Friday, August 25, 2006
U.S. a Step Closer to Eliminating Paper Stock Certificates
FROM SECURITIES INDUSTRY NEWS
August 21, 2006
PAGE ONE
Direct registration affects first-time listers in '07
By Chris Kentouris, Senior International Editor
August 21, 2006 - The U.S. is taking a cue from some foreign markets to cut back on paper stock certificates in circulation. Effective Jan. 1, companies listing for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market, American Stock Exchange and NYSE Arca will have to be eligible for a direct registration system (DRS), operated by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC), that will enable certificateless transfers. Existing issues would have to permit DRS by Jan. 1, 2008.
"This may not be dematerialization," says John Panchery, VP and managing director of operations and technology at the Securities Industry Association (SIA), referring to the term for removing paper in securities ownership. "But it's the closest we have come to going paperless for several years." In a direct registration system, corporations know exactly who their underlying shareholders are because they are on the books of an issuer or its transfer agent under their own names rather than the name of a financial intermediary, also known as nominee or street name. Shares in DRS-held accounts can be moved among brokers and transfer agents electronically.
However, an estimated 85 percent of stock investors have their certificates in street name. By contrast, all U.S. government securities are now issued in paperless form, as are more than 98 percent of corporate and municipal debt securities. Only in August 2005 did Delaware, where over half of U.S. issuers are incorporated, eliminate its requirement that issuers offer certificates upon request. Arizona followed suit in April, leaving Puerto Rico as the only U.S. jurisdiction still requiring certificates to be issued.
"We have been lobbying the Big Board and other exchanges to require issuers to adopt the DRS option since 2004, but it was not until changes in state legislation that we could move forward," says Lawrence Morillo, managing director of Bank of New York's Pershing clearing division and head of the SIA's operations, legal and regulatory committee.
Issuers, transfer agents and broker-dealers have their work cut out to prepare for DRS. Issuers need to notify their shareholders, and some may have to change their bylaws. Transfer agents will have to participate in the DRS Profile service of DTCC's Depository Trust Co. (DTC) subsidiary. Agents complain they do not have the technological wherewithal to do so and are not certain that they can pass along the costs to smaller issuers that use them. However, larger agents see an opportunity.
"We wouldn't have any capacity issues in adding to the number of DRS accounts we process," says Kevin Brennan, managing director and head of new business development at Bank of New York. "But there has been a mixed response from clients--larger ones view it as making it easier for investors, while some smaller ones haven't focused on the upside." Brennan says that about 150 of BNY's 550 clients, representing a third of 17 million total shareholders, offer the DRS option.
Not a New Idea
Broker-dealers have been advocating dematerialization since 1995 when the Securities and Exchange Commission moved to reduce the settlement cycle from five days to three. Wanting to preserve their business, the transfer agent community, which is paid by issuers based on the number of registered accounts, lobbied for the DTC to create the DRS option the following year, and with its introduction in 1996, broker-dealers began offering it. But today, these firms' sales forces will need to be trained to advise shareholders of the option. "Broker-dealers typically tell investors about street name ownership; it's the default mechanism," says Panchery. The SIA is now modifying its two-year-old guide on dematerialization to incorporate the DRS option.
"We don't charge issuers for registered certificated shareholders or shareholders holding DRS accounts any differently," says Charles Rossi, VP of Computershare, the biggest U.S. transfer agent. "The goal is to streamline the process for investors and transfer agents." Of the 23 million shareholders serviced by Computershare, 14.5 million have DRS shares.
"More and more companies are considering going paperless because they know it's safer, less expensive and more convenient for investors," says Joseph Trezza, DTCC's VP of asset services. "And a new generation of investors takes electronic registration for granted. They don't want stock certificates. They want a DRS statement saying they own X number of shares in a given corporation." He questions why some smaller transfer agents see DRS as onerous "because we've had small transfer agents in Fast [Fast Automated Securities Transfer] and DRS for some time now."
There are 1,217 issues currently DRS-eligible. Trezza expects that to increase by 9,000 by January 2008. The New York-based depository is also anticipating that 250 more transfer agents will be joining the roster of 130 participating in DTC's Fast, a prerequisite to DRS. Fast allows transfer agents and DTC to avoid movement of certificates between each other for registered shareholders by crediting and debiting accounts electronically.
