Tufton Assets Share Discussion Threads

[waldron] 15/10/2004 06:10

PARIS (AFX) - Thales SA will confirm its tie-up with the state-owned DCN
shipyards in the coming weeks, La Tribune reported.
Without naming its source, the paper said the deal could be unveiled at the
Euronaval naval equipment exhibition which opens October 25.
Thales chief executive Denis Ranque last month said relations between the
two groups were "evolving favourably," but that the financial details were not
yet decided.
La Tribune cited DCN as saying yesterday that talks were ongoing.
It said initially the deal would lead to the merger of DCN's shipbuilding
activities with Thales unit Thales Naval France before a possible tie-up with
ThyssenKrupp AG and German state shipyards Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) to
create the 'naval EADS' favoured by the French government.
[e-mail]

[waldron] 10/10/2004 13:03

PARIS (AFX) - Alstom SA said it has formed a cooperation agreement with
China's Dong Fang to propose a turbine generator package for Phase II of the
Ling Ao nuclear power plant, operated by the China Nuclear Power Engineering
Company.
The two groups have already cooperated on Phase I of the Ling Ao plant.
Alstom also said it will invest in a new welded rotor facility in China that
will equip nuclear or fossil-fuel steam turbines.
Financial details of the two projects were not disclosed.
The announcements came as Alstom announced contract wins for the supply of
regional trains and locomotives in China, as well as orders for providing power
equipment for three pumped-storage power stations in the country, for a total
value of about 1.3 bln eur.
Alstom officials are part of the entourage of French business executives
travelling with President Jacques Chirac during his official visits to China and
other Asian countries.
[e-mail]
js/ak

[ariane] 09/10/2004 18:11

Alstom Wins EU1.36 Bln of Contracts During Chirac Trip to China
Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Alstom SA, the French engineering company rescued from near bankruptcy, said it won contracts worth 1.36 billion euros ($1.69 billion) to provide China with trains as well as hydroelectric and nuclear power equipment.

Alstom will build 60 regional trains worth 620 million euros in partnership with Changchun Railway Company, the French company said in a faxed statement. Alstom will receive an additional 380 million euros by supplying 180 locomotives to be built in China with Datong Electric Locomotive Company.

The Paris-based company, the world's second-biggest train- maker, will also manufacture turbines and provide technology worth 357 million euros to three hydroelectric power stations throughout the country, Alstom said in a separate statement.

``These announcements are very encouraging for Alstom,'' Chairman Patrick Kron said in the statement. The company, which was rescued in a government-led bailout from near bankruptcy, is 21.4 percent-owned by the state.

Kron is accompanying French President Jacques Chirac on his five-day trip to China together with executives from more than 50 French companies.

France, Europe's third-largest economy, is losing market share to its European partners in China. Its share of European exports to China dropped to about 14 percent last year from 20 percent in 1999. Germany's share gained nine percentage points to 53 percent in the same period.

Alstom said earlier this morning it signed an agreement with Dong Fang of China to supply a turbine generator for a nuclear reactor, without providing any financial details.

