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☆ Sky spinoff is Comcast’s least-bad option
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The boss of U.S. media giant Comcast (CMCSA.O) may want to make an exception for Sky. Including acquired debt, Roberts paid a multiple of 15 times Sky’s EBITDA to clinch the deal, two and a half times the company’s enterprise value before the takeover battle began. The financial consequences of Roberts’ determination became apparent in October when Comcast took a non-cash impairment charge of $8.6 billion related to Sky. Goldman Sachs analysts expect Sky to generate adjusted EBITDA of $2.1 billion in 2023, nearly one-third less than in 2019. Comcast said on Oct. 27 that it took a non-cash impairment charge of $8.6 billion related to Sky assets for the third quarter of 2022.

SummarySummary Companies Government met TIM's key shareholders CDP, Vivendi on ThursdayWants to spin off Sparkle, put it under state controlSparkle manages fibre cables that stretch over 500,000 kmROME, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Italy's government wants to bring Telecom Italia's (TLIT.MI) (TIM) submarine cable unit Sparkle into state hands, three sources close to the matter told Reuters. The plan emerged after the government on Thursday started talks with leading TIM investors Vivendi (VIV.PA) and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) to identify "the best market-friendly options" for the phone group. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration aims to secure control of TIM's landline grid, an asset deemed of strategic importance, to create a wholesale-only broadband player. But the sources added that Rome also wants a spin-off of Sparkle, given the sensitivity of the data it carries, in order to put the unit into state hands. The sources said there would at least be three more government-sponsored meetings with TIM's stakeholders, with one scheduled for Dec. 20.

[1/2] FILE PHOTO: Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock, arrives at the DealBook Summit in New York City, U.S., November 30, 2022. The major prize Bluebell has so far scored was at Danone, where it helped oust a chief executive. By comparison, the average activist hedge fund was down 14% for 2022 in November, according to Hedge Fund Research data. BlackRock has also not responded to Bluebell's request to shake up its board and review its environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) strategy. Even if Bluebell does not win concessions from BlackRock, it has at least bet on a company that has performed well in the past.

Giuseppe Bivona and Marco Taricco, Bluebell's partners, wrote to Fink, saying they want someone else to run the company. Bluebell was founded in 2019 and has taken on companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Glencore, Vivendi and Danone, where it engineered the ouster of former CEO Emmanuel Faber. "Fink clearly has political ambitions because it is not his job as chief executive of BlackRock to dictate energy policy,” Bivona told Reuters in an interview. BlackRock did not support Bluebell's campaign to oust the CEO of chemical company Solvay or at Leonardo SpA (LDOF.MI), where Bluebell wanted to promote a liability action against the CEO. A BlackRock spokesman said it did not "support Bluebell's campaigns as we did not consider them to be in the best economic interests of our clients."

☆ UBS reveals global stocks that will win — or lose — when China reopens
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

But when they do, Swiss bank UBS has identified stocks in the MSCI Europe index that will do better than others "in an environment where China's growth rebounds." The investment bank screened for companies in Europe that meet the following criteria: A high percentage of sales exposure to China. The stocks in the table below have been ranked using UBS' composite score, which brings together the above factors. London-listed engineering groups IMI and Weir Group and Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered were among the top 15 stocks with high exposure to China, according to UBS. According to UBS, shares of chemicals and specialty materials companies BASF , Solvay , Arkema and Sika are also exposed.

Such a plan met heavy reservations within Giorgia Meloni's new right-wing administration, which decided to put CDP's bid on hold on Monday night, two government officials told Reuters. TIM, which has been under pressure for years due to a hyper-competitive domestic market, had no immediate comment. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti this month said Butti's plans required extensive discussions within the government, which had "several options" to secure control of TIM's network. Butti, who has openly criticised CDP's plans for TIM, has called on the Treasury-owned lender to take over TIM in full to then sell its service operations, including its Brazil-listed unit. TIM is expected to hold a board meeting on Wednesday to discuss the appointment of a director to replace Renault boss Luca de Meo.

