>>> Amaya rumoured to be still eyeing Bwin.Party

Amaya rumoured to be still eyeing Bwin.Party

Amaya Gaming Group of Canada is rumoured to be still interested in acquiring the London-listed gaming group Bwin.Party, The Evening Standard reported. The report noted that shares in Gibraltar-based Bwin lost 20% at the end of last week following reports that negotiations with prospective buyers including Amaya had ended.

The report also noted market speculation the UK-listed bookmaking group William Hill might be considering a bid for Bwin following this week’s rejection of its GBP 720m (USD 1.1bn) offer for rival gaming company 888. William Hill is believed to have considered a tilt at Bwin, which has a GBP 745m market cap, prior to opting for 888, the report said.

Evening Standard

>>> Telecom Italia attracts interest of private equity

Telecom Italia attracts interest of private equity 

Telecom Italia (TI), the listed telco, has attracted the interest of private equity, the Italian language daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported, citing market rumours.

The report said that Apax, Bain Capital, Blackstone and KKR are looking at the TI dossier on the advice of investment banks. The report added that all the PE firms looking at the dossier already specialise in investing in the telecoms sector.

The report said that there are as yet no negotiations on the matter.

The item noted that the PE firms are interested in TI because it is becoming a real public company with no controlling shareholder. However, the item noted that any investment by PE would have to take political factors into account, given that TI owns Italy's national telecommunications network.

TI has a market cap of 19.13bn
Il Sole 24 Ore

>>> What to look at today - 18th of February 2015

Dow+0,16% S&P+0,16% Nasdaq+0,11% Russell+0,16% VIX +7.56% ( 15.80)
Market closed slightly higher but in a very quiet session, no real optimism on Russia or Greece...Auto names were under pressure with F -1.2% & GM -1%...AMZN -1.7% also one of the big names underperforming..volume were light @ 763mil shares...US After Hours ENPH +14.1%, PBPB +11.8%, CPSS +7.6%, ZBB -25.3%, FOSL -13.4%, LAZ -8.55, RAX -4.6% following earnings/guidance...ATEA -13.2% to be trasnfered from Nasdaq to OTCQB...Bank of Japan policy decision contained few surprises, maintaining overall economic assessment of "moderate recovery trend" but also raising its assessment of output and exports as speculated earlier in local press. BOJ said both exports and output have been picking up, but also noted Y/Y rate of increase in CPI was now seen around 0.5% vs last month's view of "0.5-1.0% range". Moreover, BOJ removed the references to dissipating effects of decline in demand related to last April's consumption tax hike...Going into the non-monetary meeting of the ECB, financial press circulated rumors that Bundesbank's Weidmann will push against allowing any extra emergency lending to Greek banks via the ELA program. That facility was recently expanded to €65B from €60B, however the report noted that rising outflows late last week have already drained much of that liquidity from Greek banks. Weidmann's agenda will certainly be perceived as having political undertones, with the two sides remaining conflicted on whether the Greeks' next move will be the extension of the bailout demanded by Berlin, a "bridge loan" program favored by Athens, or (most likely) fall somewhere in the middle. EUR/USD was confined to a 20pip range in the Asia session, trading just above the $1.14 handle.
Nikkei +1.18% Hang Seng +0.19% Shanghai Closed

RUB $62.41 (-0.223) WTI $53.26 (-0.50%) EURCHF 1.0663

Eur$ 1.1395 S&P +0.04% EuroStoxx +0.67% Dax +0.35% SMI +0.45%

Macro :
- Greece Mulls Seeking 6-Month Extension Wednesday, Official Says
- ECB Faces Resistance to Extra Funds for Greece Banks: Reuters

