Sevan Marine ASA: USD 200 Million Bond Completed

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Reference is made to the announcement dated July 12 regarding a bond of USD 200 million to be issued by Sevan Marine ASA. The bond was completed on Friday July 16 and was oversubscribed. It was placed with Norwegian and international professional investors. The bond will have a term of 5 years and will carry an interest rate of 12.00% (USD tranche) /13.25% (NOK tranche).

The net proceeds from the issue will be employed (i) to refinance the existing USD 135 million ‘SEVAN03′ debt in full, (ii) to acquire the 20% stake in the FPSO Sevan Hummingbird from Centrica Energy Upstream so as to become the 100% owner of the FPSO, and (iii) for general corporate purposes.

FPSO Sevan Hummingbird has been operating for Centrica Energy Upstream since September 2008 under a fixed 2.5 year contract with extension options for up to 7 years.

First Securities AS and Pareto Securities AS acted as advisors to Sevan Marine ASA.

The information in this announcement is subject to the disclosure requirements of the
Norwegian Securities Trading Act section 5-12 and/or the Oslo Børs – Continuing
Obligations.

Sevan Marine ASA is specializing in owning, operating and licensing FPSOs and drilling
units, based on its patented cylindrical floater technology. Sevan Marine ASA is listed
on Oslo Børs with ticker SEVAN. For more information, please refer to
http://www.sevanmarine.com//. http://www.sevanmarine.com/

For further information, please contact:

Jan Erik Tveteraas, CEO, Sevan Marine ASA (Media)
+47 37404000 office
+47 95214925 mobile

Birte Norheim, VP Finance, Sevan Marine ASA (Analysts)
+47 37404201 office
+47 95293321 mobile

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sevan Marine ASA: USD 200 Million Bond Completed

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Reference is made to the announcement dated July 12 regarding a bond of USD 200 million to be issued by Sevan Marine ASA. The bond was completed on Friday July 16 and was oversubscribed. It was placed with Norwegian and international professional investors. The bond will have a term of 5 years and will carry an interest rate of 12.00% (USD tranche) /13.25% (NOK tranche).

The net proceeds from the issue will be employed (i) to refinance the existing USD 135 million ‘SEVAN03′ debt in full, (ii) to acquire the 20% stake in the FPSO Sevan Hummingbird from Centrica Energy Upstream so as to become the 100% owner of the FPSO, and (iii) for general corporate purposes.

FPSO Sevan Hummingbird has been operating for Centrica Energy Upstream since September 2008 under a fixed 2.5 year contract with extension options for up to 7 years.

First Securities AS and Pareto Securities AS acted as advisors to Sevan Marine ASA.

The information in this announcement is subject to the disclosure requirements of the
Norwegian Securities Trading Act section 5-12 and/or the Oslo Børs – Continuing
Obligations.

Sevan Marine ASA is specializing in owning, operating and licensing FPSOs and drilling
units, based on its patented cylindrical floater technology. Sevan Marine ASA is listed
on Oslo Børs with ticker SEVAN. For more information, please refer to
http://www.sevanmarine.com//. http://www.sevanmarine.com/

For further information, please contact:

Jan Erik Tveteraas, CEO, Sevan Marine ASA (Media)
+47 37404000 office
+47 95214925 mobile

Birte Norheim, VP Finance, Sevan Marine ASA (Analysts)
+47 37404201 office
+47 95293321 mobile

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sevan Marine ASA: USD 200 Million Bond Completed

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Reference is made to the announcement dated July 12 regarding a bond of USD 200 million to be issued by Sevan Marine ASA. The bond was completed on Friday July 16 and was oversubscribed. It was placed with Norwegian and international professional investors. The bond will have a term of 5 years and will carry an interest rate of 12.00% (USD tranche) /13.25% (NOK tranche).

The net proceeds from the issue will be employed (i) to refinance the existing USD 135 million ‘SEVAN03′ debt in full, (ii) to acquire the 20% stake in the FPSO Sevan Hummingbird from Centrica Energy Upstream so as to become the 100% owner of the FPSO, and (iii) for general corporate purposes.

FPSO Sevan Hummingbird has been operating for Centrica Energy Upstream since September 2008 under a fixed 2.5 year contract with extension options for up to 7 years.

First Securities AS and Pareto Securities AS acted as advisors to Sevan Marine ASA.