[grupo guitarlumber] 29/9/2004 11:34

(Updating with comment on acquisitions, T&D business, outlook)
PARIS (AFX) - Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon confirmed the French nuclear
engineering group is in talks with Alstom SA over the final price it will pay
for the transmission and distribution business and has hired KPMG as an adviser.
"We are having discussions with Alstom to determine the final amount of
money ... This is not a conflict by any stretch of the imagination, we are in a
conventional framework agreement," finance director Gerald Arbola said in a
conference call following first-half results last night.
Reports in the press earlier said Areva is contesting the full price it will
pay to acquire the T&D unit, and is withholding 105 mln eur of the total 920 mln
payable, following lower than expected results at the division since the sale
was agreed in January.
Areva plans to focus on organic growth in its T&D business but if "targeted
acquisitions can help to speed up the synergy process we would not be opposed,"
Lauvergeon said.
She said Areva has not allocated provisions for acquisitions but may be
interested in buying BNFL's Westinghouse Electric Company unit if it is for
sale.
Areva expects orders for three nuclear generating units from the Chinese
government "fairly soon", out of a total 8 bln usd order for six units.
"The latest news is that the Chinese government approved the building of at
least six new nuclear units ... Things are moving swiftly," she said.
"I don't know the details of the amount," she said, adding: "This is one of
the details we are discussing."
The China News Service reported today that China's cabinet has approved the
8 bln usd Yangjiang nuclear power project in Guangdong province, involving six
nuclear generating units with a combined installed capacity of 6 mln kW to 9 mln
kW.
Areva is on track to meet its full year earnings targets -- including an
increase in sales on a like-for-like basis, continued growth in operating income
and a recovery in the connectors business -- but Lauvergeon said operating
income for T&D activities is likely to decrease before restructuring.
The business has a new management team and a three-year plan to make it an
"important contributor to the business of the Areva group," she said.
Lauvergeon said orders placed with the T&D division in July and August are
comparable to previous years.
Orders fell to 786 mln eur in the second quarter from 900 mln in the first
quarter, but improved from the 651 mln posted in the fourth quarter of 2003.
Discussions are under way between Areva/Cogema and Electricite de France on
a commercial agreement regarding post-2008 services and an agreement is expected
by year-end, Arbola said.
Asked about a potential privatisation of the state-owned nuclear power
company, he said it is "up to shareholders to decide" when they are ready, "and
indeed we are."
Areva is 93 pct state-owned, with a few percent of its capital listed on
Euronext Paris via investment certificates.
[e-mail]
sr/an/

[waldron] 29/8/2004 15:15

BEIJING (AFX) - France's Alstom, Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries and
Canada's Bombardier Inc have won contracts for the technological upgrade of
China's inter-city trains, Chinese state media said.
The contracts were awarded in a recent bidding for high-speed train
technology in China, with the three companies participating via consortia with
local enterprises, the Xinhua news agency said on its website.
The entire project to modernize China's inter-city trains was worth 885
mln usd, according to earlier reports.
The foreign technology would help China overcome some of its serious
transportation bottlenecks by allowing trains to travel at speeds of 200
kilometers per hour, Xinhua said.
The agency did not go into details about the extent of the contracts
awarded or their value.
Chinese officials and foreign businesses were unavailable for comment
Sunday.
Alstom won its part of the contract via a consortium with Chinese rolling
stock maker Changchun Railway Vehicles, according to Xinhua.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries participated in the bidding via a consortium with
China's Nanche Sifang Locomotive, the agency said.
According to earlier reports, the Japanese consortium also included
Hitachi Ltd, and Mitsubishi Electric as well as three trading companies, Itochu,
Marubeni and Mitsubishi.
Bombardier's successful bid was launched through its China-based venture
Bombardier Sifang Power, Xinhua reported.
ph/br/tr

[maywillow] 26/8/2004 11:26

FRANKFURT (AFX) - Siemens AG plans to spin off its contact line construction
unit in order to cut costs at its troubled transportation systems division, the
IG Metall Union said citing industry sources.
The unit makes the devices mounted on to tram and rail cars in order to
transmit electricity to them.
A Siemens spokesman declined to comment on the matter.
The sources said Siemens wants to either find a partner, sell the unit
outright or sell it to its own management because it is too expensive to
operate. It employs about 400 workers in Essen, Halle, Hannover, Karlsruhe and
Leipzig, an IG Metall spokesman said.
Siemens has put increasing pressure on its domestic workforce this year to
reduce costs or see their jobs sent abroad. In July it reached agreement with
the staff at two mobile phone assembly plants under which they could keep their
jobs for at least two years after agreeing to work more hours without any
monetary compensation.
The electronics and engineering giant is currently involved in negotiations
with workers in order to reduce expenditure at additional domestic facilities.
Siemens transportation systems unit is under particular pressure after two
successive loss-making quarters, largely a result of provisions booked to repair
its faulty Combino tramcars.
In the fiscal third quarter through end-June, the transportation systems
unit posted an operating loss of 48 mln eur. In the fiscal second quarter its
operating loss was 289 mln eur.
IG Metall said that Siemens automation and drives unit also completed
negotiations with its works council to spin off a facility in Bremen from Oct 1.
[e-mail]
amk/wf

