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FRANKFURT/LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley's infrastructure investment arm is weighing a sale of a 40% stake in German wind and solar power project developer PNE AG (PNEGn.DE) after being approached by potential suitors, three people familiar with the matter said. PNE confirmed on Thursday that Morgan Stanley and Photon Management intend to enter into open-ended preliminary talks with potential interested parties regarding Photon's stake in PNE. Photon, which is controlled by Morgan Stanley, is PNE's largest shareholder. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) acquired the PNE stake following a failed takeover attempt in 2020. Buying the whole stake would trigger a mandatory takeover bid for all of PNE under German stock market rules.

FRANKFURT, Oct 20 (Reuters) - German sporting goods maker Adidas (ADSGn.DE) on Thursday cut its full-year guidance, citing weaker expectations for China, lower demand in major Western markets and one-off expenses related to its exit from the Russian market. The new outlook reflects one-off costs of around 500 million euros ($490 million) on its net income in 2022, Adidas added, saying these expenses were largely due to the company's decision to initiate the wind-down of its Russian business. Adidas's third-quarter sales increased 11% to 6.4 billion euros, but its net income for the full year is expected to reach 500 million euros, compared with its previous estimate of 1.3 billion euros. Currency-neutral sales in Greater China declined by a double-digit percentage due to continuing COVID-related restrictions, as well as significant inventory takebacks, the company said. With measures in place to protect the company's profitability, Adidas expects to generate a positive profit contribution of around 200 million euros in 2023.

Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) acquired the PNE stake following a failed takeover attempt in 2020. PNE, which has a project pipeline of more than 9 gigawatt and a generation portfolio worth 261 megawatt, has a current market capitalisation of 1.4 billion euros ($1.38 billion), valuing Morgan Stanley's stake at 560 million euros. Buying the whole stake would trigger a mandatory takeover bid for all of PNE under German stock market rules. A potential sale of MSIP's participation would result in chunky profits given the investment bank bought in at 4.00 euros per share and saw PNE's value grow to 18.50 euros. News about the potential stake comes in the wake of major renewables deal in recent weeks, including RWE's RWEG.DE $6.8 billion purchase of Con Edison's ED.N cleantech unit and BP's BP.L $4.1 billion takeover of U.S. biogas producer Archaea LFG.N.

A clock is seen near the logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse at the Paradeplatz square in Zurich, Switzerland October 5, 2022. Credit Suisse is also considering spinning off part of its advisory and investment banking business, which could bring in outside investors and be named First Boston, Bloomberg has reported. If such deals do not materialize or fall short of expectations, Credit Suisse will go for a capital increase, said that person. "I am more worried that Credit Suisse will be bought at a bargain price by an American bank," he said. Ray Soudah, Chairman of Swiss mergers and acquisitions specialist Millenium Associates, said disposals risked making Credit Suisse "an even greater target".

Of course we had a gut feeling - the feedback we got from investors was very positive," Blume said, speaking next to a Porsche Taycan parked outside the Frankfurt stock exchange. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPorsche AG's solid market debut came despite broadly weaker stock markets following red-hot German inflation data. In an interview with Reuters, Blume brushed aside concerns about his dual CEO role, saying it was not unusual to lead a brand and a company simultaneously. Looking forward, the sports car brand was focused on solving the last remaining software issues created by delays in the collaboration with Volkswagen's Cariad unit, setting out distinct strategies for Eastern and Western markets, Blume said. "I would not rule out that we would have technology that first arrives in the Chinese market and is then rolled out in other markets," he added.

Volkswagen priced Porsche AG shares at the top end of the indicated range and raised 19.5 billion euros from the flotation to fund the group's electrification drive. Porsche AG stock was trading up 3% from the issue price of 82.50 euros at 1035 GMT. That lifted Porsche AG's valuation to 77.4 billion euros, close to the market capitalisation of Volkswagen as a whole, which is worth around 80.1 billion euros, and puts it ahead of rivals like Ferrari (RACE.MI). Shares in Volkswagen and holding firm Porsche SE (PSHG_p.DE), which owns a blocking minority in Porsche AG, were down 4.6% and 8%, respectively, as investors switched across. Up to 113,875,000 preferred Porsche AG shares, carrying no voting rights, were sold in the initial public offering.

☆ Volkswagen battery IPO could be next, says CFO
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"We do not rule out an IPO of the battery unit, but the financial flexibility we won today allows us to further strengthen our work in batteries alone. Antlitz brushed aside rumours that Thursday's Porsche listing could lead to a listing of Audi, another premium brand and huge moneymaker for Volkswagen. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"The next project is strategic partnerships or a potential IPO of the battery unit - I can't say more for now," he said. Volkswagen has set aside 20 billion euros ($20.38 billion) for investment in its battery cell business, with the PowerCo unit managing its battery production and research from mining to recycling and projects including energy storage systems. It has set aside a further 10 billion euros for investment along the supply chain, such as sourcing cathode materials.

Volkswagen priced Porsche AG shares at the top end of the indicated range and raised 19.5 billion euros from the flotation to fund the group's electrification drive. Porsche AG stock was trading up 2.5% from the issue price of 82.50 euros at 0854 GMT. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPorsche AG's solid start came despite broadly weaker stock markets as they braced for expected red-hot German inflation data. Shares in Volkswagen and holding firm Porsche SE (PSHG_p.DE), which owns a blocking minority in Porsche AG, were down 4.3% and 6.7%, respectively. Up to 113,875,000 preferred Porsche AG shares, carrying no voting rights, were sold in the initial public offering.

An employee of German car manufacturer Porsche mounts a steering wheel at the Porsche factory in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany, February 19, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/FilesFRANKFURT, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Porsche AG shares will list on the stock market on Thursday after Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) priced shares at the top end of the announced range, a sign the luxury brand has lured buyers despite market turmoil. "Porsche was and is the pearl in the Volkswagen Group," Chris-Oliver Schickentanz, chief investment officer at fund manager Capitell, said. "The IPO has now made it very, very transparent what value the market brings to Porsche. Up to 113,875,000 preferred shares, carrying no voting rights, will be sold to investors over the course of the initial public offering.

As market volatility persists amid Europe's energy crisis and worsening economic forecasts, companies are holding off on their plans to go public. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"One transaction alone cannot re-open the floodgates of IPO executions. This requires more predictable macro and reduced equity market volatility," said Antoine de Guillenchmidt, co-head of EMEA Equity Capital Markets at Goldman Sachs. Going forward, as interest rates continue to rise and companies look for financially efficient ways of refinancing their balance sheets, equity capital markets are likely to see a surge in convertible bond activity. "We will see many more convertibles and mandatory convertible instruments because some issuers don't have many alternatives, and investors are still very keen," said Andreas Bernstorff, head of equity capital markets at BNP Paribas.

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Initial offers for RTL's 48% stake in French TV channel M6 are expected by Friday after a failed tie-up with France's TF1 broadcaster, a person familiar with the matter said. RTL has been "inundated" with expressions of interest in the M6 stake since TF1 and M6 called off their planned merger last week, its boss Thomas Rabe told the Financial Times on Thursday. Other potential buyers include French media group Vivendi (VIV.PA) and Altice, owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi, alongside Italian media conglomerate MediaForEurope (MFE), Reuters reported on Monday. If RTL wants to sell M6, a deal must be completed by spring 2023, because M6's broadcasting license comes up for renewal in May. In March 2021, when Bertelsmann confirmed talks to sell its stake, French media reported the RTL's stake was worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.48 billion), valuing all of M6 at around 3 billion euros.

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