The information in this announcement is subject to the disclosure requirements of the
Norwegian Securities Trading Act section 5-12 and/or the Oslo Børs – Continuing
Obligations.

Sevan Marine ASA is specializing in owning, operating and licensing FPSOs and drilling
units, based on its patented cylindrical floater technology. Sevan Marine ASA is listed
on Oslo Børs with ticker SEVAN. For more information, please refer to
http://www.sevanmarine.com//. http://www.sevanmarine.com/

For further information, please contact:

Jan Erik Tveteraas, CEO, Sevan Marine ASA (Media)
+47 37404000 office
+47 95214925 mobile

Birte Norheim, VP Finance, Sevan Marine ASA (Analysts)
+47 37404201 office
+47 95293321 mobile

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Templeton cuts stake in Singapore’s Parkway to 4.97 pct

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 19 (Reuters) – U.S. fund manager Templeton, one of Parkway Holdings’ (PARM.SI) largest institutional shareholders, has cut its stake in the Singapore healthcare firm following a series of sales earlier this month.

Malaysian state investor Khazanah and Indian healthcare giant Fortis (FOHE.BO), which each own around 25 percent of Parkway, are currently tussling for control of the Singapore firm.

Templeton now owns 4.97 percent of Parkway, down from 5.04 percent previously, after selling about 357,000 shares between July 8 and July 14, Parkway said in a disclosure to the Singapore Exchange.

For a factbox on Parkway, please click [ID:nSGE6600DM]

(Reporting by Kevin Lim)

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Delhaize eyeing Serbian supermarkets-paper

July 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 14 (Reuters) – Belgian supermarket group Delhaize (DELB.BR) is in talks with Serbia’s Delta Holding to acquire a stake in its retail chain Delta Maxi, Belgian daily De Tijd reported on Wednesday.

Delta Maxi operates supermarket chains Maxi and Tempo. It is active in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Bulgaria and expects turnover of 1.74 billion euros ($2.21 billion) for 2010.

Delhaize already operates stores in Romania, and has said it is interested in expanding its activities into the Balkans.

It was unlikely to obtain more than just over 50 percent in the group, De Tijd said.

Delhaize was not immediately available for comment. ($1=.7869 euro) (Writing by Antonia van de Velde; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

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Kazakhstan cancels KazakhGold stake sale to Polyus

July 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 12 (Reuters) – Kazakhstan on Monday annulled the sale of shares in KazakhGold (KZGq.L) to Russia’s Polyus Gold (PLZL.MM), potentially putting in jeopardy the plans for a merger of the two groups to create a gold-mining giant.

“Due to newly discovered information regarding violations of the law on mineral resources during the purchase of the stake in KazakhGold by the Russian company Polyus Gold, the competent authority has cancelled the previously taken decisions to allow the sale of KazakhGold shares,” the Kazakh Industry Ministry said in a statement.

“For the same reason, there is a ban on the additional share issue by KazakhGold.” (Reporting by Masha Gordeeva; Writing by Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Maria Kiselyova)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Malaysia’s Bandar Raya buys Limitless’ stake in co

July 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 10 (Reuters) – Malaysian property developer Bandar Raya Developments (BRDS.KL) said its subsidiary has bought 60 percent of a building company from a unit of state-owned conglomerate Dubai World [DBWLD.UL].

Bandar Raya’s subsidiary Ardent Heights has entered into a deal to buy Limitless Holdings Pte Ltd’s entire stake in Haute Property Sdn Bhd for a nominal sum of 1 ringgit ($0.313), the Malaysian firm told the stock exchange.

Ardent will pay Limitless 75 million ringgit which Limitless had advanced to Haute towards partial payment by Haute for the development rights of a building project in Malaysia’s southern Johor state.

Ardent will also pay Limitless one million ringgit to settle about 10 million ringgit advanced by Limitless to Haute to meet Haute’s operating and development expenses for the project, Bandar Raya said.

Malaysian builder UEM Land (ULHB.KL) owns the remaining 40 percent in Haute.

Dubai sent global markets into turmoil at the end of last year when Dubai World asked creditors for a standstill on debt mainly linked to its two property firms Limitless World and Nakheel, builder of the Gulf state’s eye-catching palm-shaped islands.