The DRS option exemplifies what has become known as immobilization--the other side of the dematerialization coin. Both make paperless transactions possible, but dematerialization does away with paper certificates entirely. Share ownership is represented by electronic entries in the central securities settlement system. In immobilization, certificates remain in vaults and investors can receive the documents on demand.
International Urgency
Some U.S. corporate issuers are also offering dematerialized shares, but typically that has resulted from a corporate reorganization or initial public offering. Elsewhere, Sweden, France, Australia and New Zealand have dematerialized, and the U.K., Irish, Belgian and Dutch regulators and market participants are discussing how to do so. Last year, the European Securities Forum, a trade association representing securities professionals, advocated direct registration for U.K. investors, and the U.K.'s Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and Ireland's Dematerialization Implementation Group (DIG) recently called for complete dematerialization. About 9 million of the 12 million private investors in the U.K. hold certificates.
"The consensus of the group is that dematerialization should be pursued as a matter of priority by the Irish equity market," says Brian Healy, director of trading and regulation for the Irish Stock Exchange and head of DIG. "There is a growing realization that a system using paper share certificates is outdated and inefficient compared to a fully electronic means of holding and settling shares."
Healy expects changes to the Irish Companies Act to allow for dematerialized holdings by the end of this year. With transactions on both the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange settled by the Crest depository, Ireland should synchronize its dematerialization efforts with the U.K.
According to Healy, dematerialization is made more necessary because of Euroclear's efforts to consolidate the operating platforms of its five markets onto a single system by 2009. Those platforms service the U.K., Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Euroclear Bank, the international central securities depository.
"Ireland needs to keep its securities market at the forefront of international best practice, and the implementation of dematerialization is an important contributor to timely, efficient and cost-effective settlement for retail investors," says Healy. "In addition, if other countries serviced by Euroclear implement fully dematerialized systems, it will become an expensive option to retain a paper settlement system."
In Belgium, effective Jan. 1, 2008, new bearer shares cannot be issued in certificate form. By 2013, all securities will be dematerialized--meaning that 45 million certificates weighing some 620 tons will be recalled and destroyed, says Stephane Bernard, CEO of Euroclear Belgium, the country's central securities depository.
In the U.S., the SEC has historically been reluctant to mandate full dematerialization, but in 2004 it requested industry comment on a number of issues to promote shorter settlement times and straight-through processing, including how to reduce the number of paper certificates in circulation. According to SIA research based on 2002 data, the securities industry spends $250 million a year to process physical certificates--a cost ultimately borne mostly by investors. Aside from costs, there are risks, as evidenced during the Sept. 11, 2001 disaster when the whereabouts of thousands of certificates were temporarily unknown.
Many investors don't know they have to replace certificates if they are lost, and replacement fees to cover the surety bond for lost securities can be 3 percent of the current market value of the shares. According to the Securities Information Center, which tracks lost and stolen certificates, $8.7 billion worth of certificated securities were reported lost in 2005. As a result, investors spent $261 million on surety bonds to have their shares replaced.
Early Dematerializers
Over two-dozen companies have dematerialized, New York-incorporated AT&T being the largest. In 2002, in announcing a one-for-five reverse split, the company required shareholders to go the electronic route. (Since its takeover by SBC Communications last year, certificates are allowed.) Corporate actions--such as mergers and restructurings--often involve the issuance of new shares, which historically required new certificates. The SIA has estimated that it costs issuers with 100,000 registered investors $1 million more to issue certificates resulting from a corporate action than book-entry registration.
Others that have gone paperless in recent months are Intel Corp., mutual fund company Nuveen Investments, Chevron Corp., Federated Department Stores, NCR Corp., RadioShack Corp. and US Airways.
While issuers can save plenty by not printing certificates, another aspect of going paperless is investor convenience. Intel, a Computershare client, went to dematerialization for new investors as of last August in large part due to concerns over lost certificates. Existing investors could still hold on to certificates. "Some of our executives and shareholders had difficulties selling their shares when their certificates were lost, so we decided there were merits to dematerialization," says Douglas Stewart, senior attorney for Intel.
