Ay Caramba
14 Jan 2016
Re: Sainsbury could walk away Please try and keep up Turkey..Actually the HRG board may have been thinking that this is the best way to maximize the price that is achieved for shareholders. Rather than sell the whole group to Sainsburys - who only wanted the Argos brand anyway and would not "over-pay" for Homebase - this allows HRG to get a good price for both elements.Sainsburys much more likely to bid again now as they would no longer have the distraction (and cost) of purchasing and then disposing (again) of Homebase.This is good news in terms of getting the best price.PS - how did you survive Xmas ???
turkey10
14 Jan 2016
Sainsbury could walk away Sainsbury's could walk away from making any offer with the complication of a possible Homebase deal. Shame Sainsbury offer was not put to shareholders.
pearlsasinger
13 Jan 2016
Re: Home Retail Group in Advanced Discussion... This explains the 'strange' share price movements.In the twenty or so takeover deals in which I havehad an interest over many years -- this is by far the 'leakiest' that I have experienced.
idontwanttolose
13 Jan 2016
Home Retail Group in Advanced Discussions Home Retail Group in Advanced Discussionsto sell Homebase for £340m In response to media speculation, Home Retail Group confirms that it is in advanced discussions for the potential sale of Homebase to Wesfarmers Limited ("Wesfarmers"
for a cash consideration of £340 million. Home Retail Group and Wesfarmers began discussions in September, due diligence commenced under a confidentiality agreement in October, and Wesfarmers provided the Group with a firm offer letter in November. Wesfarmers has completed its due diligence, and the parties are currently finalising transaction documentation. However, discussions are ongoing and there can be no certainty that a transaction will be agreed. The proposed sale of Homebase follows from a review of the business in 2014, initiated by the Board and the Group's then new chief executive, which introduced a 3-year Productivity Plan that included improving store productivity, closing approximately 25% of the store estate, strengthening customer propositions and accelerating Homebase's digital capabilities. Significant progress has been made on the Plan since then, including the substantial completion of the programme to close underperforming stores, promotion and range improvements which drove positive trade, significant growth in digital sales, and an energised new leadership. The Board also believes that a sale to Wesfarmers, a substantial and strong group with an ambitious plan for the development of the business in the UK market, is the right step for all parties. The sale proceeds of £340m provide good value for shareholders, recognising the improvements made in the Homebase business as a result of the Productivity Plan, and a committed and supportive owner to take the business forward. Under the terms being discussed, Wesfarmers would acquire the entire Homebase business, including all stores and dedicated distribution centres. Product brands owned by the Group, such as Habitat, Schrieber and Hygena will be excluded from the sale, but licensed for use by Homebase for one year. John Walden, Chief Executive of Home Retail Group, commented:"This deal would represent good value for shareholders and a growth opportunity for the Homebase business and its colleagues. The sale would allow the Group to focus on Argos and its Transformation Plan, with an improved balance sheet and financial position, which I believe represents an even greater opportunity for building long-term shareholder value." The cash proceeds of £340m from the proposed transaction would likely be distributed approximately as follows: Proceeds£340mRestructuring, separation and deal costsc. (£75m)Contribution to the Group's Defined Benefit Pension schemec. (£50m)Intention to return to shareholdersc. (£200m)Proceeds retainedc.£15m The potential transaction would significantly improve the retained Group's overall financial position. This is illustrated as follows based upon the Group's FY15 actual results, being those for the financial year ended 28 February 2015; FY15TransactionFY15 ActualImpactProformaCash£309mc.£15m c.£324mLoan Book£580m-£580mBalance Sheet position£889mc.£15mc.£904mGross leases(£2,342m)£1,425m(£917m)Total financial position(£1,453m)c.£1,440mc.(£13m) The potential transaction would have the following estimated impacts on the retained Group's future Profit & Loss account:· From FY17 the retained Group's benchmark profit before tax ("PBT" would be reduced due to the sale of the Homebase business, which reported benchmark operating profit of £19.8m in FY15.· A Transitional Services Agreement ("TSA" would be implemented to transition, likely over an 18-month period, services provided to Homebase by the retained Group.o The retained Group would continue to charge Homebase, under its new ownership, for the provision of services by retained Group
pearlsasinger
13 Jan 2016
the price? The sp has been bid up to +150ptwice this week - which suggests thatsomeone knows that price is a real probability.??
