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☆ UBS investors warm to Credit Suisse deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Oliver Hirt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Several fund managers who hold UBS stock have told Reuters they think UBS has bought Credit Suisse at a good price, with some even describing it as a steal. "UBS got Credit Suisse for practically nothing, so accordingly the deal will work out for them," another investor told Reuters. Still, UBS inherits a troubled legacy at Credit Suisse, said Thomae, pointing to legal risks which UBS has said could cost billions of dollars. Rivals have poached entire teams from Credit Suisse, he said, and some clients are likely to follow them. Deka's Thomae said UBS and Credit Suisse together would have a market share in Switzerland that is just within acceptable limits.

Persons: Colm Kelleher, Guy de Blonay, Andreas Thomae, Thomae, de Blonay, De Blonay, JP Morgan, Kian Abouhossein, Julius Baer, Deka's Thomae, Oliver Hirt, John Revill, David Holmes Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, Switzerland's, Reuters, Jupiter Asset Management, CS, Swiss, UBS AG, Credit Suisse AG, STATE, Deka Investment, Fund, Rivals, Suisse, JP, Suisse's, Investors, Credit, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Suisse's Swiss, Switzerland

Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch said on Friday that the takeover of Siemens Gamesa had not been a mistake and that the price had seemed right at the time when the offer was made. 'SO MANY QUESTIONS'Top-20 investor Deka Investment said "significantly greater efforts" were now needed by Siemens Energy, chaired by Siemens veteran Joe Kaeser, to restore trust. Berenberg analysts pointed out that Siemens Energy had given a fairly upbeat view on Siemens Gamesa along with second-quarter results only a month ago, and that Thursday's announcement did not fit with the recent communication. Siemens Energy CEO Bruch also cited the need to fix Siemens Gamesa's corporate culture, hinting at the fact that the company's merger never fully worked and that major management mistakes were made. When asked earlier this month on whether Siemens Energy was doing well enough to master the challenges of the energy transition, Kaeser said the management team led by Bruch was strong.

Persons: Felix Schroeder, Schroeder, Christian Bruch, Siemens Gamesa, Jochen Eickholt, Spain's, Joe Kaeser, Bruch, Kaeser, Christoph Steitz, Christina Amann, Susan Fenton, Louise Heavens Organizations: Siemens Energy, Siemens, Siemens Gamesa, Union Investment, Deka Investment, Deutsche Bank, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, BERLIN, Bray, European

[1/3] Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG and Dr. Ing. He did not mention the company's Xinjiang plant in China, a joint venture with SAIC Motor (600104.SS), which has become a sore point for human rights activists as well as some shareholders, including top-20 investors Deka Investment and Union Investment. "Volkswagen must be certain that its supply chains are clean," said Ingo Speich, head of sustainability and corporate governance at Deka. Volkswagen's China chief visited the plant in Xinjiang earlier this year and said he saw no evidence of forced labour. Shareholders flagged rising competition from Chinese EV competitors in China, with BYD (002594.SZ) outselling Volkswagen as the top passenger car brand earlier this year.

☆ Chinese competition, Xinjiang plant loom large for Volkswagen investors at AGM
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, May 10 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) investors will demand answers from the carmakers' executives at its annual general meeting on Wednesday on its competitiveness in China and its contested plant in Xinjiang, advance copies of their speeches showed. "Volkswagen must be certain that its supply chains are clean," said Ingo Speich, head of sustainability and corporate governance at Deka. Volkswagen's China chief visited the plant in Xinjiang, jointly owned with SAIC (600104.SS) earlier this year and said he saw no evidence of forced labour. Shareholders will also flag the rising competition from Chinese electric vehicle competitors in China, with BYD outselling the Volkswagen brand to be the bestselling passenger car brand earlier this year. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Jan Schwartz; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Volkswagen sees no sign of forced labor at its plant in Xinjiang
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Volkswagen faced a barrage of criticism from campaigners Tuesday after the head of its Chinese business said he saw no sign of forced labor during a visit to the carmaker’s plant in Xinjiang. Activists and an international group of lawmakers said verifying labor standards in the region was impossible. Rights groups have documented human rights abuses in Xinjiang since the 2000s, including mass forced labor in detention camps which the United Nations said could constitute crimes against humanity. Brandstaetter said he saw no signs of forced labor and that workers’ comments matched the reports Volkswagen had received from SAIC about the plant. Reputational riskVolkswagen says it has never found evidence of forced labor among its Xinjiang workforce and its presence is positive for the local population.

Lawrence Elbaum, co-head of law firm Vinson & Elkins' shareholder activism practice, said investors were looking for value-boosting strategies that do not require much funding in a difficult market. Deka Investment, which has around 367 billion euros ($392 billion) in assets under management and holds stakes in most major German corporations, has repeatedly called out German companies for structural weaknesses. Germany's blue-chip DAX 30 index (.GDAXI) put in the worst performance of any major European stock market in the past year, rising just 2%. Joe Kaeser, supervisory board chairman of Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE), said the United States was much more advanced, and also more successful, in the field of shareholder activism. As CEO of conglomerate Siemens AG from 2013 until 2021, he engineered one of Germany's most successful corporate break-ups, separately listing Siemens Energy and Siemens Healthineers (SHLG.DE) and merging Siemens's wind unit with Spain's Gamesa.

