Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is making a fairly concerted effort to get Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) out of its equity position in Verizon Wireless. The question is, why would Vodafone get out? Verizon Wireless makes a lot of money.
According to the FT, the head of Verizon, Ivan Seidenberg said, "Would I like to have 100 per cent of the earnings given we're doing 100 per cent of the work? Yeah, I would."
Verizon Wireless does not pay dividends to Vodafone, so it does not get much of a cash benefit from its piece of the pie, but the FT points out that the British company's stake is worth about $60 billion.
Reflecting on the debate, it would probably be in the best interests of Vodafone shareholders to sell out to Verizon. Their benefits of ownership are limited. Vodafone could use the cash for expansion in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Perhaps the greatest reason for Vodafone to make a graceful exit is the US market itself. Growth of wireless subscribers is slowing as the market reaches a point of saturation. Competition is tough, especially with AT&T (NYSE: T) having about the same number of subscribers as Verizon Wireless. A price war could take down margins at both companies.
Vodafone's stake may never be worth more than it is now.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Last year, the Chinese government invested a cool $3 billion into The Blackstone Group LLP (NYSE: BX). It was before the IPO and seemed to be a good bet.
Of course, it wasn't. The shares of Blackstone have plunged since.
Despite this, China is still hungry for private equity. In fact, according to a report in the Financial Times, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of China has agreed to invest $2.5 billion in TPG's latest fund (which may reach as much as $20 billion).
Simply put, China is overflowing with cash, so why not seek out higher returns?
True, private equity is ailing right now, but then again, the investment horizon is for the long-term. And with lower valuations, private equity firms are positioned nicely to pick up some attractive buyouts.
Something else: TPG has a strong track record. And, by all accounts, the firm is continuing its winning ways, such as with its latest score in selling Alltel to Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD).
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs will deliver his keynote speech Monday June 9 and may unveil then an iPhone that works with third-generation, or 3G, wireless networks, which are much faster than current AT&T (NYSE: T)'s network as Apple tries to lure business users from Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) BlackBerry users and reach more international customers. If the iPhone was at first positioned as a consumer phone, the business segment is too lucrative to avoid, not to mention that many overseas customers are used to 3G networks.
Verizon Wireless has agreed Thursday to buy Alltel Corp. for $5.9 billion, which would make it by far the largest cellular carrier in the U.S. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) and Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ). The deal comes just seven months after Alltel was taken private by TPG Capital and a unit of Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS). Together, they would have some 80 million subscribers, surpassing AT&T (NYSE: T)'s 71 million.
Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Vodafone Group Plc (NYSE: VOD) and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ), is in talks to acquire Alltel Corp. in a deal valued at about $27B, the Wall Street Journal reported. If successful, the combined companies would create the largest cellphone company, and would be better positioned to compete against AT&T Inc (NYSE: T).
Gregory B. Penner, the son-in-law of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) chairman S. Robson Walton, is expected to join the company's board of directors, a move seen as the beginning of a leadership change at the company, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Financial Times reported that Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek refused to provide funds to Bear Stearns shortly before Bear's sale to JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM). Temasek reportedly refused the request for practical and political reasons.
Russia's Interior Ministry questioned the head of BP Plc's (NYSE: BP) Russian oil venture as part of a criminal investigation into possible large-scale tax evasion, the Financial Times reported.
With oil sliding further, U.S. stock futures were mildly higher as investors also contemplated Verizon's potential bid for Alltel and awaited major retailers results.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks were mixed on a bag of mixed news. Despite Moody's threatening to downgrade bond insurers, there was positive data from the service sector and oil kept its recent lower prices. The Dow industrials fell 12 points, or 0.10%, the S&P 500 was essentially flat with half a point decline, or 0.03%, and the Nasdaq composite actually ended 22 points, or 0.91%, higher.
Not much economic data is due today, except for the weekly initial jobless claims, but major retailers will report individual sales and comparative sales. Many investors will look to the report to get an indications of the state of the American consumer.
It's a forgotten continent but Africa holds lots of potential. There are opportunities for infrastructure investments. What's more, with the surge in commodities prices, there has been an influx of capital.
We are already seeing some dealmaking: the biggest wireless carrier in Africa, MTN Group, appears to be in talks for a merger with Reliance Communications.
Now there may be another deal. It looks like Telkom (NYSE: TKG), a South African fixed-line operator, is in play. A group of players -- Mvelaphanda Holdings, Och-Ziff Capital Management (NYSE: OZM) and other strategics – are interested in purchasing the company. Although, there is a hitch: Telkom needs to unload its wireless unit, Vodacom Group, which is a joint venture with mighty Vodafone (NYSE: VOD).
And it becomes even more complex as South Africa owns 38.9% of Telkom, which can slow things down. What's more, it will not be easy coming up with an agreeable valuation.
However, investors are optimistic. In Monday's trading, Telkom's shares were up 6.79%.
U.S. stock futures were mixed early Tuesday morning as investors return from a three-day weekend to a shortened week full of economic data. Oil prices have also kept their high levels due to ongoing supply concerns.
On the latest trading day, Friday, U.S. stocks once again finished the day with heavy losses -- it was the third time in four sessions. Reasons for the considerable declines included the continued climb of oil prices, inflation and economic concerns. Both General Motors (NYSE: GM) and General Electric (NYSE: GE) hit multi-year lows Friday. The Dow industrials ended Friday 145 points lower, or 1.16%, the S&P 500 fell 18 points, or 1.32%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 19 points, or 0.81%. For the week, all three indexes lost some 3% to 4%.
