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’Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Monday,
- BHP Billtion to plough $4bn into US shale gas — statement.
- Sage rejects claims for damages by Archer Capital — statement.
- ITV reduces capex forecast;
Steeling for more commodities volatility
Remember when Vale and BHP, two of the world’s biggest iron ore miners, changed their pricing contract methods with China and Japan?
The move from annual to quarterly contracts came amid resurging Chinese demand for iron ore,
[Something for the weekend] Dear Lloyds: nobody wants to buy your bank
– By Neil Collins –
Dear Lloyds: nobody wants to buy your bank
It was going to be a hard-fought auction. The chance to buy a fully-formed network of bank branches, complete (one supposes) with all the trimmings,
Blood and iron (ore)
It was only a couple of months ago that Vale was talking up iron ore prices out to 2015 and beyond, and analysts were saying the discount being applied to company shares on expectations of a glut were too steep.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Ageas takes gross Greek bonds impairment of €328m and initiates share buyback — statement and statement.
- Glencore makes A$0.87 per share offer for remaining shares in Minara Resources — statement.
Canaries and mines
Nothing has been harder hit in the current market swoon (in London at least) than the mining sector.
Which begs the question of what’s now being priced in?
As luck would have it, Citigroup has run some numbers and concludes:
Marius Kloppers finds something to buy
Here it is:
Kloppers has had a hard time with acquisitions since taking over at the helm of the world’s biggest miner in 2007.
First was BHP’s all-share offer for Rio Tinto, dropped amidst the turmoil of the financial crisis;
Snap News
Breaking pre-market news on Friday,
- BHP Billiton to buy Petrohawk Energy Corporation for $12.1bn — statement.
- Credit Suisse drawn into US tax probe — report.
- Rupert Murdoch says News Corp has only made some minor mistakes — report.
BHP swoops on US shale gas
Looks like BHP wasn’t put off by that NY Times story about shale gas:
BHP Billiton [ASX: BHP, NYSE: BHP, LSE: BLT, JSE: BIL] and Petrohawk Energy
Corporation (“Petrohawk”) [NYSE: HK] announced
Miner jelly beans
Our eyes are bleeding:
(From a Nomura note on miner capex and project growth)
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- BHP Billiton to buy Chesapeake shale gas assets for $4.75bn – statement.
- Moody’s changes Japan’s Aa2 rating outlook to negative – statement.
- Zurich Financial buys $1.67bn stake in Santander’s Latin American unit- statement.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Sanofi agrees to buy Genzyme for $74 in cash per share – statement.
- Societe Generale posts full-year net income of €3.9bn – statement.
- BHP Billiton half-year Ebitda up 60 per cent to $17.3bn – statement.
PetroChina goes where BHP failed to tread
PetroChina on Wednesday gobbled up another chunk of the world’s resources, agreeing to pay C$5.4bn ($5.4bn) for a 50 per cent stake in a large natural gas field in Canada owned by Encana, the Calgary-based oil and gas producer.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Monday,
- AXA and AMP join forces to make $13.1bn offer for AXA Asia Pacific Holdings — statement.
- BHP Billiton to complete $13bn buyback programme — statement.
- Persimmon says did not experience normal autumn increase in visitor levels — statement.
The real loser in the Potash compost heap
The “obvious loser” from the Canadian government’s rejection on Wednesday of BHP Billiton’s $39bn hostile bid for PotashCorp is BHP chief Marius Kloppers, according to the Wall Street Journal’s Heard on the Street column.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Thursday,
- Vince Cable refers News Corp bid for BSkyB to Ofcom — statement.
- BT says pension liabilities have fallen by £2.9bn as a result of the government’s indexation move — statement.
Canada says no to BHP Billiton
Get your hands off our potash!
Ottawa, November 3, 2010 — Today, the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, made the following statement regarding an application submitted by BHP Billiton Development 2 (Canada) Limited (BHP Billiton) on a proposed acquisition of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.
China moves for potash
But not in the way you might think.
Statement via the Hong Kong Stock Exchange from Sinofert on Wednesday:
On 20 October 2010, Sinochem Macao [a subsidary of Sinofert] entered into the MOU with Canpotex International Pte.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Rio Tinto to invest further $3.1bn in Pilbara mine — statement.
- BHP Billiton loses local government backing for Potash bid — report.
- Home Retail benchmark pre-tax profit tumbles 23 per cent;
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Friday,
- Potash CEO says BHP bid is “non-starter” – Reuters.
- Givaudan nine-month sales up 9.8 per cent – statement.
- Thomas Cook to merge high street travel and forex business with the Co-operative Group – statement.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Friday,
- Independent Banking Commission says options include separating investment and retail banking — statement.
- KNOC declares offer for Dana wholly unconditional – statement.
Potash sues BHP Billiton
Never mind what the Chinese are or aren’t doing with a counter-bid — here’s an odder twist in the tale of BHP Billiton’s hostile takeover battle concerning PotashCorp.
The target’s now filed a complaint in a Chicago court seeking to prevent BHP from carrying on with its offer,
PotashCorp MBO, or the ‘white platypus’ solution?
One “can’t help but marvel at the convolution of the bid being assembled for Potash Corp of Saskatchewan,” notes DealJournal, citing a report in Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper on moves to assemble a Chinese-led consortium “with touches of Canadiana”
Vale and potash: ‘I (only) half believe them’
The Chinese – and more specifically, Sinochem – gained a respite this week from frenzied counter-bid speculation surrounding BHP Billiton’s hostile bid for PotashCorp, following a $1.75bn bond issue by Brazilian mining giant Vale.
More intrigue in the wonderful world of potash
An even bigger week than usual for potash-related deals and developments with Russia — undoubtedly spurred to new competitive heights by BHP’s hostile $38.6bn bid for Canada’s PotashCorp — signalling its support for the planned merger between potash producers Uralkali and Silvinit.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- China may probe BHP’s bid for Potash, China Business News reports – Via Reuters.
- Vivendi H1 sales up 6 per cent , adjusted net income up 4 per cent – statement.
M&A groundhog day: but could it all end in tears?
Was it really only two months ago that we were seeing headlines like this:”M&A activity slack in spite of renewed appetite”, and reading columns like this, by the FT’s M&A reporter Lina Saigol,
A Potash warning: Sinofert is ‘very concerned’
Here’s a curious Chinese statement on Thursday that might give Marius Kloppers, BHP Billiton’s chief executive, pause for thought.
Sinofert, China’s largest fertiliser distributor – and subsidiary of Sinochem,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- BHP Billiton posts full-year operating profit of $20.03bn — statement.
- Tullow Oil says 1bn barrels discovered in Uganda; deal for Heritage assets hinges on tax dispute — statement.