C&c Share Discussion Threads

[bionicdog] 19/9/2007 14:15

Inverse H & S ?

[itansey] 16/9/2007 13:46

C&C surge renews speculation - Sunday Business Post - 16 September 2007

Has the cider giant become a takeover target again? And is it preparing to sell off its spirits and liqueur business? Richard Curran reports.

A strong surge in the C&C share price last week prompted inevitable speculation that the drinks group has once again become a takeover target. Last Wednesday, C&C stock gained 4 per cent, with more than 4.5 million shares traded in Dublin.

The name being mentioned as a possible buyer for the company is SAB Miller, the major international drinks giant.

SAB Miller had been mentioned before in connection with a possible bid for C&C, but at the time the Irish firm's shares were trading at just below €10.The view in the market a few months ago was that anything below €10 per share would see C&C effectively in play.

Everything has changed for C&C since then. Serious questions have been raised about the long-term growth prospects for its main cider product. The bad weather this summer in Britain and Ireland didn't help, but the real problem has been elsewhere.

C&C's main rivals for its Magners product have really begun to bite back. The Scottish & Newcastle-owned Bulmers brand has finally got its act together. Competition has been tough, at a time when overall market growth slowed because of the bad weather.

Two profit warnings and a badly handled share buyback has taken much of the gloss off the C&C success story. Similarly, some in the industry have begun to question the long-term viability of premium cider as a market segment, suggesting that it is more of a fad than a serious drinks category for the future.

But everything has its price. C&C shares fell as low as €5 in recent weeks before beginning a climb back to €6.32 last Thursday. They eased back on some of those gains as the Irish market weakened last Friday.

Despite the obvious rumour that SAB Miller might be ready to pounce, there has also been speculation that C&C might sell its liqueur and spirits division. The name being mentioned as the most likely buyer is Italian group Davide Campari Milano.

It released results last week which were reasonably positive but, more importantly, Campari has money to spend on acquisitions. The company chief executive said it had about €600mill ion to spend on buying companies. He described acquisitions as one of the ''strategic pillars of our growth''.

He also said Campari would seek to buy what he called ''distinctive brands'' in markets where it already had distribution networks.

Interestingly, C&C sold its Barbero Italian drinks subsidiary to Campari in 2003 for €220 million. Also, Campari is the distributor of C&C's current spirits and liqueur brands in Europe.

The big question is whether C&C would sell this business now or any time soon. Sources close to C&C said it was not for sale. The spirits and liqueur business consists of Tullamore Dew, Carolans Irish Cream liqueur, Irish Mist and an Italian liqueur called Frangelico.

The division is currently making earnings of €18million to €20 million per year. In the event of a sale it could sell for anything from €250 million to €350 million. Last year, the division had revenues of €79million and its operating profit was up 6.6 per cent.

Tullamore Dew grew sales by 16 per cent. It is the most popular Irish whiskey in Germany and Denmark, according to C&C, and is the second most popular Irish whiskey internationally after Jameson.

Carolans increased sales last year by 8 per cent. If C&C sold this division, it would leave it as a pure cider play. This, in turn, could make it a cleaner and more attractive takeover proposition.

C&C chief executive Maurice Pratt could take the view that he has already sold off all the other non-cider parts of the business, and a sale of the spirits and liqueur division would complete that strategy.

However, with problems in cider, perhaps C&C would welcome the opportunity to hold on to a non-cider operation. On balance, most industry sources expect that if the right price is offered for this division, then it will be sold.

That leaves the question of what C&C will do with the money. It has already wasted tens of millions of euro on an ill-fated share buyback programme. It could use some of the money to ramp up its marketing and selling war against Scottish & Newcastle in Britain.

C&C clearly has a tough battle on its hands. The group's market value is currently just over €1.9 billion, or €2.5 billion less than its all-time high in January when its shares were trading at €14.03.

Pratt has a few tough decisions to make but, having already put almost all his eggs in the cider basket, he may not be ready to go all the way.

[djderry] 13/9/2007 22:16

I've got over 30k worth of these and if it reaches 9.50 euro,I'll have broken even!

[itansey] 13/9/2007 22:10

C&C fizz again as shares rise

Irish Independent
Published: Sep 13, 2007

Shares in Bulmers/Magners manufacturer C&C gained for the second day in a row yesterday after new speculation that drinks giant SABMiller may run the rule over the company.

Shares in C&C finished the day up over 4pc at €6.23 after advancing early 6pc on Tuesday.

The speculation was boosted by a comment from an Amsterdam trader who said that the stock "might well trade above €9 a share again" should the brewer make a bid.

[itansey] 13/9/2007 22:09

Rumour of the Day: SABMiller may swallow C&C

NO BYLINE, The Scotsman - United Kingdom
Published: Sep 13, 2007


C&C Group climbed 0.25, or 4.2 per cent, to 6.23 on speculation SABMiller may be interested in buying the company.

Willem Kadijk, a trader at Kepler Equities in Amsterdam, said: "If the rumour is true, and I think it is, the stock might well trade above 9 a share again."

C&C spokesman Paddy Hughes was not available for comment, while a spokeswoman for SABMiller, the world's third-largest brewer, refused to comment. SABMiller fell 23p, or 1.7 per cent, to 1,328p.

