Europe, new target of financial amйricains

The billionaire amйricain Daniel Loeb had rйvйlй Sunday dйtenir for $ 3.5 billion of shares Nestlй. (Friday, June 30, 2017)

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A fault?

After having made the fold of the big brands amйricaines such as Apple, Pepsi, Sotheby’s, or Yahoo! the activist shareholders, financial qukte big dividends, look dйsormais to companies europйennes as Nestlй.

Ambitions europйennes

“No company is а the shelter of activism” shareholder, ahead of Gregory Taxin, director of the cabinet of advice to activists in Spotlight Advisory. These “holdouts” are intйressйs by “companies that have a lot of cash but do not have reversй to shareholders,” adds the business lawyer David Katz, at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

In rйvйlant Sunday dйtenir for $ 3.5 billion of shares Nestlй, the billionaire amйricain Daniel Loeb has dйvoilй ambitions europйennes of these investors with deep pockets who say they want to return power to the shareholders in the face of the business leaders.

In addition to йconomies, Mr. Loeb asked а Nestlй to sell its historical participation in the capital of The Orйal in order to boost the market price of the share and the rйmunйration of shareholders.

“The Orйal has йtй a fantastic investment (but) this is not an active priority for a food company,” says а AFP Elissa Doyle, a spokesman for Mr. Loeb.

In the foulйe, Nestlй has annoncй the repurchase of $ 21 billion of its own shares, which mйcaniquement should give a boost to the share price. “I don’t know if this will be enough to remove the pressure”, argues David Katz.

Marchй saturй

Mr. Loeb is not the first activist to amйricain prйsent capital of a gйant йtranger. His compatriot Nelson Peltz dйtient dйjа, а through his investment fund Trian Partners, a participation in the producer franзais of yoghurts Danone.

His compatriot Paul Singer has invested, via its fund Elliott Management, in the south-corйen Samsung, the global mining group, australian-british BHP Billiton and the Bank of East Asia.

All want to the same with the word thing: return on investment quick and to the requiring of the directions of the companies йconomies, asset disposals or redemptions of shares.

And when they do not get gain of cause, these “activists” are wont to engage in arms of iron trus mйdiatisйs that they often end up winning.

More than 2.900 campaigns, activists have йtй recensйes in the United States since 2010, of which 645 for the only annйe 2016, according to the firm FTI Consulting. Most sectors of the йconomie are touchйs.

But “the marchй amйricain became saturй, which leads some activists а seek opportunitйs elsewhere,” says Andrew Freedman, co-head of the group chargй to advise the activists at the law firm Olshan Frome Wolosky. To the extent that some companies amйricaines have, ” he says, adoptй more transparency and measures prйventives of good governance.

“Measures of dйfense fragile”

Europe attracts them because of lйgislations “friendly”: a large number of sociйtйs have not dissuasive measures against potential prйdateurs, advance Dan Zacchei, one of the leaders of Sloane & Company, a firm advising the activists and companies.

“A lot of companies europйennes have measures of dйfense fragile and can de facto be favourable а activist”, dйclare-t-it.

The Old Continent is also in the full phase stabilization policy with the dйbut of nйgociations on the Brexit, while the United States still remain questions about the large rйformes (fiscalitй and modernization of infrastructure) promised by Donald Trump.

Communication difficult

For rйussir however, the activists will have to deal with the trade unions and of interventions by public authorities, which is rarely the case in the United States oщ they can also bйnйficier the support of certain major shareholders.

They want to act behind the scenes, but do not exclude the wearing diffйrends on the public place if a company does not want to discuss or examine the changes that are prйconisйs”, said Andrew Freedman, whose law firm has put in place an action plan to help activists in their campaigns in Ireland, the United Kingdom and in France in particular.

“The biggest challenge will be communication, especially when it comes to winning the trust of the pension fund, local”, prйdit Dan Zacchei. It all goes back, according to him, а what the activist is put in the shoes of a politician of the cфte is the United States seeking а forge a link with йlecteurs of the Amйrique deep.

Would this be sufficient for rйussir? The fund Elliott has йchouй rйcemment а convince the group nйerlandais Akzo Nobel, of which he became a shareholder, а merge with the amйricain PPG Industries, malgrй pressure “sweet”.

(nxp/afp)

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• brAno Branislav Kolovic
  the 30.06.2017 21:21
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  No Dreams goal Yes We Can

  poor Europe, giving power to amйricains it’s like giving the wine а an alcoholic, it’s going to take a lot of courage and strength to dйbarrasser of slavery and to regain peace and libertй.

  Rйpondre comment brAno Branislav Kolovic