L’Oréal may launch rival Culver bid September 28, 2010 UNILEVER could find itself embroiled in a multi-billion dollar bidding war for hair care specialist Alberto Culver. Analysts were yesterday bracing themselves for a rival bid for the firm, with L’Oreal said to be the most likely candidate. German consumer goods giant Henkel is also thought to be considering its position. JP Morgan analyst John [...]
Former US Treasury chief joins BA board September 27, 2010 FORMER US Treasury secretary John Snow, and Telefónica chairman César Alierta, are to join the board of the newly formed International Airlines Group (IAG) as non-executive directors, it was announced yesterday. The company, which is being formed by the planned merger of British Airways and Iberia, will create Europe’s second-largest airline by market value after [...]
Unilever is hoping for a good hair day September 27, 2010 Unilever yesterday announced it will buy US hair and skin care specialist Alberto Culver in a deal worth $3.7bn (£2.34bn). The acquisition of the firm behind household names such as V05 and TRESemme marks the single biggest Unilever acquisition in almost a decade. The new brands will complement Unilever’s existing portfolio, which includes Dove, Clear [...]
This purchase makes financial sense September 27, 2010 INVESTORS should keep their hair on. Financially, this deal makes sense. Unilever’s $37.5bn-a-share offer, which values Alberto Culver at around $3.6bn, is good value. The offer, which is worth around 12 times prospective earnings for 2011, is pretty cheap when compared to similar deals. Which is just as well, because the deal – while sensible [...]
FTSE led lower as Smiths Group and banks fall despite gains by Unilever September 27, 2010 THE FTSE 100 closed down 25.06 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,573.42, after gaining 1.6 per cent last week, with Smiths Group out of favour while Unilever rose after a US acquisition. Broker recommendation and target price changes were behind some of the individual equity moves. Smiths shed 1.6 per cent after Bank of [...]
Wall Street tumbles but investors remain positive September 27, 2010 US stocks slipped yesterday as investors took a break from a four-week rally, but they remained optimistic the advance would resume as a flurry of deals suggested companies were seeing value in the market. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 48.22 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 10,812.04. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index [...]
THE TIPSTER September 27, 2010 MINING stocks have had a good run recently. With some important economic data due this week in the form of the UK’s GDP and US consumer confidence figures today, some good numbers could push the miners higher. Capital CFDs offers a price of 3,699.1p-3,703.9p for Rio Tinto. Gold’s key resistance level of $1,300 per ounce [...]
Unilever in £2.3bn deal for US hair care group September 27, 2010 Consumer goods giant Unilever has agreed to buy United States based hair care group Alberto Culver Co for $3.7bn (£2.3bn) in cash. The Anglo Dutch group’s acquisition will add brands such as V05, TRESemme and Nexxus, and make Unilever the world’s leading company in hair conditioning, the second largest in shampoo, and the third largest [...]
Dr Pepper and Unilever warned by FDA September 7, 2010 THE US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday warned beverage makers Dr Pepper Snapple and Unilever about making improper statements regarding green tea on product labels and web sites. In a letter dated 30 August and released yesterday, the regulator said Dr Pepper’s Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale was misbranded because the product [...]
An income strategy has its benefits in uncertain times September 1, 2010 THERE seems to be no end to the uncertainty surrounding the outlook for the global economy. Bonds tend to be the first port-of-call in uncertain times. However with prices at multi-year highs investors are right to be nervous about entering into a long position from here. So what should investors do? UBS analysts claim that [...]