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The influencers internally and externally got what they wanted.
I am still of the opinion that loaded PEs and wealthy individuals are looking to snap up dirt cheap assets. Once they have attained the golden portion of the votes, the narrative will, over night, change to one of optimism etc.
Wash, rinse and repeat.
In summary, a hostile take-over attempt is "imminent".
I agree! but I still think the hostile takeover bid would be at a significant premium to current share price.
I wonder if VOD will introduce an anti-takeover plan like BT did.
I also wonder if VOD would be considered a critical asset by the government and prevented from takeover.
Haha hostile takeover bid for this pile of steaming shxt? It has debts of 40b in a rising interest rate environment, no investment bank would lend any party the money to buy a dog like Vod, especially as once dividend is slaughtered and the numbers in Germany start bleeding off even more these will be down to .65p. Terminal, like U.K. in general.
Putting together a "hostile takeover bid" would take a massive amount of work and would need to have the finances in place to be taken seriously to even be considered for announcement .....plus on top of that ..you need a pretty strong plan to get the finances , which at the moment is unlikely due to market conditions ..... PE like GIP and KKR are not going to have the cash for it ..they would seek to raise debt/consortium of lenders ..something the current debtors would have to agree on
..They needed the Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to bankroll the €14.8bn towers business stake
Interesting now is if strategic investors like Cevian Capital re-take a stake if they believe the new CFO/CEO intends to move on restructuring ....or ..are they just going to drift along until a new CEO gets appointed
maybe other Middle East investors will take a stake , like Emirates Telecommunications Group did ...or maybe involvement from that Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund
not much going to happen until Spring at the earliest I wouldn't imagine
* to HELP bankroll the €14.8bn towers business stake
" I also wonder if VOD would be considered a critical asset by the government and prevented from takeover."
VOD UK is just a small part of VOD ...so it would only involve that part of the business .... with regards to any UK Government interference ...
Foreign companies own airports , water , electricity ,rail etc etc within the UK ...so one does have to wonder what actually defines "critical asset" anyway
They could sell of Vodacom and merge it with orange Africa or something
I've just got back in and had some thoughts while I was out and was looking at starting a thread titled Merger/Takeover, but I can see that Takeover's already mentioned in this thread, so I'll share my thoughts here.
What if a takeover/merger is already been agreed in principle?
Read is due to step down at the end of December but will remain in a consulting role until the end of the tax year.
One possibility is that a merger announcement comes along early in the New Year, with an announcement that the CEO of the other company will be named as the CEO of the combined company; Read will get a big consultancy fee for managing the Vodafone side of the merger, with Margherita Della Valle dealing with the day to day running of the Vodafone, during the due diligence and approval part of a deal.
Speculative, but makes sense to me, otherwise why didn't they just keep Read in place until a new CEO is found? It could be Read is making way for the other guy, so there's no battlelines drawn down the road.
It would have to be a big company, maybe one of the big US Telecom companies, or possibly a big tech company looking at moving into the Telecoms space. This is how rumours start lol.
" otherwise why didn't they just keep Read in place until a new CEO is found? "
They may well be doing that Fleccy .... Margherita Della Valle wants the job ...plus the recent NED Stephen Carter..so it may all be decided internally before April 2023 anyway....possibly up to MDV to show she is up to it from now until then ...in her hands to get the support of the main shareholders .....
Takeover is definite within the realms of speculation
"Takeover is definite within the realms of speculation"
Anyone who thinks my post about a possible merger/takeover for Vodafone is too speculative, look back at Vodafone's takeover of Cable & Wireless Worldwide. The timeline and events leading up to that takeover is interesting:
Gavin Darby
Vodafone PLC CEO, USA, Africa, China, Africa. 2004 – 2008.
Vodafone PLC Director, Asia Pacific - Middle East. 2008-2010
Vodafone/C&WW
15th November 2011, Announcement. Vodafone executive Gavin Darby drafted in to replace Pluthero as C&WW CEO
July 2012 Vodafone takes over C&WW
So, Darby started at C&WW late November and C&WW was taken over by Vodafone within 6 months; That was VOD taking over C&WW and shows the sort of timelines and events shaping my current thinking.