On Friday, investors' mood was dampened by reading from the housing sector, as a report showed considerable inventory and the the number of unsold U.S. homes piled up a 23-year high in April. Just as housing affected trade on Friday, it will no doubt have some impact today with the release of April new home sales due at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Economists expect the report to show yet another decline. Also at the same time, May consumer confidence is due and is also expected to edge lower.
And, of course, the ever (recently) rising oil prices. While no new highs have registered over the weekend, crude prices held above $133 a barrel Tuesday, supported by supply concerns and worries about the health of the U.S. economy and hence the outlook for the U.S. dollar. A militant attack on a pipeline in Nigeria didn't help matters either.
On Friday, French wireless operator Orange said it has signed a deal with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to sell its iPhone in the Middle East, Africa and several European countries. Well, wasn't it just Monday that we've heard that Apple has signed deals with Singapore's Singapore Telecommunications Ltd and three of its affiliates to bring the iPhone to four Asian countries later this year? And wasn't it last week that Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD) signed a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone in ten of its markets? That was just what I remembered offhand. Seems like Apple has pretty much signed deals with companies to sell the iPhone nearly worldwide. Let's check that:
From the Vodafone deal we have: Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey
From the SingTel deal we have: Singapore, India, the Philippines and Australia
From the Orange deal we have: Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and African markets
While at the recent Digital Hollywood conference, I heard much talk about online video. And the main question was: How can you make money from it?
Well, Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is trying to find some ways. In fact, this week, the company agreed to purchase Origin Digital (the amount was not disclosed).
The privately-held firm calls itself a "global video applications service provider." That is, the company helps with the key elements of managing, syndicating and reporting digital content – across various platforms, such mobile, VOD, IPTV, broadband, and so on.
Accenture already has a Digital Media Service division. But, with Origin Digital, there will definitely be much more heft as well as opportunities for cross-selling.
All in all, this seems like a good fit for Accenture. After all, Corporate America realizes that online video has many benefits in terms of obtaining customers, education, and branding. Yet, it's a process that does require some deep domain expertise.
So The Wall Street Journalreports today -- according to its favorite "people familiar with the situation" sentence -- that wireless provider Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) is considering spinning off or selling its Nextel unit. This is when I hear the screeching sound of a needle scraping a record. Say what? Should we play that again?
I guess I shouldn't really be that surprised since the $35 billion acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. in 2005 has always seemed, to say it mildly, challenging. This would be, as the Journal puts it, "a dramatic acknowledgment" that the merger has actually been a failure.
Well, only Monday we heard that Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) may be interested in Sprint. Could it be that either Deutsche Telekom demanded such an action, or that Sprint management decided such an action could entice DT to indeed go forward with an offer (despite the probable problems such a merger could face, as Jonathan Berr outlined in his post Monday)? Without Nextel, Sprint would rid itself of much debt. It is also considered to have better handsets and fewer dropped calls, making it a more attractive target.
D. R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) shares are down over 6% in premarket trading after the homebuilder has swung to a loss for its fiscal second quarter of $1.31 billion, or $4.14 per share. With the continued housing slump, the company took hefty charges to write down the value of its inventory. Revenue plunged to $1.62 billion from $2.62 billion a year ago.
Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) shares are slumping over 9% this morning after the mortgage lender said it lost $2.2 billion or $2.57 a share in the first quarter due to mounting home-loan delinquencies as the housing slump continued. The results were below, far below that of estimates.
Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD) said Tuesday that it's signed an agreement with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to sell the iPhone in ten of its markets including Australia, the Czech Republic, Italy and India.
This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.
"I'm like Ma Bell, I got the ill communication." -- Beastie Boys
When considering these two particular companies, it is important to note their roots as offspring of the famous "Ma Bell" network. The Bell System, which has produced the most complex ongoing series of mergers and break-ups in the history of the United States, is the origin of the companies that are now AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), as well as competitor Qwest Communications International (NYSE: Q). A lot has changed since those early times -- remember, after all, that the second "T" in AT&T stood for Telegraph. Now phones are the latest devices to be made supercomputers. AT&T has its exclusive deal with the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, while Verizon slings the Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) BlackBerry.
Since wireless is the way of the future, the wireless divisions of these companies is the most hotly contested, and the focus of this "Battle of the Brands." It is important to note that despite Verizon Wireless bearing solely Verizon's name, it is not owned by just them, it is a 55%-45% joint venture between Verizon and Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD). It is also important to note that AT&T Mobility is the service formerly known as Cingular, which was acquired by AT&T in 2006 when it bought BellSouth for $86B.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Seaspan, Vodafone, Telefonica and 8x8 Inc. were today's noteworthy initiations:
Jefferies believes shares of Seaspan (NYSE: SSW) are attractively valued at current levels given the company's large modern fleet of containerships and "excellent" earnings and cash flow visibility; shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $33 target.
Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) and Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) were assumed with Outperform ratings at Bernstein, as they believe their mobile growth will be stronger than expected.
Kaufman Bros. believes 8x8 Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) is on the cusp of posting sustainable profitability and could be an attractive acquisition candidate. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $2 target.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Goldman initiated Ford (NYSE: F) with a Neutral rating.
Sensient Tech (NYSE: SXT) was started withan Outperform rating and $36 target at Oppenheimer.
Friedman Billings assumed Prudential FInancial (NYSE: PRU) with a Market perform rating and $86 target.
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With oil sliding further, U.S. stock futures were mildly higher as investors also contemplated Verizon's potential bid for Alltel and awaited major retailers results.
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