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☆ Bluebell Capital Partners claims there's a 'complete lack of oversight' on the BlackRock board
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | 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 EmailActivist hedge fund Bluebell Capital Partners claims there's a 'lack of oversight' on the BlackRock boardGiuseppe Bivona, partner and CIO at Bluebell Capital Partners, discusses Bluebell's request to BlackRock's shareholders to discuss the separation of its chairman and CEO roles. BlackRock has responded by saying Bluebell has made "multiple misguided, incorrect and contradictory criticisms."

Persons: there's, Giuseppe Bivona, BlackRock, Bluebell Organizations: Capital Partners, BlackRock, Bluebell Capital Partners

☆ Investor Tribeca presents Glencore with ideas to raise shareholder value – How it may unfold
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Tribeca has been a shareholder of Glencore for seven years and has been engaging with management for a year. The company has excellent core asset quality in copper, zinc and coal, as well as a world-leading commodity trading business. Notably, Bluebell Capital Partners agitated for a demerger of Glencore's thermal coal business in 2021. However, in 2023, after acquiring a 77% interest in Teck's steelmaking coal business, Glencore stated its intention to demerge its combined coal and carbon steel businesses. The same can be said for the divestment of the trading business.

Persons: Glencore, David Aylward, Gary Nagle, astutely, Berkshire Hathaway, Ivan Glasenberg, Ken Squire Organizations: Glencore, Tribeca Investment Partners, Tribeca, Financial Times, Australian Securities Exchange, London Stock Exchange, BHP, Rio Tinto, Bluebell Capital Partners, LSE, Rio, NYSE, 13D Locations: Switzerland, Australia, Africa, South America, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, London, Tribeca, Glencore, Swiss, Rio, Europe, cyclicality, Berkshire

☆ Activist Bluebell believes BP is 50% undervalued compared to peers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

The company's segments include gas & low-carbon energy, oil production & operations and customers & products. Its gas business includes upstream activities that produce natural gas, integrated gas and power, and gas trading. Its oil production & operations segment comprises upstream activities that produce crude oil, including Bpx Energy. As of Bluebell's October 4, 2023, letter to BP, BP traded on a price-earnings ratio of 6.7 times, a 44% discount to Chevron and ExxonMobil, which on average traded at 12 times. To make it even clearer how the market views BP's strategy, on February 7, 2023, when BP announced its partial retracement from this strategy, BP's share price rose 8% on the day and 17% on the week.

Persons: Giuseppe Bivona, Marco Taricco, Bivona, –, Helge Lund, Bluebell, BP's, Bernard Looney, Shell, Looney's, Looney, Pamela Daley, Solvay, Glencore, Ken Squire Organizations: BP Bunge, Bpx Energy, Castrol, Bluebell Capital Partners, Bluebell Partners, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Bluebell, International Energy Agency, EV, Exxon, Shell, Mr, Renewables, Power, BP's Board, BlackRock, 13D Locations: bioenergy, Europe, Bluebell, Paris, Bioenergy, United States, U.S

☆ Partner at activist investor Bluebell calls on BP to scale back its green agenda
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | 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 EmailPartner at activist investor Bluebell calls on BP to scale back its green agendaGiuseppe Bivona, partner and co-chief investment officer at activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners, discusses the firm’s calls for BP to bolster its oil and gas investments.

Persons: Giuseppe Bivona Organizations: Bluebell, BP, Bluebell Capital Partners

☆ One activist investor is taking on BP, urging the oil giant to scale back green pledges
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

And on that front, we are not asking BP to renege on its strategy, but to adapt its strategy to the reality." Auchincloss has since been appointed as permanent CEO of the British oil and gas major. In response to the publication of the letter, a spokesperson for BP said the company "welcomes constructive engagement" with its shareholders. We continue to make significant progress, remain focused on delivery, and are confident the strategy will grow the value of bp and deliver sustainable long-term value for shareholders," BP said. Bivona declined to disclose Bluebell's stake in BP, saying that it was below a reporting threshold.