[maywillow] 22/8/2004 18:24

(Updates with background, names of other bidders, 'no comment' from Alstom)
LONDON (AFX) - Alstom SA has emerged as the main contender to manage the
construction of the UK Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers, the Sunday Times
reported without citing sources.
Alstom is one of the five companies bidding for the contract, which include
Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of US defense contractor Halliburton Co.
The others are BAE Systems plc, VT Group and Amec PLC, the paper said.
The UK Ministry of Defence's procurement agency will start the selection
process this week, the newspaper said.
An Alstom spokesman was unable to give an immediate reaction the the report.
The overall contract for the carriers has been valued at 3 bln stg and the
two ships are scheduled to enter service in 2012 and 2015.
It said the Ministry of Defence decided to include Alstom on the list after
its successful completion of its Queen Mary II passenger liner for Cunard,
launched from its Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St Nazaire last year.
The UK government last month announced it was extending the risk assessment
phase of the project, having earlier demoted BAE Systems from the lead role in
the programme.
[e-mail]
ow/mrg/jsa

[grupo guitarlumber] 17/8/2004 04:28

Alstom chief upbeat as orders rise 41%
Published: August 16 2004 13:19 | Last updated: August 16 2004 13:19

Patrick Kron, the chief executive of Alstom, on Wednesday welcomed a 41 per cent rise in orders in its fiscal first quarter as an "encouraging" sign that customers were still doing business with the French engineering group in spite of its financial crisis. Alstom published its order figures as the European Commission prepared to announce its expected approval for its latest government-backed rescue package. That will leave a shareholder vote at Friday's annual meeting as the last hurdle before Alstom can launch the refinancing. The expanded rescue package, agreed between the French government, Alstom's creditor banks and the Commission in May, will make the state Alstom's biggest shareholder, owning as much as 31.5 per cent. It will cut debt by €2.5bn-€2.7bn through a rights issue and debt-for-equity swap. The maker of high-speed TGV trains, power turbines and cruise ships said its customers placed close to €4bn of orders in the three months to June 30. That compared with €2.8bn of orders in the same period last year, when the full scale of Alstom's financial headaches were first revealed. Mr Kron said the "the positive trend we have shown and experienced over the last few months, especially since the second half of last fiscal year" provided him with "good confidence that we can achieve our turnaround".

[maywillow] 12/8/2004 08:13

(Updates to add further details of capital hike impact; background)
PARIS (AFX) - Alstom, the struggling engineering group, said its two
simultaneous capital hikes raised a total of 1.748 bln eur, well below its
original target of 2.2 bln.
The new shares will be issued and begin trading tomorrow.
The first phase of the capital hike, offering preferential share
subscription rights, was 115 pct subscribed and raised a total of 1.51 bln eur.
But the second phase, a debt for equity swap aimed at certain large
creditors, was only 38 pct subscribed, and raised 240 mln compared to a maximum
635 mln originally announced.
Alstom said the creditors were offered the new stock at 0.5 eur per share.
It said due to the success of the preferential subscription rights offering,
state-owned creditor Caisse Française de Developpement Industriel (CFDI)
received only 10.4 pct of the 600 mln shares it had requested.
Alstom said after the operation, the French state will hold 21.4 pct of the
company, compared to the maximum 31.5 pct stake allowed under the restructuring
plan cleared by the EU.
The French government plans to remain an Alstom shareholder over the
'medium-term', while Alstom continues to pursue its financial recovery.
The company still has almost 1 mln ORA bonds in circulation, which are
mandatorily reimbursable with shares.
Alstom said the financial restructuring efforts made in recent months would
have lowered its economic debt for the full year to March 2004 to 1.651 bln eur,
compared with the 3.0 bln actually reported.
Economic debt includes net debt and proceeds from securitization.
[e-mail]
mrg/jlw/js/ra

[grupo guitarlumber] 26/7/2004 06:08

(Repeating to clarify in headline and first par that DCN is a French
company)
FRANKFURT (AFX) - French state-owned shipyard DCN and Thales SA are in talks
to create a naval merger, similar to the aviation tie-up which created EADS, DCN
chief executive Jean-Marie Poimboeuf told the Handelsblatt newspaper.
"We want to create a company, which will encompass the ship building
activities of DCN as well as a part of Thales Naval without the armaments
business," Poimboeuf said.
das/jfr