Dubai had said on July 3 a committee overseeing Dubai World, which is in a deal with core lenders to restructure $23.5 billion in debt, had handed responsibility of property unit Limitless to Nakheel [NAKHD.UL]. [ID:nLDE662018] ($1=3.198 Malaysian Ringgit) (Reporting by Liau Y-Sing)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

E.ON could invest in EDF nuclear reactors – press

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 9 (Reuters) – German utility E.ON (EONGn.DE) could take a partial stake in some of EDF’s (EDF.PA) nuclear reactors as part of a plan to extend the life of the plants, E.ON told a newspaper on Friday.

French parliamentarians last month passed a bill that will force former power monopoly EDF to sell a quarter of its nuclear output to rivals to foster greater competition in the electricity market.

The bill will now have to be examined by the upper house in an extraordinary parliamentary session in July or September, but a senator of the UMP ruling party has proposed instead that EDF invite shareholders into the country’s 58 nuclear reactors.

“E.ON would be very interested. But this objective must be clearly written in the law. Otherwise, the historical operator would have excessive leverage in negotiations,” said Luc Poyer, the head of E.ON France in an interview with daily Le Figaro.

“If 500 million euros are needed to extend the life of a reactor, a part of that investment could come from a player that has the technical and economic expertise. In exchange, it would get a share in the output,” he added.

Poyer also said France should further open its electricity market, which was liberalised in July 2007 in line with European Union demands, but EDF’s competitors are struggling to attract customers because of scarce access to baseload output. (Reporting by Michel Rose and Benjamin Mallet; Editing by Hans Peters)

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Extract shares jump after Japan’s Itochu takes stake

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Shares of Extract Resources jumped as much as 5.2 percent on Friday after it said Japanese trader Itochu Corp had acquired 10.3 percent of its shares through a wholly owned Australian subsidiary.

Shares of Extract, an Australian uranium exploration and development firm with projects in Namibia, were up 3.6 percent at A$6.99 at 11:44 p.m. ET.

Shares in Itochu, Japan’s fourth-biggest trading house, were flat at 709 yen in Tokyo.

An Itochu spokesman said the firm had bought the stake from London-listed Polo Resources Ltd to strengthen its uranium business.

The trading house did not release the size of the deal, but the Nikkei business daily said the stake cost 15 billion yen ($170 million).

Extract Resource is developing the Rossing South mine in central Namibia, which is scheduled to begin churning out 5,800 metric tons a year of uranium in 2013, more than 10 percent of global production, Itochu said.

Itochu in March acquired 15 percent of Britain’s Kalahari Minerals PLC, which has uranium, gold and copper mines in Namibia and owns 40 percent of Extract Resources.

An Itochu spokesman said the company aims to obtain marketing rights for uranium from Namibia, mainly for supply to Japanese electric power utilities.

(Reporting by James Regan in Sydney, Yuko Inoue in Tokyo)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UPDATE 1-Extract shares jump after Japan’s Itochu takes stake

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SYDNEY/TOKYO, July 9 (Reuters) – Shares of Extract Resources (EXT.AX) jumped as much as 5.2 percent on Friday after it said Japanese trader Itochu Corp (8001.T) had acquired 10.3 percent of its shares through a wholly owned Australian subsidiary.

Shares of Extract, an Australian uranium exploration and development firm with projects in Namibia, were up 3.6 percent at A$6.99 at 0344 GMT.

Shares in Itochu, Japan’s fourth-biggest trading house, were flat at 709 yen in Tokyo.

An Itochu spokesman said the firm had bought the stake from London-listed Polo Resources Ltd (POLO.L) to strengthen its uranium business.

The trading house did not release the size of the deal, but the Nikkei business daily said the stake cost 15 billion yen ($170 million).

Extract Resource is developing the Rossing South mine in central Namibia, which is scheduled to begin churning out 5,800 tonnes a year of uranium in 2013, more than 10 percent of global production, Itochu said.

Itochu in March acquired 15 percent of Britain’s Kalahari Minerals PLC (KAH.L), which has uranium, gold and copper mines in Namibia and owns 40 percent of Extract Resources.

