Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Engineer, kev;
thanks for the prompt replies.
So I take it that Msft and Vod will own a percentage of the said company and shareholders will benefit via holdings in Msft or Vod or both.
As opposed to a spinoff where shareholders own and benefit based on a certain percentage of shares owned in Msft or Vod.
The announcement which I am aware of is, imo, a bit vague.
Vodafone will spin out its Internet of Things (IoT) business later this year
What does this mean? As a separate company or spinoff? Separate for reporting purposes? Will Vod holders get shares in this split out?
Please clarify.
Hey mikey,
looks like you need to work on your grammEr...spelled grammar.
get it right if you want to bust chops.
If they'll make a bid - would it be rejected on national security grounds? Or it would get a pass?
It would pass with a few modifications. The bigger issue would be price. Vodafone fair market value and book value is significantly below its current price and I do not believe directors would settle for a take under.
Polo Tang (UBS): Hi, thanks for taking the question. I have one question about Etisalat. Can
you clarify when they will take their seat on the Vodafone board? Are there any further steps
that need to be taken before this happens? Separately, have they given you any feedback on
where they would like to see the dividend and shareholder returns? Thanks.
Margherita Della Valle: On the timelines, we are still going through the process and as
Vodafone we are of course supporting the process with whatever information sharing is
required by the various authorities. However, it still needs to be completed and therefore we
will update you. We look forward to welcoming Hatem to the board and at that point having a
fuller conversation around the topics you mentioned. I think it would be really helpful to be
able to have these conversations once they join the board
Luka Mucic: Yes, I can only reiterate what we already covered at H1 earnings. First of all of
course we are very focused on generating capital. That is the whole focus on operational
excellence and certainly looking into all of the components of our end-to-end cash conversion
chain. I think over time I am sure we will have further opportunities with the customer,
simplicity, growth focus to also improve there. Then more importantly in the short term, in
terms of the capital allocation, we have covered briefly already on one of the previous
questions, the question around capital intensity, so nothing that would suggest any need for
any changes in that respect. In terms of the balance sheet I am pleased that I was handed a
very solid and strong one, actually with very long-term debt at reasonable interest rates. Also
in that respect there is no significant shift that anybody would need to expect. Then in terms
of the actual shareholder returns, yes, I am convinced that we have to look at a good mix of
different means. On the dividend front it is important to me to make sure that an ongoing
dividend is covered by the underlying free cash flow of the firm. Spain is going to change that
a bit but we will use all of the visibility that we have by then to then come up with the right
call. Nothing is decided and yes also share buybacks could then be part of the mix. In
particular, if we have sizeable one-off cash inflows like the one that we are expecting from
Spain at the closing of that transaction.
Akhil Dattani: Can I just clarify one thing Margherita on your first answer? Does that mean
that Italy in terms of whether it happens or not and the construct of any potential deal does
not necessarily impact? I guess it is quite a big asset for you, so I am trying to understand
how you can give clarity in May if potentially that deal has not yet materialised by that point.
Margherita Della Valle: Our intention remains to give clarity in May. As you can imagine we
will have the €4 billion proceeds from Spain coming in and therefore we do not think we
should delay any further, so we will update you in Ma
It is all about Etisalat. They own ~15% of Vodafone and their immediate publicly announced intention is to increase their holdings to ~20% in the next few months. There is a real possibility they may bid in totality for Vodafone at some point.
A 15% ownership positions then as the leading candidate for a takeover.
MDV is making some major structural changes at Vod with Etisalat is looking over her shoulder as a "co-owner." Will the dividend increase or decrease? Etisalat has a major say. Should Vod sell Spain or Italy? Etisalat has a major say. Who should be on the board of directors? You get the idea.
A takeover would give Etisalat a strong position in Africa. If you look at a cellular map Vod and Etisalat ownership of African assets compliment each other competitively. It also diversifies UAE holdings away from oil and gives them a major position in numerous telecom markets.
MDV needs to get the share price up through disposals so if Etisalat moves for a takeover they get a good price for Vod holders. Conversely, a much higher share price could make it more expensive for Etisalat to attempt a taker over. I estimate the fair price to be over 2.5 times the current share price presently. If Vod sold off their operations they could conservatively get somewhere in the area of 550 billion pounds. There is a lot of value here and a lot of money for shareholders to be had.