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☆ Caught cold by UniCredit’s swoop on Commerzbank, Germany will want to avoid a national embarrassment
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A protestor holds a placard with a slogan reading "Stop Merger Horror" during a union demonstration outside the Commerzbank AG headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. It follows UniCredit's move to take a 9% stake in Commerzbank earlier this month. watch nowScholz on Monday criticized UniCredit's decision to up the ante on Commerzbank, describing the move as an "unfriendly" and "hostile" attack, Reuters reported. Commerzbank's Deputy Chair Uwe Tschaege, meanwhile, reportedly voiced opposition to a potential takeover by UniCredit on Tuesday. The Commerzbank AG headquarters, in the financial district of Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024.

Persons: it's, UniCredit, Octavio Marenzi, Opimas, CNBC's, Olaf Scholz, He's, Marenzi, Scholz, UniCredit's, Uwe Tschaege, Tschaege, Andrea Orcel, Stefan Wittman, Germany's Scholz, Craig Coben, Coben, Emanuele Cremaschi Organizations: Commerzbank, Bloomberg, Getty, CNBC, Reuters, UniCredit, BBVA, Banco Sabadell, Bank of America, AG Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Berlin, Milan, Commerzbank, Spanish

☆ Commerzbank board member says UniCredit’s move on the lender raises ‘domino effect’ concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCommerzbank board member says UniCredit’s move on the lender raises ‘domino effect’ concernsStefan Wittman, supervisory board member at Commerzbank, discusses UniCredit’s push to become the biggest investor in Germany's second-largest lender.

Persons: UniCredit’s, Stefan Wittman Locations: Commerzbank, Germany's

☆ Fierce e-commerce war leaves Sea in stormy waters
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In August, CEO Forrest Li declared that Sea (SE.N) would ramp up spending to fight off intense competition. Perhaps that’s because Sea had just reset its strategy over the past year. It had retreated from overseas markets, slashed marketing costs and shed thousands of jobs to claw its way to profitability. Li on Tuesday stressed that the company would prioritise investments to increase its market share, encouraged by its cash pile of about $8 billion. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Forrest Li, Li, taints, Cameron, Francesco Guerrera, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Alibaba, HK, X, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, New York, Singapore

☆ Orsted’s ‘deputy heads must roll’ stance is risky
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

General view of the Walney Extension offshore wind farm operated by Orsted off the coast of Blackpool, Britain September 5, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Nov 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Orsted’s (ORSTED.CO) recent implosion has finally prompted a reaction. Denmark’s $17 billion offshore wind producer on Tuesday said Chief Financial Officer Daniel Lerup and Chief Operating Officer Richard Hunter were stepping down. The COO is responsible for the procurement, construction, and operations of the wind farms, and supplier delays accounted for the lion’s share of Orsted’s U.S. writedowns. Yet Mads Nipper, who became Orsted chief executive in early 2021 and handpicked the departing duo, has been spared for now.

Persons: Orsted, Phil Noble, Daniel Lerup, Richard Hunter, Hunter, Lerup, Mads Nipper, Henrik Poulsen, Yawen Chen, Cameron, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, X, Thomson Locations: Walney, Blackpool, Britain, Rights SINGAPORE, United States, U.S

☆ Disney’s franchise fatigue taints M&A magic
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, Robert Iger, attends the premiere of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" in Los Angeles, California, U.S. December 16, 2019. REUTERS/Phil McCarten Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Walt Disney’s (DIS.N) load-bearing franchises are cracking. Disney’s Pixar studio delivered its own opening weekend dud with “Elemental.” The Star Wars universe’s latest TV expansion, “Ahsoka,” was panned. Iger’s acquisitions of Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars’ Lucasfilm seemed a master stroke of M&A. A slowdown at his most prized acquisitions raises the stakes on his next M&A decisions at a time of increased scrutiny.