From a corporate governance perspective, not only do DRS issuers know who their investors are--not a bad idea in the case of a takeover or proxy battle--but they can communicate with them directly rather than through intermediaries. Such a stance is advocated by some issuers that also want to save proxy mailing fees charged by banks and brokerages. Most financial firms outsource the work to Automatic Data Processing, whose fees are set by the NYSE.
"Financial intermediaries feel that the shareholder is their investment customer, while corporations see the same shareholder as their owner," says Geoff Loftus, VP of the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals. "Corporations still might decide to do their mailings through ADP, but at least they would have direct access to their owners."
August 21, 2006
PAGE ONE
Direct registration affects first-time listers in '07
By Chris Kentouris, Senior International Editor
August 21, 2006 - The U.S. is taking a cue from some foreign markets to cut back on paper stock certificates in circulation. Effective Jan. 1, companies listing for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market, American Stock Exchange and NYSE Arca will have to be eligible for a direct registration system (DRS), operated by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC), that will enable certificateless transfers. Existing issues would have to permit DRS by Jan. 1, 2008.
"This may not be dematerialization," says John Panchery, VP and managing director of operations and technology at the Securities Industry Association (SIA), referring to the term for removing paper in securities ownership. "But it's the closest we have come to going paperless for several years." In a direct registration system, corporations know exactly who their underlying shareholders are because they are on the books of an issuer or its transfer agent under their own names rather than the name of a financial intermediary, also known as nominee or street name. Shares in DRS-held accounts can be moved among brokers and transfer agents electronically.
However, an estimated 85 percent of stock investors have their certificates in street name. By contrast, all U.S. government securities are now issued in paperless form, as are more than 98 percent of corporate and municipal debt securities. Only in August 2005 did Delaware, where over half of U.S. issuers are incorporated, eliminate its requirement that issuers offer certificates upon request. Arizona followed suit in April, leaving Puerto Rico as the only U.S. jurisdiction still requiring certificates to be issued.
"We have been lobbying the Big Board and other exchanges to require issuers to adopt the DRS option since 2004, but it was not until changes in state legislation that we could move forward," says Lawrence Morillo, managing director of Bank of New York's Pershing clearing division and head of the SIA's operations, legal and regulatory committee.
Issuers, transfer agents and broker-dealers have their work cut out to prepare for DRS. Issuers need to notify their shareholders, and some may have to change their bylaws. Transfer agents will have to participate in the DRS Profile service of DTCC's Depository Trust Co. (DTC) subsidiary. Agents complain they do not have the technological wherewithal to do so and are not certain that they can pass along the costs to smaller issuers that use them. However, larger agents see an opportunity.
"We wouldn't have any capacity issues in adding to the number of DRS accounts we process," says Kevin Brennan, managing director and head of new business development at Bank of New York. "But there has been a mixed response from clients--larger ones view it as making it easier for investors, while some smaller ones haven't focused on the upside." Brennan says that about 150 of BNY's 550 clients, representing a third of 17 million total shareholders, offer the DRS option.
Not a New Idea
Broker-dealers have been advocating dematerialization since 1995 when the Securities and Exchange Commission moved to reduce the settlement cycle from five days to three. Wanting to preserve their business, the transfer agent community, which is paid by issuers based on the number of registered accounts, lobbied for the DTC to create the DRS option the following year, and with its introduction in 1996, broker-dealers began offering it. But today, these firms' sales forces will need to be trained to advise shareholders of the option. "Broker-dealers typically tell investors about street name ownership; it's the default mechanism," says Panchery. The SIA is now modifying its two-year-old guide on dematerialization to incorporate the DRS option.
"We don't charge issuers for registered certificated shareholders or shareholders holding DRS accounts any differently," says Charles Rossi, VP of Computershare, the biggest U.S. transfer agent. "The goal is to streamline the process for investors and transfer agents." Of the 23 million shareholders serviced by Computershare, 14.5 million have DRS shares.
"More and more companies are considering going paperless because they know it's safer, less expensive and more convenient for investors," says Joseph Trezza, DTCC's VP of asset services. "And a new generation of investors takes electronic registration for granted. They don't want stock certificates. They want a DRS statement saying they own X number of shares in a given corporation." He questions why some smaller transfer agents see DRS as onerous "because we've had small transfer agents in Fast [Fast Automated Securities Transfer] and DRS for some time now."
