(BFW) Rocket Internet Prices IPO at EU42.50/Shr, Top of Range

MORE: Rocket Internet Prices IPO at EU42.50/Shr, Top of Range
2014-10-01 17:57:07.572 GMT


By Jim Silver
Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Rocket sells 32.9m new shrs;
overallotment 4.94m shrs, co. says in statement.
* IPO price gives co. market value ~EU6.7b, co. says
* Offering received >10x demand at top end of price range, co.
says
* IPO to raise gross proceeds EU1.4b for co., EU1.6b if
greenshoe option fully exercised, co. says
* Offering represents 21.5% stake, or 24% stake if greenshoe
fully exercised, Rocket says
* No existing shareholders sold any shrs in the IPO
* Rocket committed to six-month lockup period
* NOTE: Rocket to debut on Frankfurt stock exchange tomorrow
* NOTE: Last week, co. almost doubled its target for proceeds
to EU1.4b, advanced date of listing after winning
commitments to buy shrs from JPMorgan Chase, Scotland’s
Baillie Gifford
* NOTE: Berenberg Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley
arranged sale; Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch, Citigroup,
UBS joint bookrunners


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--With assistance from Aaron Kirchfeld and Ruth David in London.


To contact the reporter on this story:
Jim Silver in New York at +1-212-617-7342 or
jsilver@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Andrea Snyder at +1-202-624-1831 or
asnyder5@bloomberg.net

Reuters - ENI - Large part of Eni's Nigerian oil deal cash went on bribes -Itali

Large part of Eni's Nigerian oil deal cash went on bribes -Italian prosecutors {http://bit.ly/Zsq9fk}
Wed Oct 1, 2014 6:00pm GMT Print | Single Page [-] Text [+]
* Half of $1.1 bln paid for oil field went on bribes-prosecutors

* Case relates to Eni's 2011 purchase of OPL 245 offshore field

* Eni's former and current CEO under investigation in the case

* Eni executives and company deny wrongdoing

By Emilio Parodi and Oleg Vukmanovic

MILAN, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors investigating state-backed firm Eni SpA over the purchase of a Nigerian oil field three years ago allege that at least half of the $1.1 billion paid was used to bribe local politicians, intermediaries and others, according to official documents and a person close to the investigation.

The Milan prosecutors have placed the Italian oil company, its former chief executive Paolo Scaroni and current CEO Claudio Descalzi under investigation for alleged international corruption surrounding the deal for the OPL 245 offshore oil field concession.

Eni and both managers, neither of whom have been charged, have denied any wrongdoing.

Calling on their UK counterpart to assist in freezing suspect assets, Italian prosecutors said in a letter to the UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) seen by Reuters that at least $533 million was paid to Nigerian officials and intermediaries who helped secure the sale.

The case has been a setback for the government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, because Italy's 39-year-old leader hand-picked company veteran Descalzi to run Eni as part of a recent management overhaul at the country's state-controlled companies. Renzi has publicly supported Descalzi and said no conclusions should be drawn before the investigation is completed.

Eni and Royal Dutch Shell, which is not under investigation, bought the rights to the OPL 245 offshore oil licence block from the Nigerian government in 2011.

Production from the deepwater oil field is expected to begin in 2016 with the field estimated to hold up to 9.23 billion barrels of crude, equivalent to nearly a quarter of the country's total proven reserves, according to industry figures.

An aide to Renzi told Reuters the case involving Eni, which is Italy's biggest company by market capitalisation and the state's biggest asset, was "not a big cause for concern at the moment."

As part of their investigation, the Italian prosecutors in May asked the UK's CPS to freeze $85 million in assets related to a Nigerian company, Malabu Oil & Gas, that prosecutors say was involved in the sale, according to a copy of the official request sent by the Milan investigators and seen by Reuters.

ARMOURED CARS

In the letter, the Italian prosecutors alleged that Scaroni and Descalzi oversaw the payments to parties who helped secure the sale. In a second letter they alleged that some of the ultimate recipients of alleged bribes used the money to buy aircraft and armoured cars.

"We are investigating many money transfers to many people in various countries who received sums that vary from millions of dollars to thousands of dollars," the prosecutors said in the follow-up letter, seen by Reuters.

In response to the requests London's Southwark Crown Court last month granted an order to seize the $85 million in assets related to Malabu, according to a judicial source.

