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Tag: stakes

  • Fonterra sells stakes in two Chinese farms

    Fonterra sells stakes in two Chinese farms

    Fonterra Co-Operative Group said today it will sell its stakes in two joint-venture farms in China’s Shandong province to Singapore-based AustAsia Investment Holdings for NZ$88 million (US$62 million).

    The sale comes amid a retreat by the world’s largest dairy exporter since 2019 from an ill-fated overseas expansion that drew sharp criticism from its 10,000-plus farmer-shareholders.

    Fonterra, which owns 51 percent of the two farms, said the sale is not subject to any regulatory approvals and is unconditional.

    AustAsia, 75 percent owned by Singaporean agri-food company Japfa, will buy the farms outright for US$115.5 million, with the difference being paid to Fonterra’s joint venture partner, the New Zealand co-operative said.

    “Greater China continues to be one of our most important strategic markets. We remain committed to our China business,” CEO Miles Hurrell said in a statement.

    The dairy giant in April sold two fully-owned farms in China to Inner Mongolia Youran Dairy for NZ$552 million.

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  • Billionaire Lawrence Stroll Seeks Big Stake In Aston Martin

    Billionaire Lawrence Stroll Seeks Big Stake In Aston Martin

    Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, owner of Formula One team Racing Point, is preparing a bid for a major stake in Aston Martin , Autocar magazine reported, sending the luxury sports car maker’s battered shares up 17 percent on Thursday.

    Aston Martin, the drive of choice for fictional British secret agent James Bond, has seen its shares slump since its flotation in October 2018 as sales have failed to meet expectations.

    Stroll, who is the father of Formula One driver Lance Stroll, is heading up a consortium looking to take a “major shareholding” in the British company, Autocar and the racefans.net website reported on Thursday.

    Racefans.net said Racing Point could be rebranded as Aston Martin if Stroll succeeded in taking a controlling stake.

    Aston Martin declined to comment and Racing Point said Stroll was unavailable for comment.

    The carmaker’s shares were up nearly 17% at 5.88 pounds ($7.54) at 1414 GMT, valuing the business at about 1.3 billion pounds, but still far below their initial public offering (IPO) price of 19 pounds.

    As the car industry consolidates through deals such as the Peugeot-Fiat merger, Aston has said it does not need to belong to a bigger automotive group, pointing to the success of stand-alone rival Ferrari .

    But the sale of a stake could help boost the company’s prospects as it seeks to turn around a poor performance, which pushed it to a 92.3 million pound ($118.4 million) loss in the first nine months of the year.

    In August, Aston’s biggest investor, Strategic European Investment Group, acquired an additional 3% stake in the company.

    A month later, Aston raised $150 million in debt at 12% interest, hiking its borrowing costs, to bolster its balance sheet for the launch of its DBX sports utility vehicle next year, with the option for another $100 million.

    The company’s hopes rest on almost doubling sales with its first SUV, which enters production in 2020, particularly by attracting more female buyers to the brand.

    Aston is also the title sponsor of the Honda-powered Red Bull team, former world champions who won three races this year with Dutch 22-year-old Max Verstappen.

    Aston will be competing in the World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours with its Valkyrie hypercar from 2021.

    Mercedes’ parent Daimler also has a small stake in Aston.

    Stroll, a collector of vintage Ferraris, has been involved in Formula One and motor racing for years and also owns Canada’s Mont Tremblant circuit in Quebec.

    He made his money through investing in fashion brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors, but came to wider prominence in motor racing circles after bankrolling his son’s career.

    Lance Stroll, 21, moved to Racing Point from Williams this season after a consortium led by his father bought the Force India team, which was co-owned by financially troubled Indian magnate Vijay Mallya and had fallen into administration.

    The Silverstone-based team, which uses Mercedes engines, finished seventh overall this season but is planning a factory expansion.

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  • LVMH takes stake in Stella McCartney House

    LVMH takes stake in Stella McCartney House

    LVMH has bought a cornerstone share in Stella McCartney House.

    Full details of the deal will be released in September, however LVMH has confirmed Stella McCartney will continue as creative director and ambassador of her brand, while holding majority ownership.

    LVMH’s archrival house Kering previously held a stake in Stella McCartney House until the celebrity bought it out in March last year. The two new partners said their arrangement will aim to accelerate Stella McCartney House’s worldwide development in terms of business and strategy, yet remain faithful to its commitment to sustainable and ethical luxury fashion.

    Stella McCartney will hold a specific position and role on sustainability within LVMH as special advisor to the chairman and CEO, Bernard Arnault, and the executive committee members.

    “Since the announcement of my decision to take full ownership of the Stella McCartney brand, there have been many approaches from various parties expressing their wish to partner and invest in the Stella McCartney House,” said McCartney.