☆ Idealab founder Bill Gross started selling solar energy kits in 1973 at 15 years old. Now he's leading solar tech company Heliogen
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Idealab and Heliogen Founder Bill Gross speaks onstage during Vox Media's 2022 Code Conference on September 08, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California. "Because I was reading Popular Science magazine, I saw people used to take out little ads in the back," Gross told CNBC. One limiting factor for solar energy is its intermittency, which means it only delivers power when the sun is shining. But we're delivering the energy continuously because the energy is coming out of the rock bed," Gross told CNBC. The price of fossil fuels after Russia invaded Ukraine is a game changer," Gross told CNBC.

Cabinet undersecretary Alessio Butti will now be in charge of the strategy, according to a decree on Friday seen by Reuters. Butti has been critical of the previous government's plan to cut TIM's 25 billion euro ($26 billion) debt pile by selling its landline grid. The sale is a key plank of CEO Pietro Labriola's strategy to break up and revamp the battered company. The multi-billion euro offer would be part of a broader project to merge TIM's network with smaller rival Open Fiber, which is controlled by CDP. Earlier this month Giorgetti warned that Butti's plans for TIM needs to be extensively discussed within the government.

☆ Italy PM empowers top aide Butti to oversee fast-broadband strategy - draft
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has given cabinet undersecretary Alessio Butti powers to oversee Rome's strategic policies to develop ultra-fast broadband networks, a government decree seen by Reuters showed on Friday. The multi-billion euro offer would be part of a broader plan to merge TIM's network with smaller rival Open Fiber, which is controlled by CDP. Butti criticised such a plan and called on CDP to take control of TIM as a way to pursue the goal of combining the former phone monopoly network assets with those of Open Fiber. TIM's top investor is French media company Vivendi (VIV.PA) with a 24% stake and the second largest is CDP with a 10% stake. Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Vivendi-Lagardere deal faces full-scale EU antitrust probe - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Media group Vivendi's (VIV.PA) proposed acquisition of rival Lagardere is likely to face a full-scale EU antitrust investigation, people close to the matter said on Tuesday. The proposed deal would combine France's two biggest publishing groups, Lagardere's Hachette and Vivendi's Editis, and has come in for criticism from rivals including renowned peer Gallimard. The European Commission is expected to launch an in-depth investigation after finishing its preliminary review of the deal on Nov. 30, the sources said. The EU competition enforcer and Vivendi declined to comment. The mass media holding company already owns 57% of Lagardere after a bid for all of the group's shares.

☆ Italy govt officials to discuss plans for Telecom Italia on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Government officials will discuss plans for Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) later on Tuesday, Italy's economy minister said, responding to a question about the former phone monopoly's landline grid. Giorgetti was asked whether the new right-wing government backed Italian state lender CDP's plans to submit an offer for TIM's landline grid by the end of the month. CDP's multi-billion euro preliminary offer for TIM's landline grid is part of a plan to combine it with its broadband unit Open Fiber. The long awaited offer is expected to value TIM's landline grid and submarine cable unit Sparkle at between 15 and 18 billion euros including some 12 billion euros in debt, sources have previously said. Negotiations have been complicated by divergences on valuation, with TIM's top investor, French media conglomerate Vivendi (VIV.PA) demanding 31 billion euros to back a sale.

☆ Vivendi representative Frank Cadoret resigns from Telecom Italia's board
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Telecom Italia (TIM) logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationROME, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) (TIM) said on Wednesday that Frank Cadoret, one of two board members representing top investor Vivendi (VIV.PA), resigned from the post. Vivendi has clashed with Rossi, a former Bank of Italy official, over corporate governance issues on a number of occasions. The other Vivendi representative on TIM's board is the French media conglomerate's chief executive, Arnaud de Puyfontaine. Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Elvira Pollina, editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Telecom Italia profit falls, net debt rises
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italy's biggest phone company on Wednesday said earnings after interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and lease (EBITDA-AL) were 1.31 billion euros in July-September. That is in line with an analyst consensus provided by the company and down from 1.48 billion euros a year ago. Revenue in Italy, where the former phone monopoly makes the bulk of its turnover, fell by 5.3% to 2.92 billion euros, also matching expectations. As a consequence, it wrote off deferred tax assets for a net 1.96 billion euros. Adjusted net debt was up 15% year-on-year to 25.5 billion euros at the end of September.