There are 1,217 issues currently DRS-eligible. Trezza expects that to increase by 9,000 by January 2008. The New York-based depository is also anticipating that 250 more transfer agents will be joining the roster of 130 participating in DTC's Fast, a prerequisite to DRS. Fast allows transfer agents and DTC to avoid movement of certificates between each other for registered shareholders by crediting and debiting accounts electronically.
The DRS option exemplifies what has become known as immobilization--the other side of the dematerialization coin. Both make paperless transactions possible, but dematerialization does away with paper certificates entirely. Share ownership is represented by electronic entries in the central securities settlement system. In immobilization, certificates remain in vaults and investors can receive the documents on demand.
International Urgency
Some U.S. corporate issuers are also offering dematerialized shares, but typically that has resulted from a corporate reorganization or initial public offering. Elsewhere, Sweden, France, Australia and New Zealand have dematerialized, and the U.K., Irish, Belgian and Dutch regulators and market participants are discussing how to do so. Last year, the European Securities Forum, a trade association representing securities professionals, advocated direct registration for U.K. investors, and the U.K.'s Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and Ireland's Dematerialization Implementation Group (DIG) recently called for complete dematerialization. About 9 million of the 12 million private investors in the U.K. hold certificates.
"The consensus of the group is that dematerialization should be pursued as a matter of priority by the Irish equity market," says Brian Healy, director of trading and regulation for the Irish Stock Exchange and head of DIG. "There is a growing realization that a system using paper share certificates is outdated and inefficient compared to a fully electronic means of holding and settling shares."
Healy expects changes to the Irish Companies Act to allow for dematerialized holdings by the end of this year. With transactions on both the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange settled by the Crest depository, Ireland should synchronize its dematerialization efforts with the U.K.
According to Healy, dematerialization is made more necessary because of Euroclear's efforts to consolidate the operating platforms of its five markets onto a single system by 2009. Those platforms service the U.K., Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Euroclear Bank, the international central securities depository.
"Ireland needs to keep its securities market at the forefront of international best practice, and the implementation of dematerialization is an important contributor to timely, efficient and cost-effective settlement for retail investors," says Healy. "In addition, if other countries serviced by Euroclear implement fully dematerialized systems, it will become an expensive option to retain a paper settlement system."
In Belgium, effective Jan. 1, 2008, new bearer shares cannot be issued in certificate form. By 2013, all securities will be dematerialized--meaning that 45 million certificates weighing some 620 tons will be recalled and destroyed, says Stephane Bernard, CEO of Euroclear Belgium, the country's central securities depository.
In the U.S., the SEC has historically been reluctant to mandate full dematerialization, but in 2004 it requested industry comment on a number of issues to promote shorter settlement times and straight-through processing, including how to reduce the number of paper certificates in circulation. According to SIA research based on 2002 data, the securities industry spends $250 million a year to process physical certificates--a cost ultimately borne mostly by investors. Aside from costs, there are risks, as evidenced during the Sept. 11, 2001 disaster when the whereabouts of thousands of certificates were temporarily unknown.
Many investors don't know they have to replace certificates if they are lost, and replacement fees to cover the surety bond for lost securities can be 3 percent of the current market value of the shares. According to the Securities Information Center, which tracks lost and stolen certificates, $8.7 billion worth of certificated securities were reported lost in 2005. As a result, investors spent $261 million on surety bonds to have their shares replaced.
Early Dematerializers
Over two-dozen companies have dematerialized, New York-incorporated AT&T being the largest. In 2002, in announcing a one-for-five reverse split, the company required shareholders to go the electronic route. (Since its takeover by SBC Communications last year, certificates are allowed.) Corporate actions--such as mergers and restructurings--often involve the issuance of new shares, which historically required new certificates. The SIA has estimated that it costs issuers with 100,000 registered investors $1 million more to issue certificates resulting from a corporate action than book-entry registration.
Others that have gone paperless in recent months are Intel Corp., mutual fund company Nuveen Investments, Chevron Corp., Federated Department Stores, NCR Corp., RadioShack Corp. and US Airways.