    “While these approaches were interesting, none could match the conversation I had with Bernard Arnault and his son Antoine. The passion and commitment they expressed towards the Stella McCartney brand alongside their belief in the ambitions and our values as the global leader in sustainable luxury fashion was truly impressive.

    “The chance to realise and accelerate the full potential of the brand alongside Mr Arnault and as part of the LVMH family, while still holding the majority ownership in the business, was an opportunity that hugely excited me,” said McCartney.

    Arnault described the announcement as “the beginning of a beautiful story together”.

    “We are convinced of the great long-term potential of her house. A decisive factor was that she was the first to put sustainability and ethical issues on the front stage, very early on, and [she] built her house around these issues. It emphasises LVMH Groups’ commitment to sustainability.”

    Arnault said LVMH was the first large company in France to create a sustainability department, more than 25 years ago, and “Stella will help us further increase awareness on these important topics”.

    McCartney described partnering with the Arnaults and LVMH as a big step for her, her family, and the Stella McCartney team.

    “The brand has achieved so much since its launch, and this new partnership with LVMH is recognition of that work, but this I feel is just the start, and I look forward to a brilliant future together”.

    The deal announced overnight is subject to normal conditions, including the approval of competition authorities.

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  • Ooredoo plans stake sale in Indonesian unit Indosat

    Ooredoo plans stake sale in Indonesian unit Indosat

    Ooredoo plans stake sale in Indonesian unit Indosat. Ooredoo is exploring options including a sale of its controlling stake in Indonesia’s phone carrier PT Indosat as the Qatari phone company seeks to raise cash and focus on its more profitable Middle Eastern markets, according to people familiar with the matter.

    The carrier could sell its 65 per cent stake in Indosat to another phone company willing to expand in the region, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The holding has a market value of about $1.4 billion. No final decision has been made and deliberations are still at a preliminary stage, the people said.

    Ooredoo said it has no intention of selling its interest in Indosat, according to a statement dated September 20 on its website. Indosat shares rose as much as 2.9 per cent, the most in a week, in Jakarta trading on Wednesday.

    Ooredoo, which has operations spanning Algeria to Myanmar, is also considering a sale of its indirect stake in Singapore’s StarHub, people with knowledge of the matter said in July. Ooredoo is majority owned by the Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund and other government related entities. Investment funds in many Middle Eastern countries are raising cash through asset sales to combat declining oil prices.

  • Axiata may lift stake in Singapore’s M1

    Axiata may lift stake in Singapore’s M1

    Malaysia’s Axiata Group is considering increasing its stake in Singapore’s M1 as a strategic investment.

    Axiata CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim told that the company would “seriously consider” lifting its stake in M1 “if the price is right”.

    Axiata is already M1’s largest shareholder with a 28.5% stake. M1’s second largest shareholder Keppel Corp’s parent company Temasek Holdings is meanwhile reportedly considering selling Keppel’s stake in the operator.

    But the prospect of heightened competition in Singapore’s mobile market arising from the award of the nation’s planned fourth mobile license may limit the attraction of a potential deal.

    Jamaludin told that the company is not pursuing any major mergers and acquisitions, noting that even if the group wanted to expand into another country, the opportunity is not there.

  • Singtel to lift stakes in AIS, Airtel

    Singtel to lift stakes in AIS, Airtel

    Singtel has confirmed it has arranged to indirectly increase its stake in Thai mobile affiliate AIS, and revealed it will also increase its share in India’s Bharti Airtel.

    The operator announced it has entered a conditional agreement to acquire 21% of Thai operator AIS’ largest shareholder Intouch Holdings from Singtel’s majority shareholder Temasek Holdings, confirming reports from earlier in the week.

    Intouch is AIS’ largest shareholder with a roughly 40% stake, while Singtel owns a 23% stake in AIS.

    Singtel has meanwhile also agreed to acquire a 7.39% stake in Bharti Airtel’s holding company Bharti Telecom, adding to the 39.78% it already owns.

    The acquisitions have a total value of S$2.47 billion ($1.84 billion). Singtel will pay cash, and fund the acquisition through a combination of internal cash, short-term debt and proceeds from a S$1.6 billion placement of new Singtel shares to Temasek. The deal still requires shareholder and regulatory approvals.

    “Singtel has been a strategic partner to both AIS and Airtel for more than 15 years. We have built deep and trusted relationships, worked well together through the years, sharing knowledge and expertise and we have grown together, from strength to strength,” Singtel Group CEO Chu Sock Koong said.

    “Today, they have a combined mobile customer base of more than 380 million across Asia and Africa. This is a unique opportunity for us to deepen our relationships with two great market leaders.”

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