☆ Biden laughs off question about House Republicans' plans to investigate his son Hunter: 'Lots of luck in your senior year'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A segment of House Republicans has talked about probing Hunter Biden for months. "Lots of luck in your senior year, as my coach used to say," Biden said when asked what his message would be to those Republicans. For months, a section of House Republicans has vowed to investigate Biden's family if they retake control of the lower chamber. As he has said repeatedly, Biden also expressed optimism that he could continue to work with some Republicans. The president also sounded upbeat about being able to find areas of agreement with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

☆ European shares gain ground on boost from travel stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/StaffSummarySummary Companies Flutter, Ryanair lead travel stocks higherTravel & leisure index hits near 3-month highsChina-exposed luxury companies declineIrish stocks rallyNov 7 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Monday, reversing declines from the opening bell, as a jump in travel stocks helped outweigh a drag from China-exposed luxury giants. The benchmark STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) added 0.6% by 0929 GMT, extending gains after its fourth straight weekly rise. Flutter Entertainment Plc rose 4.5%, boosting European travel & leisure stocks (.SXTP) by 2.3% and helping it touch a near three-month high. European luxury stocks, including LVMH (LVMH.PA), Pernod Ricard (PERP.PA) and Hermes International (HRMS.PA), dipped between 0.1% and 0.4%. Dutch fertiliser maker OCI (OCI.AS) fell 3.7% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after J.P. Morgan cut its rating on the stock on softer quarterly outlook.

☆ TIM top investor Vivendi keen to discuss network plan with government, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia's (TIM) (TLIT.MI) top investor Vivendi (VIV.PA) is keen to start talks with Italy's new right-wing government on a new plan to create a national broadband company, people close to the French media conglomerate said on Sunday. The potential sale was part of a plan sponsored by the previous government to combine TIM's fixed network assets with those of smaller broadband operator Open Fiber in order to create a national network champion under CDP control. However, regulatory and valuations issues have thwarted efforts so far and the project to create a single network company is now being reassessed by the new government, which was sworn in last month. Butti had previously called on CDP to pursue the single network project taking over TIM, under a plan dubbed "Minerva". Under the plan, TIM would retain the network while hiving off its services operations and its Brazil-listed unit to cut its debt pile.

☆ Factbox: Advertisers react to Twitter's new ownership
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Advertisers are grappling with Twitter's new ownership under Tesla boss Elon Musk, who once tweeted "I hate advertising". General Motors Co (GM.N)The largest U.S. automaker temporarily paused paid advertising on Twitter after Musk completed his takeover of the social media company. The Detroit automaker said it was "engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform under their new ownership." The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (IPG.N)The global advertising and marketing services firm recommended that its clients temporarily pause their advertisements on Twitter, The Wall Street Journal reported. Compiled by Alberto Chiumento, Philipp Krach and Antonis Pothitos; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Labriola met Meloni's chief of staff Gaetano Caputi at the prime minister's office in Rome, the sources said, without providing further details. Under the potential deal, CDP, which owns a 10% stake in TIM, would merge TIM's infrastructure with that of smaller rival Open Fiber to create a national network champion under its control. Butti's appointment as cabinet undersecretary has sparked speculation over a potential bid, pushing TIM's shares to a two-month high on Wednesday. TIM's board is also expected to kick-off the process to select a minority partner for its enterprise service arm. It could use these to stop any deal for TIM's assets.