[ariane] 25/7/2004 16:40

LONDON (AFX) - US private equity firm The Carlyle Group is reportedly
mulling an offer to buy the shipbuilding business of BAE Systems PLC, Britain's
largest defence company, The Sunday Telegraph reported without citing sources.
The paper said Carlyle, which specialises in buying defence businesses, will
face competition from DML, the company that runs the Devonport Royal Dockyard.
DML confirmed to the paper it was interested in bidding for the unit which
could be worth up to 400 mln stg.
DML is 51 pct-owned by US oil services firm Halliburton Co. Its other
shareholders include UK engineering firm Weir Group PLC and engineering and
construction group Balfour Beatty PLC.
Other firms thought to be interested include US group General Dynamics Corp,
Southampton, UK shipbuilder VT Group PLC, and French group Thales SA.
But there is uncertainty over the fate of BAE's nuclear submarine yard at
Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire.
Though BAE would like to include the yard in any deal, the UK's Ministry of
Defence is believed to be insisting it should not fall into foreign hands, owing
to national security interests.
[e-mail]
rhb/jsa

[maywillow] 19/7/2004 13:52

LONDON (AFX) - The government is extending the risk assessment phase of the
3 bln stg future aircraft carrier project which involves BAE Systems PLC and
Thales SA, said Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon.
In a written ministerial statement, Hoon said the extension would push back
the date at which the government makes its final decision on whether to invest
in the project.
He said more risk reduction work would be done "prior to making our main
investment investment decision on demonstration and manufacture".
However, the in-service date for the two ships still remains 2012 and 2015,
Hoon said.
There were suggestions in May that BAE might pull out of the deal after a
row with the Ministry of Defence over who would be the lead contractor.
BAE and Thales are meant to be working in an alliance to build the two
vessels and Hoon said a deal had been struck tying the partners and the MoD "to
an alliance based on best commercial practice".
"We will now discuss and agree the detailed alliancing arrangements with
industry including the roles and responsibilities of alliance members," he said.
fp/bam

[energyi] 19/7/2004 09:34

Unsolicited offer for 100% of Stelmar shares received by Stelios Haji-Ioannou
posted: July 19, 2004

Stelios writes:

"On Friday 16 July, I received a copy of the following unsolicited letter, which I think should enter the public domain.

At this stage, it is the Board's responsibility to maximize shareholder value by reviewing seriously any and all offers being made for Stelmar. I hope the board will
stop procrastinating and publicly announce the results of the auction that I hope is being conducted.

Whilst any serious offer for 100% of the shares of any public company, particularly if it is in cash, should be considered, I am not inclined to accept any offer for Stelmar unless it comes at a significant premium to the current share price of $33-$34. In any event my preference is not to exit the industry completely but to exchange my shares for another shipping company's publicly traded shares. For the record, the value of OMI's recently terminated offer for Stelmar (3.1 OMI shares) at last night's closing price would have been worth well in excess of $40 per Stelmar share. I have no faith in the current Stelmar management any longer and I think the outside directors should, at the very
least, be looking to replace them ASAP, just like Marks and Spencer PLC did with their Chairman and CEO as soon as an offer was received for their company."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOLDEN ENERGY MANAGEMENT S.A.
Mr. Nicholas Hartley
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Stelmar Shipping Ltd.
76 Watling Street
London EC4M 9BJ
United Kingdom

Athens, 15th July 2004.



Dear Mr. Hartley,

Subject: Proposal to acquire up to 100% shares of Stelmar ("the Company")

You are probably aware that the Company has over the past year expressed interest in
acquiring Golden Energy's fleet of product tankers.

We have noted your board's interest in developing strategic alliances and/or pursing
mergers and, in view of your imminent board meeting next week, we have taken the
liberty to write to you with a proposal which Golden Energy invites you to put before
the Company's board for turtber deliberation.

After careful consideration with our financial advisors, Golden Energy wishes to
register its interest in acquiring the Company in full on the basis that the board of the
Company accepts in principal and entertains favorably Golden Energy's wish to take
over control of the Company, subject of course to standard due diligence amongst
other things.

We would welcome the opportunity to enter into more formal discussions regarding
the terms of our proposal should your board wish to investigate this matter further.
We trust that you and the board will give serious consideration to our proposal, and
we look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely yours,

Victor Restis

For and on behalf of
Golden Energy Management S.A.