Keep an eye on :
- AC FP : Accor 2014 Ebit, Div. Beats Ests., to Sell Zurich Hotel
- AENA SM : Carmignac, Capital, Morgan Stanley Invest in Aena: Expansion
- AERL LN : Aer Lingus Not Waving White Flag Endorsing IAG Bid: Kavanagh
- AREVA FP : Areva May Have Full-Year Loss of About EU4B, L’Opinion Reports
- BMW GY : Rolls-Royce to Introduce SUV, FT Says
- CARLB DC : Carlsberg CEO to Retire, 2014 Ebit Ex-Items Misses Ests., to Cut Capex, Russia/Ukraine to Pressure in 2015
- CLN VX : Clariant 4Q Ebitda Ex-Items CHF232m, Est. CHF237m
- COFA FP : Coface 2014 Rev. EU1.44b vs Est. EU1.46b
- ACA FP : Credit Agricole 4Q Net Beats Estimates, Cost of Risk Drops, Credit Agricole has €6b exposure sensitive to Oil price fall
- DLAR LN : Rumours of £757m bid from Oberthur or private equity group lift De La Rue shares
- AM FP : France Says in Advanced Talks to Sell Rafale Combat Jet to Qatar
- ENI IM : Eni 4Q Adj. Net EU464m vs Est. EU597m; Div. EU0.56/Share
- HEIA NA : Heineken Studying New Plant in Mexico: El Financiero
- IBE SM : Iberdrola to Propose Dividend of EU0.03/Shr in Cash
- ICA FP : Icade Full-Yr Net EU151.5m vs EU126.9m Y/y
- INGA NA : ING Boosts NN Group Offer to 52m Shrs, Cutting Stake to 55%
- KGX GY : Kion Says CEO Riske Sells EU4.95m of Shrs to Repay Loan
- LG FP : Lafarge FY Net Falls on Non-Cash Charge, Says Merger on Track, Sees More Favorable 2015 Economic Environment
- MMT FP : M6 Group 2014 Net EU123m vs Est. EU116m
- NXI FP : Nexity Full-Yr Adj. Net EU85.7m vs Est. EU90.4m
- UG FP : Peugeot Citroen 2014 Profit Misses Est.; Cash Target Accelerated
- UG FP : Peugeot May Sell Sochaux Soccer Team to Chinese Group: Echos
- PHIA NA : Philips Completes $1 Billion Acquisition of Volcano
- RSTA GY : RIB Software 4Q Sales Rise 79%; Adj. Pretax More Than Tripled
- SRP LN : Blackstone Said to Make Offer for Serco BPO Unit: Times of India
- TEC FP : Technip 4Q Ebitda Beats Ests., Keeps 2015 Targets; Div. EU2/Shr
- TOM NO : Tomra 4Q Ebita Nk266m vs Nk199m
- VIV FP : Vivendi Gets Offer for 20% Numericable-SFR Stake Worth EU3.9B

>>> Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 18th of February 2015

>>> Up
*HOMESERVE RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT CITI
*KERRY RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT GOODBODY, PT TO EU70 VS EU55
*MONTE PASCHI RAISED TO HOLD FROM SELL AT SOCIETE GENERALE
*PETRA DIAMONDS RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT BOFAML

>>> Down
*ATLAS COPCO CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT JEFFERIES
*FUCHS PETROLAB CUT TO SELL VS HOLD AT BANKHAUS LAMPE
*INTU PROPERTIES CUT TO UNDERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*KERING CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT UBS
*LPP CUT TO UNDERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN
*MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS CUT TO REDUCE VS HOLD AT NUMIS
*NEXANS CUT TO HOLD FROM BUY AT SOCIETE GENERALE
*SBERBANK CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*TSB CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT JEFFERIES
*WH SMITH CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS

>>> PT Change
*BARCO PT RAISED TO EU54 FROM EU51 AT ING; HOLD MAINTAINED

>>> Initiation
*NORBERT DENTRESSANGLE RATED NEW BUY AT BERENBERG, PT EU156
*ZOOPLA RATED NEW UNDERWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY, PT 160P

>>> Call
>> Stock
*REGUS ADDED TO CREDIT SUISSE SMID EUROPE FOCUS LIST

>>> Berkshire Hathaway discloses updated portfolio positions in 13F filing

Berkshire Hathaway discloses updated portfolio positions in 13F filing: New position in DE, QSR, FOXA; increased stake in PCP; closed position in XOM, COP, ESRX
Highlights from 2014 Q4 filing as compared to 2014 Q3 filing:
  • New positions in: DE (~7.6 mln shares) QSR (~8.4 mln), FOXA (~4.7 mln)
  • Increased positions in: PCP (to ~2.9 mln shares from ~2.1 mln shares)
  • Closed positions in: XOM (from ~41.1 mln shares), COP (from ~0.5 mln), ESRX (from ~0.4 mln)