Persons: Giuseppe Bivona, Bivona, CNBC's, Bivone, Marco Taricco, Helge Lund, Murray Auchincloss, Auchincloss Organizations: Capital Partners, BP, Financial, Danone Locations: Bluebell, London

FRANKFURT, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Bayer's (BAYGn.DE) new CEO plans to cut management jobs to speed up decision-making as a first step to overhaul the embattled German industrial group, which is facing investor pressure to break up, three people familiar with the matter said. But the new CEO will likely have only a short respite period to come up with concrete strategic proposals. Anderson has been tasked with reviving Bayer's share price, which has underperformed rivals, weighed down by the lingering costs of U.S. weedkiller litigation. Anderson said last month he was not ruling out any options as part of his review of the company's strategy and structure, saying he was "leaving no stone unturned". He added he would provide an initial update in the coming months and detailed plans in early 2024.

Persons: Bill Anderson, Anderson, Roche, Oliver Kohlhaas, Kohlhaas, Werner Baumann, Ludwig Burger, Patricia Weiss, Emma, Victoria Farr, Josephine Mason, David Holmes Organizations: Bayer, McKinsey, Artisan Partners, Reuters, Bluebell Capital Partners, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Frankfurt

Reuters GraphicsReuters spoke to four shareholders that have launched activist campaigns who said that some big consumer goods companies are ripe for executive changes after failing to impress. Reuters GraphicsMany large consumer goods companies generally hold low levels of debt and are cash generative, said André Medeiros, managing director and Alvarez & Marsal's EMEA consumer and retail leader. 'ADVOCATING FOR MANAGEMENT CHANGE'Gianluca Ferrari, founding partner of investor Clearway Capital, said his firm had some consumer companies on its radar but declined to name them. He did not identify specific executives nor disclose the nature of his work with consumer companies. In October, Reuters reported that Peltz had approached former CEOs of consumer goods companies as candidates for the Unilever top job.

Persons: Danone's, Emmanuel Faber, David Samra, Samra, Alvarez, Marsal, André Medeiros, Nelson Peltz, Artisan's Samra, We're, Peltz, Heinz, Gianluca Ferrari, Ferrari, Clearway, Glanbia, Faber, Bluebell, Nicolas Ceron, Ceron, underperformance, Kraft Heinz, KHC.O, Andrew Hayes, Russell Reynolds, John Long, Korn, Long, Alan Jope departure's, Unilever's, Graeme Pitkethly, Hein Schumacher, Heinz's, Bill Johnson, Nelson, Richa Naidu, Matt Scuffham, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Artisan Partners, Reuters, Danone, Evian, Unilever, Consumer Products, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Marsal's EMEA, Billionaire, Artisan, Cadbury Schweppes, Heinz, Trian, Bluebell Capital, shareholders, Bluebell, Diageo, Russell Reynolds Associates, Thomson Locations: York, H.J, Frankfurt, Western Europe, North America

☆ Exclusive-Bayer investor Artisan calls for breakup of company
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Richa Naidu | Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Artisan wants the drugs-to-pesticides company to find new owners for its over-the-counter and pharmaceutical units, it said. Before taking over as CEO, Anderson said he was keeping an open mind on whether to break up the company. Artisan is Bayer’s 16th biggest investor, according to Refinitiv data. Samra said the chairman of Bayer’s supervisory board, Norbert Winkeljohann, has not directly written a letter back to Artisan, but said Artisan had “been in contact” with the company. Samra said Artisan “has not suggested specifically how (Bayer) should restructure their business” in the letter.

