Yves Bonzon (Julius Baer) | The global equity market has seen a multi-percent- age correction for a variety of reasons, from re- newed fears of a second wave of coronavirus infec- tions to disappointment about Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell’s policy stance. In the wake of a rally of almost 50% from the lows of March, it is fair to say that such a decline cannot come as a surprise.
Renta 4 | Iberdrola has announced a takeover bid for 100% of the Australian renewables company Infigen Energy at a price of AUD 0.86$ per share. This is in line with Infigen Energy’s current stock price, but 6% higher than the offer made by UAL Energy on 9 June. It values Infigen at AUD 841 M (510 million euros approximately, 0.7% of Iberdrola’s market cap), with an EV/EBITDA multiple of 8.2x (vs 10x at Iberdrola’s current price).
The Spanish oil and gas group has announced an agreement with Saudi state oil company Aramco for the development of synthetic fuels. The agreement begins with an industrial conversion project in the Petronor factory (Basque Country) and would later be transferred to the rest of Repsol’s facilities globally. Repsol will invest 80M euros to modify some of Petronor’s production processes via two projects.
Darwei Kung (DWS) | The oil rally continues. On the supply side, OPEC and Rus-sia reached an agreement to extend the June production cap into July instead of implementing the planned scaling down of cuts. This is perhaps a sign that the major produc-ers are conscious of the oil market’s fragility despite the recent rise in oil prices. Large inventory overhangs support that fear. On the demand side, the re-opening of economies across the globe has brought significant optimism, even though the amount of realized demand that has emerged give little support for it.
Adam Vettese (eToro) | The US Congress is mulling the idea of creating digital dollars to help the unbanked in America. It laid plans, according to Decrypt, for the Federal Reserve to provide bank accounts to those whom the banking industry does not. So-called “FEDaccounts” would operate through US Post Offices. Meanwhile former chairman of the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission Chris Giancarlo recommended a form of Central Bank Digital Currency at a Congressional hearing.
Grifols announced yesterday that it has started production of hyperimmune immunoglobulin as a potential therapy for Covid-19. This makes it the first company to begin manufacturing anti-SARS-CoV-2 hyperimmune immunoglobulin, the first doses of which will be available in July. The aim is to integrate it into a clinical trial to evaluate its efficacy and subsequently begin the regulatory process for its approval.
The combination of BME and SIX, both leaders in their respective national financial markets, will create a diversified group with a strong presence throughout Europe. It will become the third largest infrastructure group in the European financial market and the tenth largest in the world by revenues. SIX believes this transaction will strengthen the Spanish and Swiss ecosystems by creating centres of excellence and providing new capabilities for BME and SIX participants.
The telecommunications operator, which is in the midst of a takeover bid, is relaunching its commitment to growth with four corporate transactions. These are: the acquisition of Lycamobile, a mobile virtual operator focused on the immigrant market and its subsidiary in Portugal; the purchase of Ahimás, which specialises in rural areas; and the launch of its Basque subsidiary Guuk. The Lycamobile deal, worth €372 M, is the most important one. It was agreed in February and approved by the board on May 28.
(eToro) | US stock indices snapped a winning streak that had lasted for over a week on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 falling 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing 1.1% lower. The Nasdaq Composite was still in the green, however, driven by a positive day for information technology stocks. It is now up by close to 11% year-to-date and has surpassed the huge milestone of 10,000 for the first time ever.
Telxius, Telefónica’s infrastructure subsidiary, will carry out a capital increase of 1.5 billion euros to buy towers from Telefónica Deutschland. Telxius will finance 90% of the acquisition via a capital increase – which will be subscribed by current shareholders in proportion to their stake – as well as internally generated resources. The remaining 10% will be financed through incremental debt.