While issuers can save plenty by not printing certificates, another aspect of going paperless is investor convenience. Intel, a Computershare client, went to dematerialization for new investors as of last August in large part due to concerns over lost certificates. Existing investors could still hold on to certificates. "Some of our executives and shareholders had difficulties selling their shares when their certificates were lost, so we decided there were merits to dematerialization," says Douglas Stewart, senior attorney for Intel.
From a corporate governance perspective, not only do DRS issuers know who their investors are--not a bad idea in the case of a takeover or proxy battle--but they can communicate with them directly rather than through intermediaries. Such a stance is advocated by some issuers that also want to save proxy mailing fees charged by banks and brokerages. Most financial firms outsource the work to Automatic Data Processing, whose fees are set by the NYSE.
"Financial intermediaries feel that the shareholder is their investment customer, while corporations see the same shareholder as their owner," says Geoff Loftus, VP of the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals. "Corporations still might decide to do their mailings through ADP, but at least they would have direct access to their owners."
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Nasdaq adopts an 'independent' view
Telegraph | Money | Business diary: "Business diary
Edited by Sophie Brodie
(Filed: 24/08/2006)
Nasdaq adopts an 'independent' view
Nasdaq's London press people send research from an investment bank called Innovation Advisors in the US. The report says that Aim - the junior market - 'does not represent a utopian ideal for newly public companies' and instead advocates, you guessed it, Nasdaq as the haven for tech company listings. It's no surprise that IA, which claims to be independent, should want to show Aim in a poor light - its clients are Nasdaq-listed. Is there more behind Nasdaq's support for this research than new market rivalry? Could it be that the exchange hopes to talk down the London Stock Exchange's share price so it can snap up more shares? Nasdaq's spin-machine says blandly: 'It's simply to give you a better knowledge of the sector.' Thanks.
Among the nomads
Amid reports that the London Stock Exchange is considering making it harder for nominated advisers to bring flaky companies to the Aim market, I hear that, of the 12 companies that applied for nomad status this year only two have been granted it: J M Finn and Jefferies. Rumour has it others such as Bear Stearns and IAF have applied."
Edited by Sophie Brodie
(Filed: 24/08/2006)
Nasdaq adopts an 'independent' view
Nasdaq's London press people send research from an investment bank called Innovation Advisors in the US. The report says that Aim - the junior market - 'does not represent a utopian ideal for newly public companies' and instead advocates, you guessed it, Nasdaq as the haven for tech company listings. It's no surprise that IA, which claims to be independent, should want to show Aim in a poor light - its clients are Nasdaq-listed. Is there more behind Nasdaq's support for this research than new market rivalry? Could it be that the exchange hopes to talk down the London Stock Exchange's share price so it can snap up more shares? Nasdaq's spin-machine says blandly: 'It's simply to give you a better knowledge of the sector.' Thanks.
Among the nomads
Amid reports that the London Stock Exchange is considering making it harder for nominated advisers to bring flaky companies to the Aim market, I hear that, of the 12 companies that applied for nomad status this year only two have been granted it: J M Finn and Jefferies. Rumour has it others such as Bear Stearns and IAF have applied."
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
FT.com / Home UK / UK - IPO delays reach a five-year high
FT.com / Lex - Emerging market mega-corporations
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
BBC NEWS | Business | Daimler loses share court case
New Faces at Citigroup EMEA
FT.com / Home UK / UK - The case for the in-house legal advice team
Monday, August 21, 2006
GlobalCustodian.com - Citigroup Appoints Clive Triance Head Of Direct Custody And Clearing In EMEA
SUAL and Rusal agree on merger - report
Russian aluminium players SUAL and Rusal will merge, reported Kommersant, citing a partner of SUAL co-owner Viktor Vekselberg.
At the beginning of August, a protocol of intent to merge SUAL and Oleg Deripaska–owned Rusal was signed, the source said. The official announcement of the deal is planned for the mid-October. The mechanism of the merger is not yet decided, Kommersant continued, citing the source. It is planned that the main owner of the merged entity will be Deripaska, with the 75% stake. Vekselberg and partners will take 25%, the source noted. The owners want to retain the SUAL and Rusal brands.