Persons: “, Wolfgang Rattay, Bill Anderson, Roche, Anderson, ” David Samra, Bayer, ” Samra, they’re, ” Bayer, Werner Baumann, Samra, Norbert Winkeljohann, China’s Syngenta, Johnson Organizations: Bayer, Artisan Partners, Reuters, Bayer AG, REUTERS, Bluebell Capital Partners, Artisan, Artisan’s, Science, pharma, Johnson, GSK Locations: Leverkusen, Germany, Swiss

☆ Larry Fink’s Bet on Saudi Oil Money Is Also His Latest E.S.G. Woe
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Maureen Farrell | More About Maureen Farrell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, Larry Fink, the chief executive of the giant asset manager BlackRock, has been broadcasting a message to corporate America: Environmental, social and governance goals should be core to how companies do business. So when BlackRock announced in July that it would appoint Amin Nasser, the head of the world’s largest oil company, Aramco, to its board, investors and politicians immediately called out Mr. Fink on what they said was his hypocrisy. It’s the latest example of the increasingly difficult situation Mr. Fink finds himself in: His championing of E.S.G. has drawn accusations of “woke” capitalism from the right while his embrace of energy companies has upset those on the left. The political blowback has made it more challenging for Mr. Fink to do his day job of finding new sources of money that BlackRock — which oversees $9 trillion in assets — needs to drive growth and keep shareholders happy.

Persons: Larry Fink, Amin Nasser, Fink, ”, Giuseppe Bivona, Fink’s, “ Organizations: BlackRock, Aramco, Bluebell Locations: America, London

LONDON, July 27(Reuters Breakingviews) - The world is getting hotter, but when it comes to achieving net zero investors are cooling. Glencore (GLEN.L), the $75 billion Swiss group that is one of the world’s biggest coal miners, makes an interesting case study for what’s changed. Either way, the plan raises the prospect of Glencore bulking up in coal before offloading some or all of the enlarged business. True, a listing of Glencore’s enlarged coal business might not happen for a few years. While prices have now more than halved, Glencore‘s coal business would still make $9 billion in EBITDA in 2023 if they averaged $200 a tonne.

Persons: what’s, Glencore, Gary Nagle, Nagle, Teck, wouldn’t, There’s, Wael Sawan, Larry Fink, underwhelmed, ” Nagle, Glencore’s, George Hay, Karen Kwok, Peter Thal Larsen, Aditya Munjuluru Organizations: Reuters, Resources, Teck Resources, Bluebell Capital Partners, Investment, International Energy Agency, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Rio Tinto, BHP, GQG Partners, Capital Research Group, BlackRock, Vanguard, Services, Saudi, Aramco, United Nations, of, Pensions, Shell, Financial Times, “, Melbourne Mining, Capital Partners, Thomson Locations: Glasgow, Ukraine, EBITDA, American, U.S, Glencore, London, New York, Europe, Melbourne

Kering, the French luxury goods company that owns brands like Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent, surprised the fashion industry this week when it announced a sweeping reorganization of its top ranks, including the departure of Marco Bizzarri, the longtime chief executive of Gucci, Kering’s premier brand. Activists have turned on the luxury industry in recent years. Dan Loeb’s Third Point as well as Artisan Partners called for change at Richemont, the owner of jewelry brands like Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. But the most active recently is Bluebell, a four-year-old, $250 million firm that has also taken aim at Richemont, and the fashion brand Hugo Boss. Bluebell failed to persuade fellow Richemont shareholders to add Francesco Trapani, the former chief executive of Bulgari, as a director, but the conglomerate agreed to give public investors more influence.

Persons: Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, Marco Bizzarri, Gucci, François, Henri Pinault, Kering, Dan Loeb’s, Van Cleef, Hugo Boss, Bluebell, Francesco Trapani Organizations: Kering’s, Bluebell Capital Partners, Partners, Cartier, BlackRock, GlaxoSmithKline Locations: London

☆ BlackRock CEO Fink trains successors, with no imminent plan to retire -WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 13 (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink has been preparing five key leaders to take his role whenever he decides to step down in the future, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Though Fink has no imminent plans to retire, he along with President Robert Kapito has been training these candidates for "The Great Race" - to choose the successor - in what Fink calls is the "No. Fink told the newspaper he hoped to build camaraderie among the five, and not competition, so they will keep working together. BlackRock said it plans no major changes to the way it engages with companies. Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Unlike rivals Anglo American (AAL.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), (RIO.L), London-listed Glencore is still mining coal. Activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners last year argued that Glencore should spin off the coal division, following in the steps of Anglo American. His plan is to hang on to coal and keep annual production steady at around 110 million tonnes up to 2025. Over the longer term, he’ll then start shutting coal mines, with at least a dozen closures planned before 2035. EBITDA from Glencore’s coal operations rose to $17.9 billion from $5.2 billion the previous year due to increasing prices.