>>> Paulson & Co discloses updated portfolio positions in 13F filing

Paulson & Co discloses updated portfolio positions in 13F filing: New position in SLXP, TL; increased stake in WLL, ACT; cut stake in MGM, VZ, PETM; closed position in ABBV, AET
Highlights from 2014 Q4 filing as compared to 2014 Q3 filing:
  • New positions in: SLXP (~5.8 mln shares) TLM (~70 mln)
  • Increased positions in: WLL (to ~13.5 mln shares from ~9.3 mln shares), ACT (to ~1.6 mln from ~1.1 mln)
  • Decreased positions in: MGM (to ~7 mln shares from ~22.5 mln shares), VZ (to ~0.5 mln from ~7.5 mln), PETM (to ~2 mln from ~4.2 mln)
  • Closed positions in: ABBV (from ~13 mln shares), AET (from ~7.8 mln), ATHL (from ~5.8 mln), VOD (from ~26.7 mln), RPRX (from ~1 mln), TAM (from ~3.8 mln)

>>> Jana Partners discloses updated portfolio positions in 13F filing

Jana Partners discloses updated portfolio positions in 13F filing: New position in CSC, GLNG, SCTY; increased stake in HTZ, VRX; cut stake in AIG, CHTR, ACT; closed position in AMGN, GRPN
Highlights from 2014 Q4 filing as compared to 2014 Q3 filing:
  • New positions in: CSC (~2.8 mln shares), GLNG (~3 mln), NCR (~12 mln), SCTY (~5.2 mln)
  • Increased positions in: HTZ (to ~38.3 mln shares from ~22.4 mln shares), VRX (to ~4.3 mln from ~1.3 mln)
  • Decreased positions in: AIG (to ~6.6 mln shares from ~11.7 mln shares), CHTR (to ~2.4 mln from ~3.6 mln), ACT (to ~1.7 mln from ~2.5 mln)
  • Closed positions in: AMGN (from ~2.8 mln shares), GRPN (from ~51.7 mln), SDRL (from ~4 mln), CSTM (from ~4.6 mln), CAM (from ~8.7 mln)

(BFW) Vivendi Gets Offer for 20% Numericable-SFR Stake Worth EU3.9B

BN 02/18 06:30 *VIVENDI SUPERVISORY BOARD TO MEET FEB 27, DECIDE ON ANY ACTION
BN 02/18 06:29 *VIVENDI BOARD TO EXAMINE OFFER IN COMING DAYS
BN 02/18 06:28 *VIVENDI GETS OFFER FOR 20% NUMERICABLE-SFR STAKE AT EU40/SHR
BFW 02/18 06:28 *VIVENDI GETS OFFER FOR 20% NUMERICABLE-SFR STAKE WORTH EU3.9B
BN 02/18 06:28 *VIVENDI GETS OFFER FOR 20% NUMERICABLE-SFR STAKE WORTH EU3.9B
BN 02/18 06:27 *VIVENDI: OFFER FOR 20% NUMERICABLE-SFR STAKE FROM NUMERICABLE
BFW 02/18 06:27 *VIVENDI GETS OFFER FOR NUMERICABLE SFR STAKE
BN 02/18 06:27 *VIVENDI GETS OFFER FOR NUMERICABLE SFR STAKE
Vivendi Gets Offer for 20% Numericable-SFR Stake Worth EU3.9B
2015-02-18 06:33:45.823 GMT


By Phil Serafino
(Bloomberg) -- Offer for stake is EU40 a share, Vivendi
says in e-mailed statement.
* Half of stake would be purchased by Numericable-SFR as part
of a share buyback program
* Other half would be purchased by Altice France, with payment
at the latest on April 7, 2016, at an annual interest rate
of 3.8% and with a first-demand bank guarantee
* Vivendi management to examine offer in coming days;
supervisory board, meeting Feb. 27, to decide on any action
to be taken.


Link to Company News:{VIV FP <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{NUM FP <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{ATC NA <Equity> CN <GO>}

For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: {FIRST<GO>}
First Word newswire: {NH BFW<GO>}

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Phil Serafino at +33-1-5530-6277 or
pserafino@bloomberg.net

>>> Asian Update

Asian Mid-session Update: BOJ raises assessment on Output and Exports; Bundesbank to push for cap in Greece ELA borrowing

***Economic Data***
- (AU) AUSTRALIA JAN WESTPAC LEADING INDEX M/M: 0.1% V 0.0% PRIOR
- (AU) Australia DEC Conference Board Leading index m/m: 0.4% v 0.1% prior (2nd consecutive increase)

***Index Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 +1.0%, S&P/ASX +0.9%, Kospi closed, Shanghai Composite closed, Hang Seng +0.1%, Mar S&P500 flat at 2,096

***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Apr gold -0.2% at $1,207/oz, Mar crude oil +0.2% at $53.35/brl, Mar Copper -0.4% at $2.57/lb
- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$800M in 3.25% bonds due 2025; Avg yield 2.6139%; Bid-to-cover: 2.94x