An Itochu spokesman said the company aims to obtain marketing rights for uranium from Namibia, mainly for supply to Japanese electric power utilities. (Reporting by James Regan in Sydney, Yuko Inoue in Tokyo)

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Alcon Independent Director Committee Announces Creation and Funding of Litigation Trust

July 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

HUENENBERG, Switzerland–(Business Wire)–
The Alcon Independent Director Committee (the “IDC”) announced today the
creation and funding of the Alcon Litigation Trust (the “Trust”), an irrevocable
trust established under New York law pursuant to a resolution of the Alcon board
of directors. The current members of the IDC are the initial trustees of the
Trust.

The Trust, which has been funded with $50 million, is intended to provide the
financial means to commence, defend or maintain litigation relating to any
transaction between Alcon and a majority shareholder, including the transaction
contemplated by the merger proposal announced by Novartis AG (“Novartis”) on
January 4, 2010. The Trust has been created to ensure the protection of the
interests of Alcon and its minority shareholders in connection with any such
transaction. For example, without the Trust, once Novartis becomes Alcon`s
majority shareholder, it could attempt to cause Alcon to withhold funds from the
IDC and thereby frustrate the IDC`s ability to effectively protect the minority
shareholders through a litigation strategy.

Thomas G. Plaskett, Chairman of the IDC, said, “Novartis` merger proposal is not
only grossly inadequate to the minority shareholders of Alcon, which include its
valuable employees, but also creates considerable legal uncertainty that could
very likely result in significant litigation costs and delays in achieving
merger synergies for both companies in the absence of a negotiated transaction.
Given Novartis` actions and statements to date, we unfortunately can ill-afford
to assume that Novartis will voluntarily honor the fair process contemplated by
Alcon`s organizational documents, Swiss law and established principles of good
corporate governance. Therefore, we felt that it is necessary to take this step
now to help ensure that the fair process is observed once Novartis completes the
acquisition of Nestlé`s stake in Alcon.”

The Trust`s property is held solely for the benefit of Alcon`s minority
shareholders and may only be expended to the extent determined by the trustees
to be in the best interests of Alcon and its minority shareholders. Of the $50
million comprising the Trust`s property, no more than $10 million may be used
for fees, expenses or liabilities that are not mandatory court costs such as the
advancement of judicial costs or the posting of a bond or other security by a
party seeking injunctive relief. As the principal purpose of any bond or other
security required by a court is to serve as compensation to an enjoined party in
the event that such party incurs losses as a result of any granted injunctive
relief that is ultimately overturned, the vast majority of the Trust`s property
will ultimately be either disbursed to Novartis or returned to Alcon upon
termination of the Trust.

The Trust will terminate, among other circumstances, if a majority of the group
comprising the trustees and the other non-conflicted members of the IDC as of
such time recommend a transaction between Alcon and Novartis in accordance with
the processes set forth in Alcon`s organizational documents. The Trust will also
terminate if a court of competent jurisdiction, in a final, non-appealable,
binding order or decision, holds either that the transaction contemplated by
Novartis` merger proposal is legal, valid and effective or that Novartis`
removal of the current IDC members from the Alcon Board of Directors is legal,
valid and effective.

Please refer to the complete trust agreement for all terms and conditions
governing the Trust, which the IDC has posted on its website:
www.transactioninfo.com/alcon. The IDC has also posted a series of questions and
answers about the Trust.

Greenhill & Co., Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Pestalozzi, Zurich, are continuing
to act as financial and legal advisors to the IDC.

About Alcon

Alcon, Inc. is the world`s leading eye care company, with sales of approximately
$6.5 billion in 2009. Alcon, which has been dedicated to the ophthalmic industry
for 65 years, researches, develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals,
surgical equipment and devices, contacts lens solutions and other vision care
products that treat diseases, disorders and other conditions of the eye. Alcon
operates in 75 countries and sells products in 180 markets. For more information
on Alcon, Inc., visit the Company`s website at www.alcon.com.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements. This press release may contain
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements reflect
the views of the IDC as of the date of this press release with respect to future
events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties.
Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that Novartis or Alcon
will achieve any particular future financial results or future growth rates or
that Novartis or Alcon will be able to realize any potential synergies,
strategic benefits or opportunities as a result of the consummation of the
Novartis purchase or the proposed merger. Also, there can be no guarantee that
the IDC will obtain any particular result. Except to the extent required under
the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated by the
Securities and Exchange Commission, we undertake no obligation to publicly
update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new
information or future events or circumstances or otherwise.