The campaign increases the pressure on non-executive Chairman Norbert Winkeljohann, who has faced calls from large shareholders for the swift replacement of Chief Executive Werner Baumann, who engineered Bayer's troubled Monsanto takeover. The approaches come after Ubben's activist investment fund Inclusive Capital Partners said last month it had bought a 0.83% stake in Bayer. David Herro, deputy chairman of Harris Associates, told Reuters in brief emailed comments that Ubben had contacted him to discuss Bayer. A spokesperson said Bayer was always open to a constructive dialogue with shareholders and declined to comment further. Investors who have publicly called for a swift CEO change hold at least a combined 6.7% in Bayer, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Bayer investor calls for swift replacement of CEO -newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Bayer (BAYGn.DE) investor Deka has called for CEO Werner Baumann to be replaced ahead of his scheduled departure, adding to mounting pressure on the German drugmaker. "There is a window of opportunity for Chairman Norbert Winkeljohann to act before the annual general meeting at the end of April. He has to seize that opportunity, otherwise the pressure on him will increase as well," Speich added. "Generally speaking we are always open to a constructive dialogue with our stakeholders," a Bayer spokesperson said, declining to comment specifically on the interview. Another activist investment fund, hedge fund veteran Jeffrey Ubben's Inclusive Capital Partners, said this month it had also acquired a stake in Bayer.

☆ Bayer investor criticizes company chair for lack of initiative
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The Bayer (BAYGn.DE) investor Union Investment criticized Bayer's chair for a lack of engagement, such as exploring a spin-off of the company's consumer health division, according to an interview in WirtschaftsWoche. Bayer is facing demands from activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners to break up, with a sale of the company's consumer health unit and, at a later stage, for a separation of Bayer's pharmaceuticals and agriculture businesses. Bayer Chair Norbert Winkeljohann "does seek dialogue with investors, but he should have initiated more," Markus Manns, portfolio manager at Union Investment, told WirtschaftsWoche. "It would definitely have been a matter for the supervisory board to help initiate a spin-off of Consumer Health," Manns added. "But generally speaking we are always open to a constructive dialogue with our stakeholders," the spokesperson said.

☆ Bayer Could Go the Way of General Electric and Daimler
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Stephen Wilmot | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A more comprehensive split of Bayer, with healthcare parting ways with crop science, is a clear option for a new boss. In the slow-burning decline of the industrial conglomerate, the next shoe to drop might be German drugs-to-crops giant Bayer . The inventor of aspirin has attracted a lot of attention from activist investors lately. Jeff Ubben ‘s Inclusive Capital Partners disclosed a stake last week. Bluebell Capital Partners, a small European fund that helped to oust the former chief executive officer of French yogurt maker Danone , also has built a stake.

☆ Bayer’s rude health lays better path for breakup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Activists like Jeff Ubben’s Inclusive Capital Partners may now, however, be in a better position to push for a breakup. Smaller peer Bluebell Capital Partners has also bought in recently. Using UBS forecasts, they would be worth 50 billion euros and 88 billion euros respectively. Its smaller consumer drugs division might fetch another 18 billion euros, using peer Reckitt Benckiser’s (RKT.L) 12 times multiple. Add them up, take off debt, pension liabilities and a further 6 billion euros of future Roundup litigation costs, and Bayer’s equity could be worth nearly 110 billion euros.

