The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- Verizon eyes roughly US$100bil bid for Verizon Wireless stake
- SIA raises stake in Virgin Australia
- Carlsberg appoints Andersen MD of M’sia, S’pore ops
| Verizon eyes roughly US$100bil bid for Verizon Wireless stake Posted: 24 Apr 2013 07:18 PM PDT NEW YORK: Verizon Communications Inc has hired advisers to prepare a possible $100 billion (65 billion pounds) cash and stock bid to take full control of Verizon Wireless from joint venture partner Vodafone Group Plc, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Verizon, which already owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, has not put a proposal forward to Vodafone yet but it has hired both banking and legal advisers for a possible bid, the sources said. Verizon hopes to start discussions with Vodafone soon for a friendly deal but is prepared to take a bid public if the British company does not engage in talks, one of the sources added. There are no guarantees that Vodafone will be interested in a deal or that any bid will materialize, the sources said. Over the past decade, Verizon has made little secret of its wish to buy out its British partner from the joint venture, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier. The sources said that Verizon now is ready to push aggressively for a deal. Verizon, benefiting from record low interest rates as well as its own strong stock price, is confident that the company can raise about $50 billion (32 billion pounds) of bank financing, the sources said. It plans to pay for the rest of the deal with its own shares, they added. The sources asked not to be named because the discussions are confidential. Verizon's board is expected to discuss details of a potential Verizon Wireless buyout next week at a regularly scheduled meeting being held ahead of the company's annual shareholder meeting, one of the sources said. Verizon spokesman Bob Varettoni declined to comment, but pointed to the U.S. telephone company's statement earlier this month, in which it said it would be a willing buyer of Vodafone's share of their Verizon Wireless venture. Analysts have said a sale of Verizon Wireless would enable Vodafone to return cash to shareholders, purchase fixed-line assets in Europe or potentially make the company an attractive takeover target for other telecom giants such as AT&T Inc. Taking full ownership would give Verizon, which is reliant on the Verizon Wireless operations for growth, a lot more flexibility with the cash generated from the wireless business. Verizon came close to doing a deal in 2004, when Vodafone tried to buy AT&T Wireless but lost the auction to Cingular. That deal would have allowed Vodafone to bring its brand across the Atlantic and would have required it to sell its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless. Any deal now, if it were to happen, would come at a time when the telecommunications industry has seen a fresh round of consolidation attempts. MetroPCS Communications Inc shareholders voted on Wednesday to approve a merger with No.4 U.S. wireless service provider T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG. The merger came after Deutsche Telekom's 2011 effort to sell T-Mobile to AT&T for $39 billion got blocked by U.S. antitrust regulators. Verizon would be unlikely to face any similar obstacles in a Verizon Wireless buyout. Meanwhile, Dish Network Corp, the No.2 U.S. satellite TV provider, last week offered to buy wireless service provider Sprint Nextel Corp for $25.5 billion in cash and stock, challenging a proposed deal between Sprint and Japan's SoftBank Corp. TAX STRUCTURE One of the main sticking points to a deal so far has been the perception that Vodafone could incur a tax bill of around $20 billion if it sells its holding, meaning Verizon would have to pay a high price to make it worthwhile for the British company. But the sources said any deal would be structured in such a way that the eventual tax bill would likely be $5 billion or less. Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said last week that he was extremely confident it could purchase the Vodafone stake without any major tax implications. He did not elaborate on how this would work. Verizon's shares have risen about 20 percent so far this year as its wireless business has been easily outperforming its smaller colleagues in terms of profitability and customer growth, and amid rising hopes that it will purchase the rest of Verizon Wireless. Investors say the conditions for a deal have improved because of Verizon's strong results, its share price gains, and low interest rates. Any deal that includes such a large stock component may, though, mean dilution for Verizon Communications shareholders. So far this year, Vodafone's shares have risen about 23 percent after lagging in the final few months of 2012. The recent gains have been attributed by analysts to hopes that it will sell the stake to Verizon. - Reuters |
| SIA raises stake in Virgin Australia Posted: 24 Apr 2013 07:04 PM PDT SYDNEY: Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA) has lifted its stake in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd to 19.9%, boosting its influence at the carrier at a time of industry jostling to secure lucrative routes in South-East Asia. The purchase makes Singapore Airlines the joint largest shareholder in Australia's No. 2 airline, with Air New Zealand also owning a matching stake that is just under the limit allowed before a full takeover must be launched. Australia's airline industry has been a battleground for global airlines seeking partnerships in recent months, with Qantas Airways Ltd establishing a wide-ranging alliance with Emirates Airlines. SIA bought an additional 9.9% for A$123mil from Richard Branson's Virgin Group. Branson will retain a 12.4% holding. A spokesman for the company said it had no plans at this point to further increase its holding. The deal is subject to approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board. "While it is currently unclear whether Branson is looking for a complete sell down, the transaction moves more of the voting power into the hands of the strategic operating partners," Macquarie Equities analysts said in a note. "At this point there is no talk of a takeover from any of the parties, however, the interest from the partners does confirm the strength of Virgin Australia's virtual international network going forward, as it attempts to compete effectively with Qantas's new reach given the Emirates deal," they added. SIA has been keen to establish a stronghold in Australia to secure passenger feed on to its long-haul services. It has added more double decker Airbus A380s and increased frequencies in the Australian market, hoping to capture passengers disenchanted with Qantas' switch from Singapore to Dubai as its new transit hub. The move comes a day after Virgin received competition regulator approval to buy a controlling stake in Tiger Australia from Singapore Airlines' budget associate, Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd. - Reuters |
| Carlsberg appoints Andersen MD of M’sia, S’pore ops Posted: 24 Apr 2013 07:02 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd has appointed Henrik Juel Andersen as managing director overseeing Malaysia and Singapore operations succeeding Soren Ravn who has been appointed as CEO of Carlsberg Greater China effective July 1. Anderson, 46, is currently the regional CEO of Carlsberg Indochina, a position he has held for the past five years. Ravn and Andersen will be working closely to ensure a smooth transition and handover in Malaysia and Singapore over the next few months. "He (Anderson) has delivered excellent growth in our Indochina region with revenues and EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) increasing significantly over a five-year period, driven by a strong mix of organic growth and well-executed acquisitions," Carlsberg Malaysia chairman Datuk Lim Say Chong said in a statement. "I am very confident Andersen can continue the strong growth and good momentum that we have established in Malaysia and Singapore over the last few years. He is one of our most experienced leaders in Asia and will help drive the strategic agenda as well as strong execution going forward, in strong cooperation with our supportive business partners and customers in Malaysia and Singapore," Lim said. Lim added that Ravn had been "instrumental in leading Carlsberg Malaysia group to three years of continuous strong revenue and profit growth, driven by portfolio brands and premiumisation strategy with a strong focus on profitable growth". "Our record financial performance, portfolio strategy and a diverse team of top and senior management are testaments of the effective implementation of our strategies with the cooperation of our business partners and customers under the leadership of Ravn. "The historical high performance of the company's share price also reflects our shareholders' and investors' confidence towards the company. With the strong management team and organisation in place, Carlsberg Malaysia is in a solid position to drive sustainable and profitable growth," Lim said. |
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