Monday, May 25, 2009

Bharti-MTN deal : Sniffer dogs at work ?

My experience with M&A deal structures tells me that the level of distrust between the parties can be gauged by the magnitude of its complexity. By complexity I mean insistence on back to back cross holdings, layered cash and share swaps and other exhaustive clauses in the share swap agreements relating to Board composition, management, operational checks and internal audit.

Going by that, I am not surprised why the stock markets gave a thumps down to the news of Bharti-MTN merger. The Bharti share fell 5.41 per cent to close at Rs 811.85 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, on a day the Sensex rose 26 points.

The deal is not just complex by size, it’s structure too is no less contorted. Sample this. Under the deal, MTN will issue new shares (they prefer to call it “economic interest” instead of plain “shares” – probably an indication of refusal to imply ceding of management control to pacify regulators) to Bharti. The Indian company will also acquire around 36 per cent of MTN’s current paid-up capital from its shareholders at $10.2 per share, entailing a cash outgo of $6.8 billion. The fresh share issue will eventually take Bharti’s shareholding in MTN to 49 per cent.

In return, Bharti will issue 0.5 GDRs for every MTN share it acquires. The Indian promoters will eventually see a dilution of their 45.30 per cent stake in Bharti.

Even if it is to avoid regulatory hurdles, anti-trust allusions or even triggering of open offer requirements to other minority shareholders that can drive up the price ( open offer is triggered when stake in excess of 15% is acquired in an Indian company with the exception for inter-promoter swap or cross holdings), the deal structure is far too complex for execution because the exhaustive approvals and information sharing between the parties called for will certainly limit operational flexibility to a large extent – a factor that has been instrumental for the rapid growth of Bharti (and possibly MTN too) in India.

I see more of mutual suspicion than synergies in this deal. Shall be glad if proved wrong.
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Friday, May 22, 2009

Press "Sell"

So, the stock market has shrugged off its sloth, at least for the time being. The election results that brought back a seemingly stable Congress government clearly turbo charged the markets. That woke up many a sleeping investor and money no longer waits on the sidelines. That bodes well for valuations and for most companies it is clearly up by 50% from October 2008 lows.

They say banks are now all the more willing to lend to enterprises. Rising valuations will recharge the primary markets for sure going by the steady stream for DRHP filings with SEBI.

If that indicates improvement in liquidity (even to Real Estate companies that are now busy taking the QIP routes), I am sure I-Bankers will be on their toes to do M&A deals. But that’s exactly where I come from. When valuations are rising, it’s time that a few Indian companies should be selling out, not acquiring. Imagine if Tata Steel sold out to Corus, Hindalco to Novelis and Tata Motors divesting instead of acquiring JLR during the previous bubble ? They could’ve even reacquired these companies now when valuations of those companies have plummeted and Indian markets see a surge in liquidity. May be this is wisdom in hindsight, but they also say history repeats itself.

So it’s a word of caution from yours truly. More because I am selling my large cap holdings and swapping them for good mid / small caps that return 30% in as much as a week. It’s not a sound parallel I know, but then who can stop a blogger from speaking his mind ?
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

You know better than you think you do

Massive inflows into the global equity / commodity markets in the month of April to me is an indication enough that repeated assertions by the talking heads – about money waiting in the sidelines - falls flat in their faces. I think now it’s getting very tenuous––the fund managers, retail investors across the board people are very nervous at these higher valuations. In that sense, I don’t endorse the capability of equity markets to forerun global economic fundamentals that are still weak, at least as weak as they were made out to be in the early days of liquidity crunch in Q1-Q2 of 2008. The expression I guess is, suspended disbelief - as in the super heroes in the movies, when you know humans cannot fly but you believe Superman can fly, so you can enjoy the movie.

That is not to say that we don’t enjoy the current rally while it lasts. The suspended disbelief here is in ignoring the reality of the economic fundamentals. At some point, delusions give way to reason and the tide ebbs all of a sudden. It’s hard to guess what can legitimately support equity valuations much higher than here, almost in any market around the world.

When you can’t guess it, it’s time you respect your fears and retrace a bit. Don’t repudiate your own instinct so much just because it comes to you free and it tells you to keep away from seemingly juicy opportunities, especially after a long, dry spell. Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else's. Good instincts usually tell you what to do long before your head has figured it out. You know more than you think you do.
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Wednesday, May 06, 2009

"Indian bankers, don't you carp later"

It’s tough time for banks and borrowers alike. The stiff 5% CRR and 24% SLR leaves banks with no choice but to keep their cost of lending to corporates high. Working Capital has become all the more expensive to businesses at a time when cash flows are squeezed and order inflows have dried up.

I wonder why the banks don’t invest in equities (preferably thro a 100% SPV) of sound companies that come with a Board seat to enable them exercise a closer watch ? Now that equity valuations have come to realistic levels and companies badly need low cost funds to sustain till they get over the recessionary times. For the banks, it would be a great idea to adopt this neo-private equity model because it comes with built in tax benefits since the returns will be in the nature of long term capital gains that are either exempt or are taxable at concessional rates. Since these are in the nature of investments, the SPV’s don’t need any elaborate set-up and can at best be a desk in one corner of its treasury operations wing.

When Henry Kravis comes calling, that’s proof enough that Indian equities are good bets. So bankers, sit up and take notice. Or else, Kravis would have you for lunch and dinner before you say `protection’. Or worse, it could be the turn of J.C.Flowers.
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