☆ European shares drop as inflation, slowdown fears grip markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 21 (Reuters) - European shares dropped on Friday, triggered by fears that major central banks would retain their aggressive rate-hike stance to rein in prices, while investors digested mixed earnings reports that did little to ease concerns of an economic slowdown. read moreRenault (RENA.PA) confirmed its full-year outlook and posted a rise in quarterly sales. Still, shares of the French carmaker were down 2.3%, with its executive flagging raw material supply concerns. All sectoral indexes were in red, led by retail stocks (.SXRP), which dropped 3%. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Under the plan, Vivendi's top investor Vincent Bollore would sell all Editis shares he would receive after the transaction, which would consist of a simultaneous distribution of the publishing unit's shares to Vivendi shareholders and its listing. Vivendi wants to sell Editis to secure the takeover of French media group Lagardere. Vivendi's sales totaled 2.58 billion euros ($2.54 billion) in the third quarter, against 2.48 billion euros in the same quarter last year. Vivendi added however that growth at Havas was offset by a slowdown in its pay-TV unit Canal+. Canal+ revenues in the quarter dropped 4.9% at constant currencies and like-for-like, to 1.42 billion euros.

☆ Revived takeover talk boosts Italy's TIM as network deal stalls
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TIM shares, which last week plumbed an-all time low of 0.1687 euros, rose as much as 10% to 0.1947 euros, with Milan-based traders citing the speculative appeal of a potential bid. TIM this year turned its back on a 0.505 euro non-binding approach by U.S. fund KKR (KKR.N). Separates sources familiar with the matter told Reuters Vivendi also has some reservations about continuing talks with CDP on the network sale on an exclusive basis. The Brothers of Italy party, which leads the right-wing bloc that won the Sept. 25 election, backs the creation of a unified network champion. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Elvira Pollina Editing by Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TIM board has not decided over request to extend deadline for network deal-source
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN, Oct 14 (Reuters) - A board meeting of Telecom Italia (TIM) did not take any decision on Friday over a request by state-lender CDP and its partners to extend a deadline to clinch a deal over the Italian phone group's network, a source close to the matter said. CDP, infrastructure fund Macquarie and Open Fiber have asked for more time to negotiate a deal to buy TIM's network assets, pushing back an initial deadline for a binding agreement set at the end of this month. The representatives of TIM's top shareholder Vivendi (VIV.PA) were not able to attend the meeting, a person close to the French group said earlier on Friday. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Elvira Pollina, writing by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Gianluca SemeraroOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TIM plunges to hit record lows after latest delay to network deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Under a preliminary agreement sealed in May and sponsored by Italy's outgoing government, state lender CDP and TIM had aimed for a binding deal by the end of October but that deadline will now slip. read moreCDP's approach is part of a long-held plan to combine TIM's fixed network assets with those of state-backed rival Open Fiber to create a single national network operator under CDP control. TIM shares fell as much as 3.5% to hit a record low at 0.1743 euros. Divergences on valuations have complicated negotiations, with TIM's top investor Vivendi (VIV.PA) seeking 31 billion euros, some 10-15 billion above CDP's valuation, sources have said. The approach valued the venture at 6 billion euros, a price tag deemed inadequate by TIM, sources had previously said.

☆ Parties bidding for TIM's grid want more time for talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italy's state lender CDP is readying a preliminary offer for TIM's landline grid as it pursues plans to create a single broadband company with smaller rival Open Fiber, in which it is the largest shareholder. Macquarie (MAQ.AX), which has a minority stake in Open Fiber, is also expected to join the bid. Valuation issues have also been a stumbling block in negotiations between TIM and CDP. TIM's top investor Vivendi (VIV.PA) is looking for a valuation of 31 billion euros ($30.06 billion) to back a sale of the grid with the prospect of a merger with Open Fiber, a source familiar with the French media group had said. CDP values Telecom Italia's landline grid in the region of 20 billion euros including debt, sources had previously said.

☆ Lionsgate leaning toward spinning off its studio business instead of Starz
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Lionsgate is leaning toward spinning off its studio division rather than its Starz cable and streaming unit, according to people familiar with the matter. Lionsgate is engaged in talks with multiple potential partners about selling a stake in the studio business, said the people. Those talks are likely to more quickly reach a deal Lionsgate is comfortable with than for Starz since there's more robust interest, the people said. The studio business produces films and TV series, and includes a library of more than 17,000 titles, such as "The Hunger Games," "The Expendables," and "Mad Men." "As negotiations progress, we have increased our focus on the possibility of spinning our studio business, creating a number of financial and strategic benefits," Lionsgate said in the filing.

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