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Associated Estates Realty Corporation Merges with Brookfield Asset Management

April 28, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Associated Estates Realty Corporation has announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved a definitive merger wherein a real estate fund managed by Brookfield Asset Management will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Associated Estates for $28.75 per share in cash. This merger transaction is valued at approximately $2.5 billion which includes the assumption of debt.

associated estates

Brookfield is a global brand that focuses on asset management with more than $200 billion in assets under management. The company has more than a 100-year history of owning and operating assets. Brookfield also focuses on property, renewable energy, infrastructure and private equity.

Brookfield Property Group, which is the largest investment platform, is made of sector-specific portfolios in the multifamily, office, retail, industrial, and hotel sectors.

Jeffrey I. Friedman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, mentioned in an interview “In December 2014, we announced that our Board was undertaking a thorough business review with the assistance of our financial advisor. After analyzing the Company’s strategy, assets and other opportunities, including running a process involving a number of qualified potential buyers, the Board unanimously determined that this transaction is the best course of action to maximize shareholder value. We are pleased that Brookfield recognizes the value inherent in our income producing properties, development projects and the platform we have built. We are also excited that this transaction will deliver compelling, immediate and certain value to all Associated Estates shareholders.”

Associated Estates’ headquarters will still be in Richmond Heights, Ohio. Approvals and Anticipated Closing Completion of the transaction is contingent upon customary closing conditions. The Company will meet to seek the approval of Associated Estates shareholders, and the annual meeting previously scheduled for May 22, 2015 has been postponed indefinitely. The transaction is not contingent on receipt of financing by Brookfield.

Closing is expected to occur in the second half of 2015. First Quarter 2015 Financial Results and Dividend Associated Estates will release financial results for its first quarter 2015 on Friday, May 1, 2015. In light of today’s announcement, the Company will not hold a conference call to discuss its first quarter financial results. The Company intends to pay the previously announced common stock dividend of $0.21 per share on May 1, 2015 to shareholders of record as of April 15, 2015. It does not expect to pay additional dividends prior to the closing of the merger.

About Associated Estates Realty Corporation

Associated Estates is a real estate investment trust and a member of the S&P 600, Russell 2000, and MSCI US REIT Indices. It is headquartered in Richmond Heights, Ohio. Associated Estates’ portfolio consists of 56 apartment communities containing 15,004 units located in 10 states, which include two committed acquisitions with 681 units that are being managed during lease-up and five apartment communities with 1,446 units in various stages of active development. Associated Estates Realty Corporation stock market evolution http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/aec

About Jeffrey I. Friedman

Mr. Jeffrey I. Friedman is Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer at Associated Estates Realty Corp., a Member at National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Inc., a Member at World Presidents’ Organization, a Member at The Urban Land Institute, a Member at National Multifamily Housing Council, and a Member at Chief Executives Organization. He is on the Board of Directors at Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Cleveland Clinic. Mr. Friedman was employed as President & Chief Executive Officer by Associated Estates Corp. He received his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University.

About Brookfield Asset Management

Brookfield

Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. is a Canadian asset management company that manages a global portfolio of total assets under management of $181 billion, invested on behalf of clients. The company is concentrated in property, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity. Brookfield was founded in 1899. It was a company that concentrated as a builder and operator of electricity and transport infrastructure in Brazil. This was evident in the company’s earlier name of “Brascan” meaning “Brasil” + “Canada”). The company provided electricity and tram services in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The company’s major public subsidiaries include Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners, Brookfield Property Partners, Brookfield Canada Office Properties, Brookfield Incorporações, Brookfield Office Properties, Brookfield Residential Properties Inc., Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, and Brookfield Real Estate Services. Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. stock market evolution http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/bam

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Filed Under: Noutati Sabin Piso Tagged With: Associated Estates, Associated Estates Realty Corporation, Brookfield, Brookfield Asset Management, Inc., Jeffrey I. Friedman, mergers

