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GM will sell Opel to Magna

If you recall the the US government engineered the bankruptcy and restructuring of General Motors. Negotiations have dragged out for months and now, finally, GM will sell it Opel holdings to Magna and a Russian Consortium of state owned Sherbank and GAZ One component of the plan was for GM to sell off some of its assets to raise cash.

GM will still retain 35% ownership of Opel. Magna and Sherbank would each own 27.5% and Opel employees would hold 10%.

Continue reading GM will sell Opel to Magna

Analyst upgrades: Auto & truck suppliers, OPLK and WTSLA

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Auto & Truck Suppliers, Oplink Comm and The Wet Seal were today's noteworthy upgrades:
  • Baird upgraded the Auto & Truck Suppliers sector to Market Overweight from Market Weight citing valuations, lowered expectations, industry dynamics and a potential bottom in economic indicators. The firm upgraded Accuride Corp (NYSE: ACW) and Magna International (MGA) to Outperform from Neutral.
  • Merriman upgraded shares of Oplink Comm (NASDAQ: OPLK) to Neutral from Sell on valuation, as they believe Friday's sell-off fully reflects near-term operating concerns and that share price downside from here is limited.
  • Cowen raised The Wet Seal (NASDAQ: WTSLA) to Outperform from Neutral and has increased confidence that the new management's operational changes and cost cutting initiatives will lead to EPS upside.
OTHER UPGRADES:
  • BT Group (NYSE: BT) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Societe Generale raised Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) to Buy from Hold and ENI SpA (NYSE: E) to Hold from Sell.
  • Goldman raised Embarq (NYSE: EQ) to Neutral from Sell.

Analyst upgrades: WMT, MGA, DISH, WSTL and SIRF

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Wal-Mart Stores, Magna International, EchoStar Communications, Westell Technologies and SiRF Technology were today's noteworthy upgrades:
  • Rochdale upgraded shares of Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) to Buy from Hold citing improved outlook for margins and ROIC.
  • CIBC World Markets resumed coverage and upgraded shares of Magna International (NYSE: MGA) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer as they believe higher multiples are warranted due to the company's improving earnings power and cash flow generation.
  • Oppenheimer upgraded shares of EchoStar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH) to Buy from Neutral as they believe recent events add $4-$6 per share to their valuation analysis.
  • Westell Technologies (NASDAQ: WSTL) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird. The firm believes Westell is taking the right steps to improve its market position and financial performance.
  • Credit Suisse upgraded SiRF Technology Holdings (NASDAQ: SIRF) to Outperform from Neutral, expecting the stock to benefit from a strong holiday season at electronic retailers.
OTHER UPGRADES:

Analyst upgrades 7-05-07: DSW, ERIC and MGA

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Turkcell (TKC), Lloyds TSB Group (LYG), DSW Inc (DSW) and the European telecom sector were today's most noteworthy upgrades:
  • JP Morgan upgraded shares of Turkcell (NYSE: TKC) to Overweight from Neutral following a meeting with management, as they are more comfortable with the company's growth prospects.
  • Citigroup upgraded Lloyds TSB Group (NYSE: LYG) Group to Buy from Hold as they believe the company's free cash flow generation will drive faster dividend growth.
  • Matrix finds DSW Inc (NYSE: DSW) shares fairly valued at current levels and believes improving pricing is leading to higher profit margins and upgraded shares to Hold from Sell.
  • Credit Suisse upgraded the European Telecom sector to Overweight from Market Weight to reflect higher forecasts for mobile growth...
OTHER UPGRADES:
  • HSBC upgraded Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Overweight from Neutral.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Newspaper wrap-up 5-10-07: Murdoch began talks with DJ on March 29

MAJOR PAPERS:
  • The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that it was March 29, not the week of April 9 that News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS) Rupert Murdoch began talks with Dow Jones and Company Inc (NYSE: DJ), as securities regulators sort out the timing of events as insider trading allegations have surfaced in connection with News Corp.'s $5B offer for Dow Jones.
OTHER PAPERS:
WEBSITES:
  • Globe and Mail reported that Russian billionaire and automotive entrepreneur Oleg Deripaska's companies are going to buy 20 million shares of Canadian auto parts company Magna International Inc (NYSE: MGA) for $1.54B.

Magna's brand-new pitch for Chrysler

Yesterday, car parts company Magna International (NYSE: MGA) said it should be the winning bidder for DaimlerChrysler AG's (NYSE: DCX) Chrysler unit.

Magna's CEO, Frank Stronach, told the Globe and Mail: "It's a big sum we would allocate. [...] We would make a big commitment."

Magna is really not a very big company. It has a market cap of just over $8 billion. Its income last year was just over $22 billion. Daimler's market cap is $85 billion and Chrysler's revenue is almost 35% of its $200 billion in revenue.

The union members on Daimler's board do not want Chrysler sold to private equity interests as they believe this would lead to a break-up of the company and tens of thousands of lay-offs. Regardless, it is hard to imagine that Magna can manage a company so much larger than itself, and manage its own business at the same time. If a merger with Chrysler fails, the job loss could be just as terrible.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Analyst initiations 4-04-07: F, GM, JPM and TWC initiated today

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The automotive sector was today's most noteworthy initiation:
OTHER INITIATIONS:
  • Merriman initiated shares of Progressive Gaming International Corp (NASDAQ: PGIC) with a Buy rating, as the firm believes it is on the cusp of gaining meaningful market share of casino floors through its technologies and now is the time to get involved in shares.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+203.5210,226.94
NASDAQ+41.622,154.06
S&P 500+23.781,093.08

Last updated: November 10, 2009: 07:40 AM

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