Persons: Robert Iger, Phil McCarten, Walt Disney’s, ”, Bob Iger’s, Iger, Nelson Peltz, Jennifer Saba, Orsted’s, Cameron, Jonathan Guilford, Streisand Neto Organizations: Walt Disney Company, REUTERS, Reuters, Marvel, Variety, Pixar, Disney, Star Wars, Lucasfilm, X, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S

☆ Softer inflation could hide a hard landing
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. economy is coming in for landing. Inflation is easing even as growth looks strong, but Americans are bracing for new financial pain. The year-over-year rate of price increases stood at 3.2% in October, barely above the Federal Reserve’s goal, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday. Inflation expectations rose to 4.2% in October from 3.2% the month prior, according to the University of Michigan. Even as McDonald’s (MCD.N) beat profit estimates on Oct. 30, boss Christopher Kempczinski flagged that lower-income consumers are pulling back.

Persons: aren’t, Christopher Kempczinski, Ben Winck, taints, Cameron, Jonathan Guilford, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Federal, of Labor Statistics, CME Group, University of Michigan, X, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ UniCredit’s Greek stake is less odd than it seems
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But Italy’s UniCredit (CRDI.MI), which on Monday purchased 9% of Alpha Bank for about 300 million euros, should have better luck. This will include merging the lenders’ Romanian units and Alpha distributing UniCredit’s asset-management products in Greece. Probably the most reassuring news for investors in the Italian bank is that Orcel has no plans to raise its stake. UniCredit hasn’t requested regulatory permission to buy more and doesn’t envisage doing so, according to a person familiar with the matter. For shareholders, then, UniCredit’s mini-Greek adventure is unusual but easily tolerable.

Persons: Italy’s, Andrea Orcel, Crédit, Société, Orcel, UniCredit, UniCredit hasn’t, Liam Proud, Aimee Donnellan, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Alpha Bank, Alpha, Piraeus Financial, X, SEC, Thomson Locations: Greece

☆ UK takeover net gets only slightly less bothersome
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gestures during an in-conversation event with Tesla and SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Rishi Sunak’s latest policy target is his own government’s M&A rules. The UK prime minister is consulting on changes to the framework for assessing when to block takeovers on national security grounds. The National Security and Investment Act gave the government power to “call in” and impose changes or block deals in specific sectors, such as defence. Moreover, stakeholders can only know whether a deal aligns with state industrial objectives if the UK has clearly understandable sector strategies in the first place.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Tesla, Elon Musk, Kirsty Wigglesworth, Sunak’s, It’s, Neil Unmack, Cameron, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: British, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, National Security and Investment, X, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, ”, China

☆ Sunak rolls the dice with Cameron resurrection
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Rishi Sunak's latest pivot is riskier than it might look. The British prime minister has appointed former leader David Cameron as foreign secretary, part of a reshuffle in which he sacked firebrand Home Secretary Suella Braverman. The move suggests Sunak may be looking to appeal to centrist voters ahead of next year’s national ballot, but that may also make his party more fragile. Cameron, who left parliament in 2016 after proposing a referendum on Brexit he then lost, isn’t an obvious choice for Sunak. Centrist voters may not forgive him for allowing an EU referendum and jumping ship shortly afterwards.

Persons: David Cameron, Suella Braverman, Cameron, Keir Starmer, Sunak, Neil Unmack, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, firebrand, Greensill Capital, Conservative, X, Thomson

☆ HSBC vote gives Ping An a fresh shove towards exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Ping An Insurance (601318.SS) is having an underwhelming week. Instead, HSBC’s results were decent and the AGM resolution was crushed. True, 20% of votes cast went in favour of plans for a strategic review each quarter which could assess whether to spin off HSBC’s key Asian arm, and to reinstate the bank’s pre-Covid dividend. Ping An could continue to chunter away at HSBC boss Noel Quinn from the sidelines. Throw in the lack of investor support implied by the vote, and Ping An’s essential choice – to pipe down or to sell its stake – has become ever more stark.