***Market Focal Points/FX***
- Australia's S&P/ASX index has topped 5,900, its highest level since May 2008, amid continued heavy dose of earnings down under. Woodside Petroleum - Australia's top oil producer - is up over 4% after reporting FY14 Revenue up 25%, production up 9%, and profits up over 40% all despite the recent freefall in crude prices. Woodside also affirmed its FY15 output forecast and lowered CapEx by 20% to $6.2B. High-profile M&A is also helping lift sentiment, as pension fund Japan Post announced plans to acquire Toll holdings for A$6.5B, a new 50% premium to yesterday's close, sending its shares up by over 45%. Australia economic data saw marginal improvements in rates of growth of Westpac Leading Index and Conference Board index. Westpac economist joined Morgan Stanley in expectation for RBA to follow up February's rate cut with another one in March, though the latter noted that the impact from monetary policy is becoming more marginal - sentiment similar to that of the latest RBA meeting minutes. RBA's Edwards also remarked it was difficult to determine when a pickup in investment might occur, while a note out of RBS warned Australia's sovereign rating is at risk if its budget report proves to be disappointing. AUD/USD was still slightly firmer, trading as high as $0.7830 or about 25pips from today's lows.

- Bank of Japan policy decision contained few surprises, maintaining overall economic assessment of "moderate recovery trend" but also raising its assessment of output and exports as speculated earlier in local press. BOJ said both exports and output have been picking up, but also noted Y/Y rate of increase in CPI was now seen around 0.5% vs last month's view of "0.5-1.0% range". Moreover, BOJ removed the references to dissipating effects of decline in demand related to last April's consumption tax hike. USD/JPY initially fell about 25pips below 118.90 but quickly recovered above 119.10 on mixed BOJ messages over economy and inflation. Earlier, PM Abe pledged to monitor govt spending to make sure Japan attains a more healthy fiscal state.

- Going into the non-monetary meeting of the ECB, financial press circulated rumors that Bundesbank's Weidmann will push against allowing any extra emergency lending to Greek banks via the ELA program. That facility was recently expanded to €65B from €60B, however the report noted that rising outflows late last week have already drained much of that liquidity from Greek banks. Weidmann's agenda will certainly be perceived as having political undertones, with the two sides remaining conflicted on whether the Greeks' next move will be the extension of the bailout demanded by Berlin, a "bridge loan" program favored by Athens, or (most likely) fall somewhere in the middle. EUR/USD was confined to a 20pip range in the Asia session, trading just above the $1.14 handle.

***Equities***
US markets:
- JACK: Reports Q1 $0.93 v $0.87e, R$468M v $460Me; +4.2% afterhours
- DVN: Reports Q4 $0.84 v $1.10e, R$6.00B v $4.20Be; +0.5% afterhours
- A: Reports Q1 $0.41 (adj) v $0.41e, R$1.03B v $1.03Be; +0.3% afterhours
- CF: Reports Q4 $4.82 v $5.04e, R$1.22B v $1.14Be; -0.9% afterhours
- FE: Reports Q4 $0.80 v $0.76e, R$3.50B v $4.29Be; -1.1% afterhours
- ADI: Reports Q1 $0.63 v $0.60e, R$772M v $760Me; -1.7% afterhours
- RAX: Reports Q4 $0.26 v $0.19e, R$472M v $474Me; -4.7% afterhours
- FOSL: Reports Q4 $3.00 v $3.10e, R$1.07B v $1.12Be; -13.0% afterhours
- PERY: Guides Q4 $0.01-0.04 v $0.43e, Rev $218M v $242Me; blames West Coast port disruption; -16.5% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: Bega Cheese BGA.AU -3.6% (H1 results); ARB Corp ARP.AU +4.4% (H1 results)
- Financials: Mizuho Financial Group 8411.JP +1.3% (to acquire stake in Philippines bank); Aveo Group AOG.AU +3.6% (H1 results); Insurance Australia IAG.AU -7.8% (H1 results); Ardent Leisure Group AAD.AU -13.7% (H1 results)
- Materials: Toll Holdings TOL.AU +46.7% (acquisition by Japan Post)
- Energy: Woodside Petroleum WPL.AU +4.2% (FY14 results); Sinopec 386.HK +4.7%, PetroChina 857.HK +3.1%, CNOOC 883.HK +2.7% (Chinese officials said to consider merge among petro-chemical companies)
- Industrials: Fletcher Building Limited FBU.NZ -5.0% (H1 results)