☆ Credit Suisse investor loses faith in management over cash outflows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Thomae said investors were particularly disappointed that withdrawals had continued after Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Koerner and Chairman Axel Lehmann had said the situation had stabilised. Deka, which is owned by Germany's unlisted savings banks, holds a stake of 0.02% in Credit Suisse, according to Refinitiv data. Credit Suisse shares rebounded on Friday, gaining nearly 4% after losing nearly 15% on Thursday when shareholders took fright at results described by one shareholder as "catastrophic." The market is still wondering what the risk/return profile of “New Credit Suisse” will look like," Venditti said. Ratings agencies said Credit Suisse had 'some momentum' in its restructuring, including disposing of non core assets and slashing costs, but faced significant risks ahead.

☆ Thyssenkrupp top-20 investor calls for sale of defense division
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A top-20 investor of Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE) on Friday called for a fast disposal of the German industrial group's warship and submarine division, saying the risks associated with the business outweighed potential benefits. "We demand the immediate sale of all defense activities. According to Refinitiv Eikon data, Deka holds 0.45% of Thyssenkrupp shares, making it the company's 12th-biggest shareholder. Thyssenkrupp is weighing what it calls a standalone solution for its defense division, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), which potentially covers partnerships, joint ventures or any other form of consolidation. "Even a partial sale would be a step in the right direction," Speich said in a speech embargoed for the start of Thyssenkrupp's annual general meeting.

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Jan 19 (Reuters) - BASF (BASFn.DE) investors said that oil and gas business Wintershall Dea's exit from Russia, though painful, clears the way for plans to take it public and for BASF to focus on its chemicals operations. Portfolio manager Arne Rautenberg of mutual fund company Union Investment, among the 10 largest BASF shareholders, welcomed BASF drawing a line. "This step will facilitate an IPO of Wintershall Dea," said Cornelia Zimmermann, a corporate governance specialist at mutual fund group Deka Investment. BASF said last year that the oil and gas company's exposure in Russia was the reason for it to hold off on plans to take Wintershall Dea public. Before the Ukraine war, Russia had accounted for roughly half of WD's global oil and gas output.

☆ Analysis: Investors face dilemma as capital increases fill IPO void
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro | Oliver Hirt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"This is a test as to whether shareholders want to support a company they know well already," he said. In contrast with a drought of initial public offerings (IPO), EMEA companies have raised an overall 33.3 billion euros ($34.99 billion) through capital increases so far this year. Meanwhile, fund managers' cash holdings stand at a near 21-year peak, according to poll data from Bank of America. "However, the market could see more firms turn to shareholders for funding given the rising cost of debt and changing outlook," he added. ($1 = 0.9517 euros)Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro and Oliver Hirt; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The company will be a preferred long-term partner for Credit Suisse, the bank has said. Credit Suisse declined to comment beyond Lehmann's remarks Oct. 27 when the bank unveiled the restructuring. The investment bank spin-off and the sale of the securitized products unit to Apollo are key planks of the reorganization. Klein, a 59-year-old former Citigroup rainmaker who runs advisory boutique M. Klein & Co, has been a Credit Suisse board member since 2018. Klein and Credit Suisse also have discussed combining M. Klein & Co into CS First Boston, according to one source familiar with the discussions.

☆ Credit Suisse capital gap conundrum draws analyst answers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen at its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland October 4, 2022. A spokesperson for Credit Suisse, which will unveil its strategic review alongside its results on Oct. 27, said it would be premature to comment on any outcome before then. Credit Suisse shares have plunged almost 50% since the start of the year, trimming its market value to 11.88 billion francs. Credit Suisse's five-year credit default swaps, a key risk benchmark, were indicated as high as 363 basis points on Wednesday, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence shows. "Credit Suisse is facing the biggest upheaval the bank has ever seen," Thomae from Deka Investment said.

☆ Investors mixed as Porsche seeks price tag of up to $75 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Volkswagen said on Sunday it was aiming for a valuation of 70 billion-75 billion euros ($70-75 billion) for Porsche AG, slightly below some estimates of up to 85 billion euros, but far outstripping the 49-billion-euro price tag for rival BMW (BMWG.DE) and Mercedes-Benz's (MBGn.DE) 61 billion euros. "It is fundamentally right that Porsche AG becomes more independent - but this is not an independent set-up." Volkswagen's valuation for Porsche AG is close to its own market capitalisation of 88 billion euros. Analysts have compared Porsche AG stock to Ferrari, which has a market capitalisation of 38 billion euros but an operating margin of 24% to Porsche's 17-18%. Total proceeds from the sale will be 18.1-19.5 billion euros and could help Volkswagen fund its electrification drive.

☆ Volkswagen shares dip as it values Porsche at up to $75 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"It is fundamentally right that Porsche AG becomes more independent - but this is not an independent set-up." Shares in Porsche SE (PSHG_p.DE), Volkswagen's largest shareholder which will take a big stake in Porsche AG, were 2.42% higher, topping Germany's DAX blue-chip index (.GDAXI). read moreVolkswagen said on Sunday it would price preferred shares in the flotation of Porsche AG at 76.50-82.50 euros per share. Analysts have compared Porsche AG stock to Ferrari (RACE.MI), which has a market capitalisation of 38 billion euros but an operating margin of 24% to Porsche's 17-18%. Total proceeds from the sale will be 18.1 billion to 19.5 billion euros.

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