Media Inquiries:
Brunswick Group
Steve Lipin/Lauren Levin-Epstein, 212-333-3810
or
Investor Inquiries:
Mackenzie Partners
Bob Marese/Larry Dennedy, 800-322-2885

Copyright Business Wire 2010

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

India’s Fortis revokes 39 mln pledged shares

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 5 (Reuters) – Fortis Healthcare (FOHE.BO), locked in a battle to take control of Singapore’s Parkway Holdings (PARM.SI), said on Monday the owners of the Indian hospital chain had revoked about 39 million pledged shares, or nearly 10 percent of total outstanding equity.

After the transaction, the percentage of shares pledged to total number of Fortis’ outstanding shares was roughly 31 percent, the company said in a disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

It did not provide details of the transaction in the stock exchange filing.

Companies usually pledge shares to raise funds and the agreement is revoked when the loans are repayed.

Fortis, which controls just over 25 percent of Parkway, had intended to build a controlling stake in the Singapore firm before Malaysian state fund Khazanah made a surprise $835 million partial offer in May to lift its stake to 51.5 percent. [ID:nSGE64Q042]

Analysts say billionaire brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, who control Fortis, have the access to capital to challenge the Malaysian fund, although Khazanah has far deeper pockets, with $28 billion in assets. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

TEXT-S&PBULLETIN: rtgs on Sumitomo unaffected by mine investment

July 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 1 – Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today that its ratings on Sumitomo Corp. (A/Stable/A-1) are unaffected by the company’s announcement that it would purchase a 30% stake in an iron ore mining business owned by Brazil-based steelmaker, Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A. (Usiminas; BBB-/Stable/–). Sumitomo expects to invest up to $1.929 billion or about JPY170 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 11% of the company’s consolidated capital as of March 31, 2010. Sumitomo’s risk assets are likely to increase substantially with this investment, which is likely to be one of the biggest in Sumitomo’s investment portfolio, and concentration risk may also increase. However, any increase in risk volume is likely to be offset when Sumitomo carries out its planned replacement of existing investments assets. Given this, Standard & Poor’s expects Sumitomo’s total risk volume, relative to its profitability and equity capital, to remain within the range assumed in the current rating.

Amid a recent rally in iron ore prices, the breakeven point for Sumitomo’s investment in Usiminas’ mine may be high compared with the existing iron ore-related investments of other domestic major general trading companies. Consequently, Sumitomo faces the market risk of a fall in iron ore prices. Nevertheless, it is Standard & Poor’s opinion that the investment risk pertaining to the deal is unlikely to substantially weaken the balance between Sumitomo’s risk volume and equity capital. This is based on our view that Sumitomo is likely to secure considerable profits even if iron ore prices drop from the current levels. In addition, we believe that business and market risks pertaining to iron ore investments are relatively low compared with investments in other resources.

In recent years, Sumitomo has made large-scale investments, including investments in Jupiter Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (J:COM; NR) and the San Cristobal mine in Bolivia. As a result, the company’s investment portfolio faces increased concentration risk. Although the amount of the investment in Usiminas’ mine is within its plan for new investments, the net risk volume assumed by Sumitomo may grow significantly due to a delay in scheduled asset replacements or larger-than-expected investments that the company may make in the future. This may drastically weaken the balance between the company’s risk volume and profitability and equity capital, and in turn, negatively affect the ratings on Sumitomo.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Siemens says sees strong profitability in Q3

July 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 28 (Reuters) – Siemens (SIEGn.DE) expects strong profitability in its fiscal third quarter, with new orders and revenues at its three core businesses likely to exceed the year-earlier, the German industrial company said.

Industrials

It said on Tuesday it expected its equity investments, which include its stake in Nokia Siemens, to make a negative contribution to profit in the third quarter.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Russia MTS to buy out Comstar minorities at premium

June 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 25 (Reuters) – MTS (MBT.N), Russia’s No.1 mobile phone operator has offered to buy out minorities in Comstar (CMSTq.L), at a premium to the market, Kommersant business daily reported on Friday.

By persuading more minorities to part with stakes through offering a higher price, MTS should be able to buy more shares and will have to swap less of its own stock for Comstar’s in order to complete the acquisition. Thus MTS’s parent AFK Sistema (SSAq.L) should be able to keep control of the end company.

