irish national carrier, the Irish Independent reported. Kavanagh stressed that the deal would quickly create many more new jobs than would be lost.

Writing to the union Siptu, the CEO outlined the benefits he believes would be seen by both the company and its employees from significant growth opportunities arising from a sale of Aer Lingus to the Anglo-Spanish airline operator IAG. He also promised to back new binding contracts on workers’ pay and conditions, the report said, noting that this was an issue pressed by Ireland’s Labour politicians.

Owen Reidy, representing Siptu, described Kavanagh’s comments as “too vague”, the item reported.

Paschal Donohoe, the Irish Transport Minister, said IAG will meet with government officials today, 31 March, to discuss the potential sale of the state’s 25.1% stake in Aer Lingus. He said the discussions will continue to revolve around connectivity, access, jobs and company development.

Quoted in an Irish Examiner report, Donohoe said he expects the matter to be settled within a few weeks but declined to set a deadline for a government decision on the IAG bid.

An Irish Times poll showed that 54% of Irish people believe Aer Lingus should not be sold to IAG.


Source Irish Independent, Irish Examiner, Irish Times

WWD : Net-a-Porter, Yoox Confirm Merger

LONDON — Compagnie Financiere Richemont said it plans to merge its fashion e-commerce business Net-a-Porter Group with Yoox Group, confirming widespread market speculation.

Richemont said in a statement it has entered into a binding, conditional agreement for an all-share transaction that will create a global fashion e-commerce giant. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Natalie Massenet, founder and executive chairman of Net-a-Porter, will serve as executive chairman of the new entity while Federico Marchetti, founder of Yoox, will be chief executive officer of the combined entity, to be known as Yoox Net-a-Porter Group. It will be incorporated in Italy and quoted on the Italian stock exchange.

The agreement is conditional upon the approval of Yoox shareholders at a meeting to be held in June.

Richemont will hold 50 percent of the share capital of the new entity’s listed parent company, although its voting rights will be limited to 25 percent. Richemont said it has committed to a lock-up period of three years in respect of shares equivalent to 25 percent of the total share capital of the combined entity.

Following completion, the new group is expected to launch a capital increase of up to 200 million euros, or $217 million at current exchange, to fund future growth and allow for the entry of “strategic investors,” Richemont said.

Johann Rupert, chairman of Richemont said his luxury goods group “has been a pioneer in luxury e-commerce, first as a minority shareholder of Net-a-Porter in its infancy and then as a controlling shareholder since 2010. We are proud of Net-a-Porter’s achievements under the leadership of Natalie Massenet, ably assisted by a wonderful team of professionals.

“Established business models are being increasingly disrupted by the technological giants. It is with this in mind that we believe it is important to increase leadership and size to protect the uniqueness of the luxury industry. The merger of the two leaders will further enhance an independent, neutral platform for a sophisticated clientele looking for luxury brands,” he added.

The transaction should be completed in September after shareholder and regulatory approval. Richemont said the transaction would generate a one-off, non-cash, accounting gain in its financial statements for the year ending March 31, 2016, of approximately 317 million euros, or $344 million, at both the pre- and post- tax levels.

Excluding the one-off, non-cash accounting gain, the transaction is otherwise expected to be broadly earnings neutral in terms of Richemont’s net income for the financial year ending March 31, 2016, based on currently available information.

RTRS - Peugeot CEO will consider merger only after turnaround

MILAN, March 31 (Reuters) - French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen PEUP.PA will only be ready for a possible merger after it has completed its recovery plan, CEO Carlos Tavares told Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
"(Fiat Chrysler FCHA.MI boss) Sergio Marchionne is welcome every time he wants to speak to us but for us it's a little bit early now," Tavares said in an interview published on Tuesday.
"We need to finish our cure and recover our good health."
Media reports recently suggested Fiat Chrysler was talking to Peugeot and Volkswagen

(BFW) Conwert Worth at Least EU13.50/Shr, Proschofsky, Hohlbein Say

Conwert Worth at Least EU13.50/Shr, Proschofsky, Hohlbein Say
2015-03-31 06:21:00.112 GMT


By Alexander Weber
(Bloomberg) -- Alexander Proschofsky and Peter Hohlbein,
who were candidates for Conwert’s administrative board at last
year’s AGM, comment on Deutsche Wohnen’s offer in statement.
* Deutsche Wohnen’s EU11.50/shr offer “definitely too low”
* Conwert worth at least EU13.50/shr on a standalone basis
* Won’t recommend offer to shareholders
* “There is really no reason why the share price should not
either match or exceed the prices of peer group companies”
if the current work program, other measures are carried out
* NOTE: Proschofsky last year said he holds ~1.5% of Conwert
* NOTE: Conwert Declines to Reject Deutsche Wohnen Bid It
Calls Too Low


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To contact the reporter on this story:
Alexander Weber in Vienna at +43-1-513-2660-13 or
aweber45@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mariajose Vera at +49-89-244478-803 or
mvera1@bloomberg.net

>>> Evry interested in growth via acquisitions, eyeing Volvo IT

Evry interested in growth via acquisitions, eyeing Volvo IT

Evry, the Norwegian IT company, is interested in Volvo IT, according to Dagens Industri.

The Swedish business daily cited Evry's new CEO, Bjorn Ivroth, who said that the Norwegian company wished to take the role as market leader in the Nordic region and especially wishes to grow in Sweden where the company is currently the fourth largest player.

Ivroth said that Evry wishes to grow organically but also via smaller and larger acquisitions. He was unsure about Evry's spending capacity as yet but pointed out that the company's new PE owner Apax can help if the right opportunity comes along.

Ivroth also commented that Evry is very interested in the Swedish truck manufacturer Volvo's IT operations if they come up for sale, either the entire unit or parts of it.

The item noted that Apax offered NOK 4.3bn (EUR 496m) for Evry in December and the international PE firm has recently made a mandatory offer for the last remaining shares. The paper wrote that Evry reported 2014 sales of NOK 13bn (EUR 1.5bn).

Source Dagens Industri

>>> Veneto Banca attracts renewed interest from BPER

Veneto Banca attracts renewed interest from BPER 

Veneto Banca, the unlisted Italian cooperative bank, has attracted the attention of larger listed peer BPER, Il Messaggero reported. BPER is interested in expanding its presence in north-east Italy, the unsourced Italian- language daily reported.

BPER's hand could be strengthened by the fact that certain circles in Veneto Banca are against a merger with the most likely candidate Banca Popolare di Vicenza because it could lead to the closure of 20% of Veneto's branches in four of the provinces in which it operates, the report added.

Some in Veneto Banca would look favourably for a merger with Banco Popolare, the report further added.

Veneto Banca posted a EUR 968m loss in 2014, the report concluded.

Source Il Messaggero