Coca- Cola Co. Will Purchase China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Ltd. For $400.5 Million

April 24, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Coca-Cola Co. announced that it is ready to buy China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Ltd, a Chinese drinks business. This is Coca-Cola’s first attempt to purchase a Chinese company after it was rejected Beijing of its bid for a company that was making juices and nectars six years ago.

coca cola

Coca-Cola is buying China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Ltd. for an enterprise value of $400.5 million. The Chinese drinks firm revealed this information in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Friday. China Culiangwang drinks operation makes “multigrain beverages” with unique flavors such as red bean, walnut and oats. Coke management is unavailable for comment regarding the acquisition.

To recall, Coke had been steadily acquiring juice, water, and other noncarbonated drinks around the world to improve its portfolio. However, its intention of becoming the biggest beverage manufacturer in China through a $2.4 billion bid for China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd in 2009 was turned down by China’s Ministry of Commerce on antitrust grounds. This deal would have been deemed as the largest takeover by a foreign company of a Chinese food or beverage maker.

But Coca- Cola is not yet completely out of the woods yet, the China Culiangwang’s multigrain drinks transaction is also subject to the approval by the Ministry of Commerce. The popular Chinese healthy beverage company said it expects to book a gain of 1.12 billion yuan ($181 million) from the disposal and will utilize this to repay the outstanding bonds and other debt.

China Culiangwang’s multigrain beverages are very popular in the country. Branded as health drinks, these have a huge market in China. China Culiangwang mentioned in a report that its multigrain beverage business’s unaudited net profit on a pro forma basis was 193 million yuan last year and this was 17% higher from 164.9 million yuan in 2013. China Culiangwang also manufactures snacks, biscuits and cereals.

Coca- Cola’s acquisition of the grain-drinks maker is when the beverage company is coping with slow sales in China. Coke has posted a 55% reduction in its fourth-quarter profit amid weak sales in markets including China, Europe and Mexico in February. The company also mentioned that its fourth-quarter volumes also diminished at 1% in Europe and in Mexico These regions consumes more Coke products per capita than any other country. An increase in volume was seen in Asia; however there were declines of 1% in Japan and 3% in China. The Atlanta beverage company was not available for immediate comment regarding the matter.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company or Coke is from Atlanta, Georgia. It produces Coca- Cola or Coke which is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines all over the world  as a patent medicine when it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton, It was purchased by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing strategies helped Coke  dominate the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century.

The Coca – Cola Company manufactures concentrate, which is then sold to licensed Coca-Cola bottlers world. The bottlers have territorially exclusive contracts with the company and these companies produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers will be able to sell The Coca-Cola Company also sells concentrate for soda fountains to major restaurants and food service distributors.

The Coca-Cola Company has introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most common is Diet Coke, with others including Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Coca-Cola Cherry, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Vanilla. There are also flavors that are available during versions with lemon, lime, or coffee. It was estimated that in 2013, Coke products is available in over 200 countries worldwide, with consumers drinking billions of Coca- Cola products every day. According to Interbrand’s best global brand study of 2011, Coca-Cola was the world’s most valuable brand. Coca-Cola stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ko

About China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Limited

china

China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Limited, formerly China Green (Holdings) Limited, is an investment holding company. The Company is focused on growing, processing and sale of agricultural products, consumer food and beverage products. China Culiangwang has three divisions: fresh produce and processed products segment, which grows and processes and sells agricultural products; branded beverage products segment, which manufactures and sells branded beverage products, and branded food products and others segment, which processes and sells branded food products. The Company’s subsidiaries include China Green (Jiangxi) Food Science Technique Limited, China Green (Fujian) Food Import & Export Co. Limited, China Green Resources (Xiamen) Sales Company Limited, China Green Harvest (Xiamen) Frozen Food Company Limited, Zhonglu (Fujian) Food Industry Limited and Zhonglu (Fujian) Agriculture Comprehensive Development Company Limited, among others. China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Limited stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/0904

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Filed Under: Noutati Sabin Piso Tagged With: Coca- Cola. China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Limited, mergers

Ford Motor Company Plans to Partner with Sollers While Russian Auto Sales Are Down

April 15, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Ford Motor Co. said on a statement on Friday said it would take interest in a joint venture with Sollers OJSC. The American automaker mentioned that this move will provide additional funding to the venture and will also open doors for a better partnership. This plan was conceived at a time when auto sales in Russia are plummeting.