MTS may spend 8.3 billion roubles ($268 million) buying out minorities in its fixed line unit at 220 roubles per share, Kommersant said citing sources familiar with the deal.

The shares at Comstar closed at $6.55 per GDR, which is equal to one share, on Thursday, implying the buyout price of 220 roubles ($7.10) offers an 8.4 percent premium.

If the minor shareholders agree to sell more than 9 percent in Comstar MTS would buy the excess shares at 213 roubles per share, Kommersant said.

The merger would enable MTS to take full advantage of the synergies from its 2009 acquisition of a controlling stake in Comstar, in which it now holds 62 percent.

Shareholders who do not take up the buyout offer would swap one share in Comstar for 0.825 shares in MTS, Kommersant said.

(Reporting by Dmitry Sergeyev; Editing by Mike Nesbit)

($1=30.98 roubles)

((dmitry.sergeev@reuters.com; +7 495 775 1242;

Reuters Messaging: dmitry.sergeev.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: COMSTAR MTS/BUYOUT

(C) Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution ofReuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expresslyprohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuterssphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group ofcompanies around the world.nLDE65O03J

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China Strategic says not pursuing MOU with Chinatrust

June 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 25 (Reuters) – China Strategic Holdings (0235.HK), a buyer of AIG’s (AIG.N) Taiwan Nan Shan Life unit, said on Friday that it will not pursue an MOU to sell a stake in Nan Shan to Chinatrust Financial (2891.TW).

Stocks | Mergers & Acquisitions | Global Markets

China Strategic and Primus Financial Holdings agreed to pay $2.2 billion for AIG’s (AIG.N) Taiwan Nan Shan Life unit and the deal is pending for Taiwanese regulatory approval.

“I believe this is not an appropriate time to talk with Chinatrust before we have successfully bought Nan Shan”, said Raymond Or, chief executive of China Strategic.

“Especially as when we signed the MOU (with Chinatrust), the regulators said this complicated the whole issue,” he added.

Chinatrust agreed to buy the Nan Shan stake last November for $660 million, but the memorandum of understanding expired on Friday. (Reporting by Alison Leung; Editing by Chris Lewis)

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Poland sets Tauron IPO value at $1.3 bln, near bottom

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 22 (Reuters) – Poland set the issue price of its No.2 utility Tauron at 0.57 zlotys per share, near the bottom of its earlier range, to value the initial public offer at 4.2 billion zlotys ($1.3 billion) zlotys.

Utilities

The treasury ministry said in a statement on Tuesday it also had raised the stake for individual investors to 25 percent of the offer.

The report confirms an earlier report by Reuters. (Reporting by Patryk Wasilewski)

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Kuwait confirms interest in China AgBank IPO

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 22 (Reuters) – Kuwait’s finance minister confirmed on Tuesday Kuwaiti interest in taking an $800 million stake in the Agricultural Bank of China [ABC.UL].

Financials

On Monday, sources in Hong Kong had said that the Kuwait Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, was involved in a deal to invest $800 million in the bank’s IPO, which is likely to raise $23 billion. [ID:nTOE65K06U]

The finance minister, Mustapha al-Shamali, was speaking to reporters at Kuwait’s parliament.

(Reporting by Eman Goma, writing by Andrew Hammond, editing by Thomas Atkins)

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UPDATE 1-AvtoVAZ posts wider loss for 2009

June 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MOSCOW, June 17 (Reuters) – Lada maker AvtoVAZ (AVAZ.MM), Russia’s biggest car producer, said its loss doubled last year as sales slumped in the crisis, and it booked an asset impairment provision.

Net loss totalled 49.2 billion roubles ($1.58 billion), against a 24.7 billion net loss in 2008, AvtoVAZ said on Thursday.

Revenue fell to 92 billion roubles from 168 billion in 2008, said AvtoVAZ, in which French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) holds a one quarter stake.

Chief executive Igor Komarov said last week the company could return to operating profit this year as it has been the chief beneficiary of a government-sponsored ‘cash for clunkers’ scheme. [ID:nLDE65A11E]

For 2009, AvtoVAZ recorded an operating loss of 45.5 billion roubles, against a loss of 26.1 billion in 2008.