C&C has issued two profit warnings this summer, and this month said sales volumes at its cider division would be 2 per cent lower than last year, following a 7 per cent fall in Bulmers volumes in Ireland and slow growth in Magners shipments to the UK. Q: UK directors were asked if the rewards were becoming outweighed by the risks and responsibilities Yes 58 per cent No 42 per cent

[itansey] 13/9/2007 22:08

C&C has another turn in the takeover spotlight

Nick Clark, The Independent - United Kingdom
Published: Sep 13, 2007

Traders last week predicted that some of the age-old rumours would re-emerge as the M&A market tries to get back on its feet, and so it has proved. Yesterday's "classic" was talk that the brewing giant SAB Miller was once more targeting C&C Group, which owns the Magners brand.

C&C has plummeted during the cold summer as drinkers turned away from cider over ice. One trader said: "This rumour has been around for ages and it was about again today. It could be true, and it was inevitable C&C would be a target as they are so bombed out."

SAB shed 23p to 1,328p, closing as the second worst FTSE 100 performer, while C&C strengthened 0.27p to 6.20p.

[itansey] 13/9/2007 22:07

C&C sparkles on series of rumours
Claire Shoesmith, Irish Times
Published: Sep 13, 2007


It was a relatively quiet day in the Irish market yesterday, with dealers reporting lower than usual volumes.

There was however one star performer. Drinks group C&C put in a good showing, rising 4.2 per cent, or 25 cent, to close at 6.23. Dealers said there was no real news propelling the stock, which is the subject of a series of different rumours, ranging from it being a takeover target for Scottish & Newcastle, considering a distribution agreement with a UK brewer and talk that the AC Nielsen drinks market data which was due to come out on Friday had been delayed.

Citi released what, in the circumstances, was a relatively upbeat note, presaging a renewed marketing effort and a possible link with a UK brewer for distribution.

Whatever the reasons, dealers reported decent interest in the stock, which saw more than 5.6 million units change hands.

[eoc74] 13/9/2007 07:44

Talk of a bid. Cant see the directors selling out anywhere near €6.

[itansey] 12/9/2007 20:09

nice increase over the last couple of days, i wonder why...ideas.

[eoc74] 12/9/2007 10:28

More likely at this price than at €14 I suppose. The directors who paid €10.45 wont be too pleased to sell at €6!

[finbarr] 12/9/2007 09:44

vague rumours of a bid from SAB Miller but we have heard that before!

[bionicdog] 11/9/2007 16:38

I was planning an afternoon in the beer garden tomorrow , they probably got wind of it.

[gizzimodo] 11/9/2007 16:33

Maybe the better weather of late and the pricing strategy of competitors is leading to a bit of buying

[finbarr] 11/9/2007 13:43

any specific views on the recent bounce?

[bionicdog] 11/9/2007 08:08

Perhaps Magners has the better image at this moment in time.

[lobby ludd] 10/9/2007 15:11

bionicdog - 'people make heir choices larely on image and not taste'. Might have agreed with you, until the manager of my local Wetherspoons told me that he had changed their cider display from 50% Mags/50% Bulms to 80% Magns/20% Bulms, because the latter just wasn't selling (even though it was cheaper).
Wetherspoons is the largest seller of Magners in GB, so if replicated across thier estate, significant.

[finbarr] 10/9/2007 14:47

point taken bionicdog but in a growing market we do not need to be number one.

[bionicdog] 10/9/2007 14:17

Unfortunately people make their choices largely on image and not taste. Otherwise how could Carling be Britain's favourite lager. In the seventies the advertising industry had everone drinking Worthington E and Cinzano Bianco and in more recent times they did the same with Smirnoff Ice etc. Quality products like Thatcher's single varietal range remain firmly on the shelves.

[finbarr] 10/9/2007 14:08

bionic,

Magners is a superior product to Bulmers. Im my opinion there is no doubt about it. The real question is whether C&C will be able to leverage this in the medium to long term or whether they will be nailed by price competition.

[bionicdog] 10/9/2007 13:17

Giving the stuff away? Selling a bog standard cider in a bottle for twice the price that it would be in a can is hardly giving it away.

[gizzimodo] 10/9/2007 13:08

Check the supermarket shelves - Magners sold out , Bulmers sitting on the shelves. Noticed also the prices were similar around £2.00 per 568ml bottle. Ok only a small supermarket chain but is this a sign that Bulmers are now under pressure and have had to stop giving the stuff away ? Hopefully all the price competition will settle down and the drinks will sell on their merits not just on price. I believe they were correct to maintain the price strategy they just under estimated the desperation of the competition .

[daveyboy3] 07/9/2007 15:57

Well it is Friday afternoon!

[eoc74] 07/9/2007 13:35

Barclays buying!

[gizzimodo] 03/9/2007 13:22

Just back from trip to Ireland, Magners (Bulmers) seems popular must agree with earlier point about confusion over name though. Was curious enough to try a Bulmers at airport in Uk , in my opinion tastes nothing like as good as Magners.
I believe confusion exists over the product which they need to overcome the bottles are similar and the name thing is a problem , how many have come back from Ireland now drinking Bulmers thinking it is Magners.