pearlsasinger
11 Jan 2016
Re: IMS scheduled Sorry- that should read THURSDAYnext14th.January
pearlsasinger
11 Jan 2016
IMS scheduled HOME IMS is diaried for Friday 14th.Hopefully figures/outlook will be positive BUT not so strong as to frighten offSainsbury or any other hidden suitorsthat may be out there.
northslotto
07 Jan 2016
Re: Lucky to get 130 mmmm, methinks you are either a shorter or a Sainsburys shareholder turkey10?! or perhaps both!!!?
pearlsasinger
07 Jan 2016
Re: Former Tesco Chief Leahy Mulling Home R... If I was mulling over a bid for somethingI would not tell anybody........not even theLondon Times.
idontwanttolose
07 Jan 2016
Former Tesco Chief Leahy Mulling Home Retail Offer The former chief executive of Tesco PLC is understood to be considering leading a potential takeover offer for Home Retail Group PLC to rival the interest in the business shown by J Sainsbury PLC, The Times reported.Terry Leahy, who stepped down from the helm of Tesco in 2011 having led its transformation into one of the biggest retailers in the world, is thought to be working with private equity investor Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, to which he is a consultant, on a bid for the owner of Argos and Homebase.The Times said Leahy is believed to have "run the numbers" over Home Retail late last year, though it remains unclear whether or not he and the private equity firm will enter the race.Home Retail shares shot higher on Tuesday after Sainsbury's, the grocer, said it had made an unsolicited offer for Home Retail in November that was rejected. It said it was considering its position and is widely expected to come back with another offer.[link]
idontwanttolose
06 Jan 2016
SainsburyÂ’s heart not in Homebase as part of Argos deal Worth the read:[link]
nk1999
06 Jan 2016
Broker views From ADVFN:"Brokers remained undecided and a little perplexed by Sainsbury's revelation that it is pondering making another takeover bid for Home Retail after a November offer was rejected.Sainsbury's now has until 2 February to announce either a firm intention to make an offer or that it does not intend to make an offer.Analysts at Jefferies said they could not decide if the potential deal is "genius or madness", with Shore Capital saying it harboured "more reservations than jubilations".Societe Generale, which maintained a 'buy' rating on the FTSE 100 grocer, said it believed the main rationale behind the deal was to optimise Sainsbury's retail space, strengthen its non-food offering and benefit from Argos best practices in delivery and online.Calculating that it has around 150 current stores that have too much selling space, around 6% of its estate, SocGen saw ample opportunity to reallocate this to Argos on top of the 10 trial Argos 'corners' already, which would lead to estimated potential net synergies of just £100-150m.The French broker assumed a mixed offer of 30% cash and 70% in shares would mean the deal would become dilutive at 140p per Home Retail share with no synergies, or 13% accretive with £100m in net synergies.SocGen added that it was concerned about the timing of the deal - "although Sainsbury's is doing a good job, it needs to be fully focused on its core business" - and the concern that Sainsbury's would lose its pure player status, resulting in increased risk profile, potential efficiency loss in terms of capex allocation.For its part, Jefferies said it was either a sign of management's lack of confidence in prospects for the core business or a positive step in anticipating how the customer journey will develop in a multi-channel world.Jefferies, which retained a 'hold' rating, said the bull case was perhaps the same strategy that is being pursued by Amazon that "consumers' multi-channel journey inevitably leads to a pairing of frequency of spend through repeat food consumption with transaction accretion through non-food purchases - in a cost minimising way to both consumers and service providers".But examining the bear case highlighted Argos would have a tough act following Amazon without consequences to margins and there would be little Sainsbury could add in non-food multi-channel expertise, while analysts struggled to see meaningful sourcing or fixed-cost savings from the deal, which would therefore place most emphasis on tougher revenue synergies.With regard to revenue synergies, ShoreCap's Clive Black said he had "been around too long to predicate a deal on the delivery of such an assertion".Likewise he added that, whilst Argos has heritage in remote shopping, he harboured concerns the chain's ongoing exposure to competitive challenge from pure-play online such as Amazon and subsector specialists such as AO World."nk
turkey10
06 Jan 2016
Lucky to get 130 I think shareholders will be lucky to get 130 a share. Home Retail is a failing business model and desperately needs the Sainsbury deal.
II Editor
06 Jan 2016
NEW ARTICLE: Would Sainsbury's be mad to buy Argos? " Children of the seventies and eighties will remember the Argos catalogue with great affection. It quickly became an institution, and revolutionised Christmas list-making everywhere. But times have changed, and online behemoths like ..."[link]
idontwanttolose
06 Jan 2016
SainsburyÂ’s takes aim at Amazon with Argos bid Well worth the read.[link]