Ford

Looking back, Ford’s latest investment strategy contrasts the one made by General Motors Co. The company mentioned last month said it was closing its Russian plant and is holding most of its products in the market. This was GM’s strategy in meeting its European profit targets. Latest markets show that Russian car sales fell 43% last month. The numbers were the latest in repeated declines starting from early 2014. Russian car sales have collapsed despite larger problems in the economy and political turmoil in the country.

Ford did not make any comment on the matter yet and has not revealed the size of its planned investment. In 2011, it has acquired its joint-venture stake in Sollers for a hefty $364 million.

“We’ve made a bet on Russia,” Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks mentioned in a meeting with financial experts. “It’s being hurt right now for what’s going on in terms of oil prices, as well as the geopolitical issues. But we still have confidence that over time it could be an attractive market.”

The latest investment is a consolidated joint-venture intended for financial-reporting purposes. Ford will work with Sollers which is a company that has partnerships with foreign car companies. This will expand Ford’s business in Russia and expand into local parts manufacturing. However, the company has stated that all these changes will have no impact on its first-quarter results which will soon be available later in April.

“We welcome the intentions of Ford Motor Co. to provide the necessary financial support to the joint enterprise, which will create a platform for subsequent growth,” said Sollers Deputy Chief Executive Nikolai Sobolev in an exclusive statement about the potential merger.

About Ford

The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker with headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. It was founded by Henry Ford on June 16, 1903. The company manufactures and sells automobiles as well as commercial vehicles under the Ford brand while its luxury cars line under the Lincoln brand. The company also owns Brazilian SUV manufacturer Troller and Australian FPV. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and controlled by the Ford family.  According to Forbes, Ford is “the most important industrial company in the history of the United States.” According to the latest market information, Ford is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker and the fifth-largest in the world according to 2010 vehicle sales. At the end of 2010 Ford is considered one of the largest auto company in Europe and is the eighth-ranked American-based company in the 2010 according to a Fortune 500 list, according to global revenues in 2009 of $118.3 billion. Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles in 2008 and employed about 213,000 employees. These numbers are according to Ford’s 90 plants and facilities all over the world. Ford stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/f

About Bob Shanks

Bob Shanks is Ford Motor’s executive vice president and chief financial officer in April 1, 2012. He has overall responsibility for Ford financial operations, including the controller’s office, treasury and investor relations. He has a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1975 and a master’s in international management from the American Graduate School of International Management in 1976.

About Sollers

Sollers

Sollers formerly known as OAO Severstal-Auto is a Russian company holding controlling blocks of shares of OAO Ulyanovsk Automobile Works (UAZ), Zavolzhye Motor Works (ZMZ) and OAO ZMA. The enterprises of Severstal-Auto are well-known automobile brands and occupy stable positions in their market segments. Sollers stock market evolution: http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SVAV.MM

 

About Nikolai Sobolev

Nikolay Sobolev is the member of Sollers board of directors. He is the first Deputy Director General and Chief Financial Officer of Sollers. He earned his degree from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation, MBA Kingston (UK), Candidate of Economic Sciences. In 2000 he received his MBA from Business School of Kingston University (UK), 2002 he was a Candidate of Economic Sciences, Moscow State University. Since January 2005 he was a Financial Director of Sollers OJSC and since May 2009 he is the First Deputy General Director of Sollers OJSC.

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Filed Under: Noutati Sabin Piso Tagged With: Bob Shanks, Ford, Ford Motor Company, mergers, Nikolai Sobolev, Sollers