London's Metropolitan Police has also been investigating aspects of the Nigerian deal since last year. A police spokesman said the inquiry into allegations of money laundering is continuing.

Descalzi and Scaroni, in statements and through their lawyers, denied that they were involved in any illegal behaviour. Descalzi also told Eni employees in an email seen by Reuters that he had not engaged in any wrongdoing.

After a board meeting last week Eni also reiterated that the company had not engaged in any wrongdoing and that it had "full confidence that Descalzi had acted properly."

OWNERSHIP DISPUTE

The OPL 245 block licence has long been the subject of dispute. It was first awarded a decade ago by military dictator Sani Abacha to Malabu Oil & Gas for a publicly-stated $20 million.

After the death of Abacha, a new Nigerian government annulled the deal. Malabu's licence was reinstated in 2006.

Reuters was not able to locate Malabu for comment, and it is unclear whether the company still exists.

Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, a government agency, did not reply to questions sent by Reuters asking about the investigation by Italian prosecutors.

Shell, which is not under investigation in any case, released a statement saying: "Shell companies have acted at all times in accordance with both Nigerian law and the terms of the OPL 245 resolution agreement with."

(ZH) Goldman Global Leading Indicator Drastically Revised, Collapses Into "C

Goldman Global Leading Indicator Drastically Revised, Collapses Into "Confirmed Slowdown"

Just 2 short weeks ago, Goldman nervously admitted that possibly perhaps maybe their Global Leading Indicator was indicating a "slowdown" was coming, but remained hopeful that the rest of the month would see data pick up and prove them wrong. Now that the final data has been released for the various components of the index, the 'exuberant' recovery of the last few months has been massively revised lower. As Goldman itself notes, the September Final GLI came in at 2.6% YoY, providing a clear signal of "Slowdown", with the data now in hand further suggesting that the GLI first may haveentered the ‘Slowdown’ phase back in July.

 

Via Goldman Sachs,
The September Final GLI came in at 2.6%yoy, a decline relative to the August reading. Momentum decreased to 0.15%mom relative to last month’s reading of 0.29%. Although the degree of deceleration remains quite modest, theSeptember GLI print provides a clear signal of ‘Slowdown’, with the data now in hand further suggesting that the GLI first may have entered the ‘Slowdown’ phase back in July.
This comes after an initial August reading that still placed the GLI in ‘Expansion’, but very close to Slowdown, and after both the September and August Advanced GLI readings placed the cycle in the ‘Slowdown’ phase.

 

Red arrows show the revisions from last month...

 

Components mixed
Six of the ten underlying components of the GLI worsened in September. Three of last month’s four improving components came in softer.
The September Final GLI places the global industrial cycle in the ‘Slowdown’ phase, which is defined by positive but decreasing momentum. This may be driven by some data coming in lower after fairly high prints in previous months, such as the Global PMI and NOIN. Along with the Advanced GLI readings in August and September, which located the GLI in ‘Slowdown’, this Final GLI reading comes in a broader context of stable and compressed growth, where small changes may lead to shifts in cycle phases.

>>> US Options

Bullish Call Activity:

* MCHP Oct 48 and 47 calls are seeing interest. The MCHP Oct 48 calls (volume: 2890, open int: 3720, implied vol: ~26%, prev day implied vol: 20%) and MCHP Oct 47 calls (volume: 1420, open int: 370, implied vol: ~24%, prev day implied vol: 21%)  -- co is expected to report earnings late October. * BWA Oct 55 calls are seeing interest with relative strength in the underlying stock -- rebounding off multi-month lows (volume: 3010, open int: 220, implied vol: ~27%, prev day implied vol: 21%)  -- co is confirmed to report earnings Oct 30 before the open  Co also scheduled to present two times in November (all events outside Oct expiration).  * PTEN call activity is picking up again (second consecutive day).  Today, the Oct 34 calls are seeing interest (volume: 6150, open int: 610, implied vol: ~39%, prev day implied vol: 35%)   -- co is confirmed to report earnings Oct 23 before the open. * MMYT Nov 25 calls are seeing interest with the stock down 6% on the day (volume: 2700, open int: 50, implied vol: ~59%, prev day implied vol: 55%)  -- co is expected to report earnings late October. * TXRH Dec 30 calls (volume: 2740, open int: 550, implied vol: ~25%, prev day implied vol: 22%) -- co is expected to report earnings late October. * COF Oct 82.5 calls are seeing interest following Canada Costco news (volume: 2030, open int: 3830, implied vol: ~24%, prev day implied vol: 22%)  -- co is confirmed to report earnings Oct 16 after the close (reports monthly metrics Oct 15 before the open).