SUAL recorded revenues of USD 2.7bn in 2005, according to Russian accounting standards MSFO, Kommersant noted.
SUAL’s assets belong to British Virgin Islands registered SUAL International, the controlling stake in which belongs to Vekselberg and Leonard Blavatnik. The minority stake in SUAL International belongs to Vladimir Kremer (director general of Komi Aluminium) and Yevgeny Olkhovik, SUAL-Holding vice-president, Kommersant noted. Kommersant wrote that aluminium enterprise Komi Aluminium is equally-owned by Rusal and SUAL.
Rusal recorded revenues of USD 6.6bn, in 2005. The company belongs to Jersey-registered Rusal Ltd, owned by Deripaska.
The source told Kommersant that Vekselberg’s assets are valued at USD 5.5bn at minimum. The joint company will be worth USD 22bn, it noted.
Source Kommersant
At the beginning of August, a protocol of intent to merge SUAL and Oleg Deripaska–owned Rusal was signed, the source said. The official announcement of the deal is planned for the mid-October. The mechanism of the merger is not yet decided, Kommersant continued, citing the source. It is planned that the main owner of the merged entity will be Deripaska, with the 75% stake. Vekselberg and partners will take 25%, the source noted. The owners want to retain the SUAL and Rusal brands.
SUAL recorded revenues of USD 2.7bn in 2005, according to Russian accounting standards MSFO, Kommersant noted.
SUAL’s assets belong to British Virgin Islands registered SUAL International, the controlling stake in which belongs to Vekselberg and Leonard Blavatnik. The minority stake in SUAL International belongs to Vladimir Kremer (director general of Komi Aluminium) and Yevgeny Olkhovik, SUAL-Holding vice-president, Kommersant noted. Kommersant wrote that aluminium enterprise Komi Aluminium is equally-owned by Rusal and SUAL.
Rusal recorded revenues of USD 6.6bn, in 2005. The company belongs to Jersey-registered Rusal Ltd, owned by Deripaska.
The source told Kommersant that Vekselberg’s assets are valued at USD 5.5bn at minimum. The joint company will be worth USD 22bn, it noted.
Source Kommersant
Lukoil planning oil refinery assets and petrol stations buys in USA
Story Lukoil, the largest listed Russian oil firm, is eyeing buys in the US, The Moscow Times reported. Cited in MT, Lukoil Americas CEO Vadim Gluzman stated that Lukoil plans to acquire oil refining assets and increase the number of its petrol stations from 2,000 to 3,000. He specified that Lukoil would pursue buys in 13 north-eastern US states where the company is already present.
Gluzman also noted that Lukoil would be interested in buying Citgo Petroleum Corp, the US-based oil refinery assets of Venezuelan company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
Lukoil net income for the first quarter of 2006 amounted to USD 1.689bn, according to the company web site.
Source The Moscow Times, Company Web site
Gluzman also noted that Lukoil would be interested in buying Citgo Petroleum Corp, the US-based oil refinery assets of Venezuelan company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
Lukoil net income for the first quarter of 2006 amounted to USD 1.689bn, according to the company web site.
Source The Moscow Times, Company Web site
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Exchange News
NYSE Article re Asia (post Euronext)
Article re ASX from the Australian .... and related article from SeekingAlpha
Communicating with investors; foreign listing
US firms take stakes in new NSX
Major IBs taking stake in new exchnage in EU? scroll down to second comment.
GCM
Article re ASX from the Australian .... and related article from SeekingAlpha
Communicating with investors; foreign listing
US firms take stakes in new NSX
Major IBs taking stake in new exchnage in EU? scroll down to second comment.
GCM
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Vedanta Resources rises on takeover speculation
Vedanta Resources, a UK listed Indian mining company, saw its share price rise around three percent this morning on the back of takeover speculation.
A spokesperson for the company said that the group had no comment.
Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal, who owns around 54% of the company, told this news service last week that the company is open to acquiring other mining firms in Eastern Europe and Africa.
A person familiar with the company suggested that a run-up in zinc prices, one of the key commodities that Vedanta mined, could also be playing a part in the company's rise today, adding that Agarwal appeared to be committed to his holding in the group.