Who can Vodafone merge with? Orange in france?
"Who can Vodafone merge with? Orange in france?"
Orange crossed my mind as a possible European company, but I'm not sure where Orange's businesses may compete directly with Vodafone's, that's why I thought of US companies, like AT&T, or Verizon. If it was Big Tech, Apple or Google may be a possibility, of course all this is just speculation.
I would have though Etilsalat will come in for the remaining 90% at some point
I wonder if Amazon would be interested, as a logical next step to their world domination.
The article is 3 years old but the point is still relevant
https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/3820370-3820370
"I wonder if Amazon would be interested, as a logical next step to their world domination."
Probably more chance of that, than Narcus's suggestion of Etisalat making a bid. I can see why he mentioned Etisalat though, with Atlas 2022 Holdings Limited owning 10% of Vodafone's stock, so Etisalat already indirectly own 10% of Vodafone.
I think VOD has to streamline itself first.....there are plenty of bits of VOD that a potential buyer may not want ....
you also have the huge problem of Competition Law when anyone mentions the likes of European mergers .... would take a long time to get any go-ahead ..I suspect..and in a different form than any original proposal
Poker chips can you list what they should sell off? Italy?
Last weekend must have been a round the clock race to negotiate stuff with major shareholders and to prepare and draft the market press release.
Must have been one of the most testing weekends for Read - professionally and privately.
An activist must have played a role for sure.
Market still has plenty of PUT Options contracts at 100p - dated for December exercise
They have bet the sale of shares at 100p thinking the market price will still be below that by the exercise date
https://www.eurex.com/ex-en/data/statistics/market-statistics-online/100!onlineStats?productGroupId=9772&productId=56178&viewType=3&cp=Put&month=12&year=2022&busDate=20221202
"you also have the huge problem of Competition Law when anyone mentions the likes of European mergers"
That's why I thought about US companies without competition overlap. The speed of Read losing the CEO position and going into an advisory role in the New Year, has really started my Spidey sense tingling. The more I think about this, the more I'm convinced there's more to it than share price performance and more likely related to something big in the pipeline.
What's truly mesmerising is that in today's world there seems to be a total lack of leadership and accountability.
Far too many are just in it for the quick buck and with no B$lls and vision. Only a short few decades ago you would see leaders being brought to tears because of a major plan that had gone haywire, or a chairman, CEO, prime minister etc handing in their resignation of their own free will because of the high expectations they set for themselves. What happened?
I am 100% confident in Vod upholding its value and appreciating sharply from here, but I am flabbergasted by the sheer lack of leadership of BOD, and the chairman particularly. Why is he not holding a press conference? Seriously, where is their pride and joy in living and acting as a leader? Why are standards set so low? Why not replace them all with A.I.?
Baffled, but then again, we live in times where central bankers have completely destroyed all credibility and accountability through confetti money. We are now paying the price for it.
https://www.ft.com/content/f4022bfb-806b-4a75-9c7c-2586441f0b14
Bulking up the conspiracy theory.
"Verizon reappointed former Vodafone Chief Executive Vittorio Colao to its Board of Directors — his first confirmed role since leaving the Italian Parliament in October."
https://www.telcotitans.com/vodafonewatch/ex-vodafone-chief-colao-returns-to-verizon/5702.article
Coincidence?
Hello fleccy. You mention Orange as a possible merger. I don't know if you realise that vodafone used to own Orange, but were forced to get rid of them due to regulations. Orange was floated on the UK stock market a long time ago, but was taken over by Mannisman, which was in turn taken over by Vodafone. Orange was sold to the French, but later I believe, Orange was re floated. All very complex. I hope that vodafone can get some kind of merger sorted out soon though. & of course we need someone good in charge, as soon as possible.
"Hello fleccy. You mention Orange as a possible merger."
It crossed my mind briefly, but I'm now almost certain it'll be a a merger with Verizon Communications lol