Bearish Put Activity:

* ARUN Oct 21 puts (volume: 2060, open int: 710, implied vol: ~41%, prev day implied vol: 38%)  -- co is expected to report earnings late November.

(ZH) How Bad Could It Get? US Government Order Of 160,000 HazMat Suits Gives A C

{http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lakeland-industries-announces-global-availability-of-hazmat-suits-for-ebola-274892141.html}

How Bad Could It Get? US Government Order Of 160,000 HazMat Suits Gives A Clue

Now that Ebola is officially in the US on an uncontrolled basis, the two questions on everyone's lips are i) who will get sick next and ii) how bad could it get?
We don't know the answer to question #1 just yet, but when it comes to the second one, a press release three weeks ago from Lakeland Industries, a manufacturer and seller of a "comprehensive line of safety garments and accessories for the industrial protective clothing market" may provide some insight into just how bad the US State Department thinks it may get. Because when the US government buys 160,000 hazmat suits specifically designed against Ebola, just ahead of the worst Ebola epidemic in history making US landfall, one wonders: what do they know the we don't?
Lakeland Industries, Inc. (LAKE), a leading global manufacturer of industrial protective clothing for industry, municipalities, healthcare and to first responders on the federal, state and local levels, today announced the global availability of its protective apparel for use in handling the Ebola virus. In response to the increasing demand for specialty protective suits to be worm by healthcare workers and others being exposed to Ebola, Lakeland is increasing its manufacturing capacity for these garments and includes proprietary processes for specialized seam sealing, a far superior technology for protecting against viral hazards than non-sealed products.
"Lakeland stands ready to join the fight against the spread of Ebola," said Christopher J. Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lakeland Industries. "We understand the difficulty of getting appropriate products through a procurement system that in times of crisis favors availability over specification, and we hope our added capacity will help alleviate that problem. With the U.S. State Department alone putting out a bid for 160,000 suits, we encourage all protective apparel companies to increase their manufacturing capacity for sealed seam garments so that our industry can do its part in addressing this threat to global health.
Of course, purchases by the US government are bought and paid for by taxpayers. For everyone else there's $1200 mail-order delivery:
That said... 160,000 HazMats for a disease that is supposedly not airborne? Mmmk.

>>>JDSU - Spinking on Sandell letter to the board

Sandell Asset Management Releases Letter to the Board of Directors of JDS Uniphase 
ubmits Shareholder Proposal that JDS Uniphase Evaluate Further Strategic Alternatives to Maximize the Value of its Business and Tax Assets

Estimates Potential Value at Between $19 and $26 per Share

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: WPRT -24.8%, ASEI -6.3%, AZZ -5.4%

Select air carriers names showing weakness: UAL -2.8%, HA -1.9%, DAL -1.9%, JBLU -1.7%, AAL -1.6%, LUV -1.5%.

Select metals/mining stocks trading lower: MT -1.5%, CLF -0.8%, BHP -0.7%

Select oil/gas related names showing early weakness: PBR -3.4%, SDRL -2.4%, MRO -1.4%, RDS.A -1.1%, RIG -0.9%, TOT -0.7%, E -0.6%, BP -0.5%

Other news: FNMA -60.2% (following dismissal of lawsuit brought by Perry Capital LLC and Fairholme Funds), FMCC -60.2% (following dismissal of lawsuit brought by Perry Capital LLC and Fairholme Funds), SPEX -17.3% (announces Markman hearing date for VTech and Uniden litigation now set for Nov 10, 2014; originally expected to occur Oct 2, 2014), RGSE -4.1% (announces strategy to exit large commercial business), CYBR -2.7% (cont momentum following recent IPO launch), GPRO -2.1% (cont vol pre-mkt), SYT -2.1% (cont weakness), BUD -1.5% (still checking)

Analyst comments: TUES -3.3% (downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse), EBAY -2.4% (downgraded to Neutral at JP Morgan, among others), CRK -0.9% (downgraded to Hold at Stifel), JNJ -0.6% (downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Bernstein)