In his comments last week, Agarwal said that, “We hope to complete one acquisition either in Eastern Europe or Africa by this year end,” adding that his goal is to create a world class metal and mining company, and capitalize on the entrepreneurship skill available in Vedanta.
Vedanta posted revenues of USD 1.88bn (EUR 1.47bn) in 2005
A spokesperson for the company said that the group had no comment.
Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal, who owns around 54% of the company, told this news service last week that the company is open to acquiring other mining firms in Eastern Europe and Africa.
A person familiar with the company suggested that a run-up in zinc prices, one of the key commodities that Vedanta mined, could also be playing a part in the company's rise today, adding that Agarwal appeared to be committed to his holding in the group.
In his comments last week, Agarwal said that, “We hope to complete one acquisition either in Eastern Europe or Africa by this year end,” adding that his goal is to create a world class metal and mining company, and capitalize on the entrepreneurship skill available in Vedanta.
Vedanta posted revenues of USD 1.88bn (EUR 1.47bn) in 2005
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Russians' big bonus reels in Western bankers - Markets - Times Online
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
SUAL in talks with strategic investors; unclear whether transaction possible before float
SUAL in talks with strategic investors; unclear whether transaction possible before float
Story Russian aluminium group SUAL, is talking to strategic investors and a transaction could be imminent, Neue Zuercher Zeitung reported. Viktor Vekselberg, who controls the company, confirmed to the paper that he is prepared to share control of the firm to enable the expansion he believes is vital to the firm. Talks have commenced with strategic investors which could lead to a transaction shortly but would require state permission, the report continued.
It is unclear whether a transaction would be carried out before the impending flotation, the report added. Last Friday is was reported that SUAL will float at least 25% in UK via its newly-registered company Sual Limited, with UBS and JPMorgan Cazenove advising. SUAL is valued at around USD 4bn (EUR 3.139bn), the report concluded.
Source Neue Zuercher Zeitung
Value EUR 3,139m (estimated value)
Story Russian aluminium group SUAL, is talking to strategic investors and a transaction could be imminent, Neue Zuercher Zeitung reported. Viktor Vekselberg, who controls the company, confirmed to the paper that he is prepared to share control of the firm to enable the expansion he believes is vital to the firm. Talks have commenced with strategic investors which could lead to a transaction shortly but would require state permission, the report continued.
It is unclear whether a transaction would be carried out before the impending flotation, the report added. Last Friday is was reported that SUAL will float at least 25% in UK via its newly-registered company Sual Limited, with UBS and JPMorgan Cazenove advising. SUAL is valued at around USD 4bn (EUR 3.139bn), the report concluded.
Source Neue Zuercher Zeitung
Value EUR 3,139m (estimated value)
FT.com / Companies / Financial services - LSE set to face banks� challenge
Telegraph | Money | Standard offer lost by late post
Monday, August 14, 2006
BBC NEWS | Business | Chinese bank moves nearer float
Saturday, August 12, 2006
London prospers from US regulation - Business - Times Online
BBC NEWS | Business | Inco targeted by $17bn buyout bid
Friday, August 11, 2006
Crest Newsletter July 2006
http://www.crestco.co.uk/news/newsletters/newsletter-july2006.pdf
SUAL to float via Sual Limited; blocking stake could be worth up to USD 1.25bn - report
SUAL to float via Sual Limited; blocking stake could be worth up to USD 1.25bn - report
Story Russian aluminium group SUAL (Siberian-Urals Aluminium Company) will float in UK via its newly-registered company Sual Limited, reported Vedomosti. The paper referred to sources close to SUAL and banks involved in the IPO. Information about registering Sual Limited has been published on the website of UK’s ministerial agency Companies House, Vedomosti added.
SUAL, controlled by Viktor Vekselberg and partners, wants to list a minimum 25% of the holding, banking sources told Vedomosti. Agreement to mandate JPMorgan Cazenove and UBS to handle the flotation will soon be signed, the sources noted. SUAL and the above banks have not provided any comment, the paper wrote.
Denis Nushtaev, an analyst from Russian Investment Financial Company Metropol, valued the entire SUAL at USD 4bn - USD 5bn and said the sale of its blocking stake could gain USD 1bn - USD 1.25bn.