☆ Adidas runs harder, but also stands still
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That beat analyst expectations of 15 million euros, and was aided by double digit sales growth in Latin America and Asia. The good cheer partly reflects the low expectations of Adidas’s investors. They hold shares worth about half their mid-2021 level, and while sales globally didn’t fall 4% as forecast, they still dipped 1% year-on-year. Meanwhile, CEO Bjorn Gulden has to decide what to do with stacks of Yeezy trainers in storage ever since the company severed ties with the musician. Although certain products like Gazelle and Sambo are doing well, the 40% margins on Yeezy sales were ten times Adidas’s overall level.

☆ Shopify offloads its logistics baggage
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TORONTO, May 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Shopify (SHOP.TO) is finding that simpler is better after all. Investors welcomed the move: Shares of the company led by Tobias Lütke shot up over 20% in morning trade. Shopify wanted to build out its own logistics business, and now it's leaving that job to Flexport instead. That said, Shopify already uses partnerships with other companies to expand in hard-to-crack areas like fintech, including with payments giant Stripe and buy-now-pay-later company Affirm (AFRM.O). Although Shopify said on Thursday that first-quarter revenue rose 25% year-on-year, beating analyst expectations, Shopify's small-business customers are under pressure from rising interest rates.

☆ UniCredit’s M&A hunt has more glitter than gold
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The resulting improved valuations should in theory put the veteran dealmaker in a strong position to pounce on a rival. As Orcel pushed up earnings, UniCredit shares have recovered and their ratio with BPM is now back to where it was before the conflict. Still, the two lenders have diverged operationally: after a better-than-expected quarter UniCredit is now forecasting net earnings of over 6.5 billion euros in 2023, almost double the 3.9 billion euros it delivered in 2021. At 3 euros, its projected earnings per share this year are more than four times the 0.7 euros seen in 2021, Refinitiv data shows. (By Lisa Jucca)(Corrects to change “5.5 billion euros” to “over 6.5 billion euros” in paragraph three.)

☆ UniCredit finds costly fix for faulty CEO pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UniCredit shares are up 75% over the last twelve months, against 22% for the STOXX Europe 600 Banks Index. To give Orcel an incentive to beat his goals again, and to keep the pay-conscious dealmaker happy, UniCredit tweaked the package. It hiked his fixed pay to 3.25 million euros but changed the way the bonus will be allocated. If Orcel hits new and more challenging targets he will earn a bonus of 4.25 million euros, lower than last year’s payout, paid all in stock. But if he overshoots again, he could get up to 9.75 million euros.

☆ Euro-banks have done their time in valuation jail
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Major euro zone and UK banks are trading at a 40% discount to the region’s wider benchmark index, using price to forward earnings multiples tracked by Refinitiv. The subsequent euro zone crisis in 2012 prompted a wave of bad debt that weighed down earnings. More recently, though, euro zone lenders have been facing up to their past sins, and offloading non-performing loans. There’s no evidence of a bank lending splurge, despite years of rock-bottom interest rates. Between November 2012 and November 2022, euro zone banks’ total lending to households and companies grew at an annual clip of under 2%, a fraction of its pre-2008 pace.

☆ UniCredit CEO Orcel has leverage in pay debate
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Under UniCredit’s remuneration policies, Orcel receives 2.5 million euros in salary, with the potential for twice that via an annual bonus. A regulatory cap prevents UniCredit from paying its CEO a bigger bonus, so the board may have to hike his fixed salary to pay him more. UniCredit Chairman Pier Carlo Padoan said Orcel has not asked for a pay rise. Follow @LJucca on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSItalian lender UniCredit will review the pay package of its Chief Executive Andrea Orcel ahead of its 2023 general meeting. Orcel’s pay package envisages a fixed salary of 2.5 million euros a year and a bonus of up 5 million euros.

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