☆ Bayer gains on report activist Bluebell pushing for break-up
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Bayer (BAYGn.DE) shares gained 1.7% in early Wednesday trade following a report activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners has built an equity stake and is pushing for a break-up of the German pharmaceutical and agriculture company. A Bayer spokesperson, who declined to comment on the report, said: "Generally speaking we are always open for a constructive dialogue with our stakeholders." The report follows news on Monday that activist investment fund Inclusive Capital Partners, run by hedge fund veteran Jeffrey Ubben, has acquired a 0.83% stake in Bayer, which has seen its market value slide in recent years. Bayer on Tuesday flagged billions in additional sales potential from its drug development pipeline, buoying its shares. Bayer shares have lagged($1 = 0.9308 euros)Reporting by Ludwig Burger Editing by Rachel More and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Morning Bid: Risk on, risk off
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

European company results kick-off in earnest on Wednesday, with retailer Sainsbury (SBRY.L) and JD Sports reporting. On the macro economic front, the World Bank cut its 2023 growth forecasts to levels teetering on the brink of recession for many countries as the impact of central bank rate hikes intensifies, Russia's war in Ukraine continues and the world's major economic engines sputter. The U.S. consumer price index report on Thursday is the big event for markets. The report is expected to show December's headline inflation at 6.5% versus 7.1% in November. Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:RESULTS: Sainsbury, JD Sports, Barratt DevelopmentsReporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] A trader works as a screen displays the trading information for BlackRock on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., October 14, 2022. Elsewhere, Florida said it plans to pull $2 billion in investments from BlackRock, which said the action put politics above investor interest. BlackRock, meanwhile, also faces pressure from campaigners and others to drive quicker change by using its voting power to force boards to act to reduce carbon emissions. Against that backdrop, BlackRock said in an annual update on its stewardship policies, which guide talks with boards ahead of shareholder meetings, that it had only made a "few changes". One was to mention in the policy for the first time its support for enhanced disclosures from companies exposed to risks and opportunities relating to nature.

Carl Icahn had a textbook strategy for the Nevada-based energy utility Southwest Gas Holdings. In August, Southwest Gas' board decided against a divestiture, and the sale of subsidiaries that Icahn had urged remains uncertain. "Shareholders don't want to hear it, but you really have great difficulty selling a company at a good price today," the widely followed activist investor Icahn told Insider. via CNBCBut, like Icahn in the case of Southwest Gas, participants in this new onslaught may find themselves confounded by an increasingly complex and fraught business environment. According to Lazard, 37% of activist campaigns this year were launched by first-timers, the highest proportion since the company started tracking these figures in 2015.

Carl Icahn had a textbook strategy for the Nevada-based energy utility Southwest Gas Holdings. In August, Southwest Gas' board decided against a divestiture, and the sale of subsidiaries that Icahn had urged remains uncertain. That means that the sale of companies like Southwest Gas is off the table for the time being — or will get done at prices far lower than before. via CNBCBut, like Icahn in the case of Southwest Gas, participants in this new onslaught may find themselves confounded by an increasingly complex and fraught business environment. According to Lazard, 37% of activist campaigns this year were launched by first-timers, the highest proportion since the company started tracking these figures in 2015.

☆ North Carolina treasurer wants BlackRock CEO to go, but keeps assets at firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Ross Kerber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 9 (Reuters) - North Carolina's state treasurer on Friday called for BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) Chief Executive Laurence Fink to resign or be removed from the top asset management firm, citing its focus on sustainable investing, but said public assets will stay with the firm. A division of Folwell's office, the North Carolina Retirement Systems (NCRS), has about $14 billion invested through BlackRock. A focus on ESG is not a focus on returns," the statement said. Meanwhile, Democratic officials and investors want BlackRock and other companies to come to terms with issues like climate change or workforce diversity. Earlier this week, small activist hedge fund Bluebell Capital Partners also sought Fink's departure over the company's ESG efforts.

☆ 2023 is shaping up to be a big year for dealmaking in live sports. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Big deals for the big (and little) screen. Next year is shaping up to be a big one for media deals. Like many other industries, media quickly turned quiet on the dealmaking front this year as the economy soured. However, a stabilization of interest rates, along with money burning a hole in investors' pockets, could lead to a big 2023, insiders say. The landscape for media deals is fascinating when you consider the two opposing forces, as Lucia pointed out to me.

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