Source Vedomosti
Value USD 1,250m (Upper value of SUAL blocking stake)
Story Russian aluminium group SUAL (Siberian-Urals Aluminium Company) will float in UK via its newly-registered company Sual Limited, reported Vedomosti. The paper referred to sources close to SUAL and banks involved in the IPO. Information about registering Sual Limited has been published on the website of UK’s ministerial agency Companies House, Vedomosti added.
SUAL, controlled by Viktor Vekselberg and partners, wants to list a minimum 25% of the holding, banking sources told Vedomosti. Agreement to mandate JPMorgan Cazenove and UBS to handle the flotation will soon be signed, the sources noted. SUAL and the above banks have not provided any comment, the paper wrote.
Denis Nushtaev, an analyst from Russian Investment Financial Company Metropol, valued the entire SUAL at USD 4bn - USD 5bn and said the sale of its blocking stake could gain USD 1bn - USD 1.25bn.
Source Vedomosti
Value USD 1,250m (Upper value of SUAL blocking stake)
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Uralkali Hires Foreign Banks for $1.1Bln IPO
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
In-house clearing threat to NYSE
Monday, August 07, 2006
JPMorgan Cazenove to handle SUAL flotation; pre-float acquisition could be imminent – report
Story JPMorgan Cazenove is to handle the flotation of Russian aluminium group SUAL (Siberian-Urals Aluminium Company), the Sunday Times reported. According to sources said to be close to the matter, the timescale and level of fundraising have yet to be agreed, but the newspaper said the business could be worth as much as GBP 2bn (EUR 3bn).
SUAL’s controlling investors retained JPMorgan Cazenove, the report said. It added that many Russian magnates will enjoy huge profits from the transaction, including Victor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik, as well as Brian Gilbertson, formerly chief executive of UK-listed BHP Billiton and oil firm Vedanta. Gilbertson could net GBP 50m, the report said.
Analysts believe SUAL may attempt to make a major acquisition prior to floating, the piece concluded.
SUAL’s controlling investors retained JPMorgan Cazenove, the report said. It added that many Russian magnates will enjoy huge profits from the transaction, including Victor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik, as well as Brian Gilbertson, formerly chief executive of UK-listed BHP Billiton and oil firm Vedanta. Gilbertson could net GBP 50m, the report said.
Analysts believe SUAL may attempt to make a major acquisition prior to floating, the piece concluded.
HBOS announces Mourant merger
Mourant Equity Compensation Solutions, a subsidiary of a legal business based in Jersey, is to merge with HBOS Employee Share Services. The news was reported in the Guardian, which cited an HBOS announcement yesterday. The report said the new entity will be known as HBOS Employee Equity Solutions and will be the number-one supplier of executive and employee share plans in the UK.
A Times report said the deal was valued at GBP 25m (EUR 37m).
HBOS is a UK-listed bank.
Source The Guardian, The Times (London)
Value GBP 25m (Deal size (Times))
A Times report said the deal was valued at GBP 25m (EUR 37m).
HBOS is a UK-listed bank.
Source The Guardian, The Times (London)
Value GBP 25m (Deal size (Times))
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Exchange News
IPOs; London v New York
US co conducts for IPO on LSE
Bacardi; possible IPO
NYSE profits increase
Article re Dubai markets
Ditto
US co conducts for IPO on LSE
Bacardi; possible IPO
NYSE profits increase
Article re Dubai markets
Ditto
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Severstal IPO: Citigroup confirmed to be mandated as listing organizer
Citigroup has been mandated to organize the IPO of the largest Russian steel producer Severstal, reported Vedomosti, citing vice-president of Citibank Natalia Nikolayeva. He refused, however, to name other organizers of the IPO, as well as the timing and parameters of the listing. Earlier reports noted that Alexei Mordashov-owned Severstal is expecting to gain USD 1.5bn from listing of about 10% stake on LSE, this autumn.
Source Vedomosti
Value USD 1,500m (Severstal expected listing proceedings)
Source Vedomosti
Value USD 1,500m (Severstal expected listing proceedings)
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Severstal Planning London IPO in Fall