It has also performed a test for impairment of its fixed assets and booked a provision of over 14 billion roubles. (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Dan Lalor) ($1 = 31.14 roubles)

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SCENARIOS-Parkway:prize for Indian billionaire or Malaysian fund

June 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 17 (Reuters) – India’s Fortis Healthcare is locked in a battle with Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah for control of Singapore-based Parkway Holdings (PARM.SI), Asia’s biggest listed hospitals firm.

Fortis (FOHE.BO), which owns roughly 25 percent of Parkway, was keen to build a controlling stake in the company before Khazanah made a surprise $835 million offer last month to lift its stake from 23.5 percent to 51.5 percent.

Parkway operates 16 hospitals across Asia including Singapore, Malaysia, India and China. Its prized assets are Singapore hospitals, Gleneagles and Mount Elizabeth, whose patients include many wealthy businessmen and politicians. [ID:nSGE653028]

By July 30, Fortis needs to say whether or not it intends to make a full offer for Parkway. [ID:SGE65F0ES]

Following are scenarios on what might happen next.

FORTIS MAKES COUNTERBID – (Most likely, for now)

Several analysts expect Fortis, controlled by billionaire brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, to launch a counter bid for Parkway at a 10-15 percent premium over Khazanah’s S$3.78 a share offer.

A source linked to Fortis said the firm’s preference is to make a partial offer to buy just over 50 percent of Parkway instead of making a general offer, which would require a waiver from authorities. But bankers say this is unlikely as Singapore has never given a waiver to firms such as Fortis, which bought into Parkway less than six months ago.

If it fails to get an exemption, Fortis will have to spend at least $2.5 billion to buy Parkway shares it does not already own.

Fortis plans to raise as much as $1.2 billion, preparing itself for a possible counterbid. It bought into Parkway to use it as a springboard for overseas expansion. [ID:nSGE62A0DD]

Malvinder, Fortis’ chairman, moved to Singapore with his family and took over as Parkway’s chairman.

“It would be a choice between the long-term vision of Singh brothers and managing short-term financial opportunities,” said Muralidharan Nair, partner for health sciences at Ernst & Young in Mumbai.

With a combined fortune estimated at $3 billion by Forbes magazine — good for 17th place on its India rich list — the Singh brothers have the means and access to capital to take on the Malaysian fund. [ID:nSGE652053]

A successful counterbid by Fortis may also put a question mark on Parkway’s expansion into Malaysia, as most of the Singapore firm’s operations in the country are carried out via Pantai, in which it holds a 40 percent stake and the balance is held by Khazanah.

Pantai accounts for a quarter of Parkway’s revenue and almost one-third of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and rent, according to Credit Suisse.

FORTIS MAKES NO COUNTERBID, HOPES KHAZANAH OFFER FAILS – (Likely, for now)

Making a counterbid for Parkway was originally the second choice for Fortis, said sources aware of the Indian company’s game plan.

The recent posturing by Fortis has kept Parkway’s shares at or above Khazanah’s offer price and the Malaysian firm may not be able to get enough acceptance as a result.

Should Khazanah fail, Fortis will retains control of Parkway with four seats on the board versus Khazanah’s two.

Khazanah cannot accept any of the shares offered if the acceptance falls short of 51.5 percent under Singapore rules relating to partial offers, a spokeswoman for Khazanah said.

But if the Malaysian wealth fund succeeds in its offer, Fortis will be stuck with a minority stake in a company it cannot control although it might be in a position to block proposals made by a Khazanah-led management.

Khazanah and Fortis may also try to reach some form of compromise whereby both parties have a say in the strategic outlook for Parkway.

Fortis has been lobbying the governments of Singapore and Malaysia to reach some kind of a deal, sources said.

FORTIS SELLS OUT – (Unlikely, for now)

Fortis may decide to sell out, but only if Khazanah raises its offer price.

Based on Khazanah’s offer price, Fortis will make a gross profit of about 6.1 percent on its original investment of $685 million, which valued Parkway at about S$3.56 a share.

After deducting around 2 percent for fees and commissions payable to bankers, lawyers and others associated with the deal, the Indian company is set to pocket a relatively small profit of around $30 million.

“The Singh brothers will put rationality before adrenalin push. They won’t fight for ego. Expect them to exit Parkway if they get a good premium,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, equity head at SMC Capitals in New Delhi. (Editing by Anshuman Daga)

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