[ariane] 14/7/2004 17:08

(Updating with full report)

PARIS (AFX) - Share prices closed in negative territory but off intraday
lows, recovering some ground from recent sharp losses and as Wall Street clawed
back from an early steep fall, but with little news to drive the market given
today's Bastille Day holiday, dealers said.
The CAC-40 index finished 7.43 points lower at 3648.75, in volume of 2.3 bln
eur.
Among CAC-40 stocks, 14 closed higher, 22 closed lower and 3 were flat. On
the Matif, July CAC-40 futures were trading 8 points lower at 3653.00.
"Investors have been testing the bottoms on some stocks," said a Paris-based
dealer, adding that "for an 'off' day we've been quite active".
"There's quite a bit of market malaise today, it's all rather dull," said
another Paris-based dealer, noting that US retail sales for June were
disappointing.
Among the biggest gainers, Alcatel finished 0.25 eur or 2.2 pct higher at
11.81 after networking company Juniper Networks beat second quarter earnings
estimates and issued a bullish outlook for the rest of the year.
"Alcatel has been propelled upwards by Juniper's results, which came in
higher-than-expected -- one of the few CAC-40 stocks on the upside," said a
Paris-based dealer.
Also among the gainers, Accor ended the day 0.60 higher or up 1.8 pct at
34.66, after Morgan Stanley upgraded its share price target to 42 eur from 39
and raised its earnings per share forecasts for 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Defensive stocks were also in demand, with Air Liquide finishing up 0.8 at
135.00.
Among the day's decliners, STMicro ended 0.30 weaker or down 1.8 pct at
16.63, hit by negative sector sentiment after Intel cut its full-year gross
margin targets after announcing lower-than-expected second quarter sales,
dealers said.
Vivendi was 0.40 lower or down 1.8 pct at 21.79 and France Telecom was off
0.02 at 20.45 on reports they received a lower than hoped-for bid for their
joint cable TV operations.
Citing a newswire report, a Paris-based dealer said a group of investment
funds including Apax Partners, Soros Private Equity and Cinven Group Ltd made an
offer of 600 mln eur for the assets.
This is "400 mln eur less than people were valuing them at," he said.
On the broader indices, the SBF-80 index closed down 15.59 at 3394.38 and
the SBF-120 was 7.15 lower at 2575.16.
The euro stood at 1.2375/79 compared with 1.2313 usd at market close
yesterday.
[e-mail]
sr/wf

[ariane] 14/7/2004 06:17

LONDON (AFX) - BAE Systems PLC is bracing itself for cuts in key contracts
for the RAF and Royal Navy as a result of this week's spending settlement
between the Treasury and Ministry of Defence, The Guardian reported.
The paper said that UK defence secretary Geoff Hoon is expected to announce
cuts in programmes for Type 45 destroyers, Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft,
Astute submarines and Eurofighter Typhoon jets in a week.
[e-mail]
el/slm/

[mcbeanburger] 12/7/2004 07:49

Rates are climbing again. nice charts above (7).

[grupo] 09/7/2004 20:25

(Updating with details of resolutions passed)
PARIS (AFX) - Alstom shareholders at today's annual general meeting have
approved the planned capital increase of up to 2.2 bln eur, which forms part of
the rescue plan for the group.
The capital hike was approved with over 90 pct of the votes, the company
said.
The 25 pct quorum for the AGM was breached, with 33.17 pct of shareholders
present, but only after the resolutions were amended to allow the state to vote,
it said.
The French government holds some 18.5 pct in the engineering group and would
have been unable to cast those votes on the resolution pertaining to the 500 mln
eur capital increase by debt-to-equity swap reserved for the state.
That resolution was dropped to enable the financial restructuring plan to go
ahead without a hitch.
Instead, that 500 mln eur was included in the first resolution adopted which
allows a capital increase with preferential subscription rights for up to a
maximum of 1.7 bln eur. That figure was previously 1.2 bln.
A second resolution was also adopted for a capital increase by
debt-to-equity swap for up to 700 mln eur, for creditors other than the state.
The objective remains a maximum total of 2.2 bln eur altogether from the two
operations, the company said.
[e-mail]
rc/jad/jsa