tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15867892890309413332012-02-06T03:19:43.673+01:00Waar gaat het heen ?Adrianusnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1041100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-88101871102472852272008-07-23T22:10:00.001+02:002008-07-23T22:28:15.858+02:00

Two days ago, I wrote a post in which I explained why I believed the share price of CE was trading above EUR 10.00 per share. Today the closing price of CE was an astonishing EUR 10.74 with less than 100k shares traded. At 17:30 Amsterdam time, Staples was trading at $ 23.98, with a EUR/USD exchange rate of 1.57. With the 1.42 conversion factor I estimated in my previous post this would give a

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com81tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-52354571978102223502008-07-21T17:27:00.006+02:002008-07-21T21:08:01.415+02:00

Although the reason for the existence of this blog is rapidly coming to an end, I have to admit CE is still keeping things interesting. After the end of the post acceptance period Staples informed us that they now have about 99.3% of the issued ordinary shares of CE. This means that about 1.3 million shares have not been tendered, and these are the shares that are still being traded now. So why

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-1684785221797594912008-07-09T17:57:00.004+02:002008-07-09T18:11:37.836+02:00

In this news release Staples is confirming that the offer for the outstanding securities has been settled. Investors who have not yet tendered their securities can still do so until July 16th. It was very interesting to observe that the ordinary shares have been trading recently for prices well above the offer price of EUR 9.25, which seems quite strange. I can only think of a last minute short

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-85512792297389935052008-07-08T23:53:00.002+02:002008-07-09T00:40:05.546+02:00

It seems there is another price to be paid by Staples for the acquisition of CE. We can read here that Moody's has downgraded the senior unsecured rating of Staples debt to Baa2 from Baa1, citing the "sharp rise in leverage that results from Staples' fully priced acquisition of Corporate Express." It is pretty obvious that, given the problems in international financial markets, shareholders of CE

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-25675076743776291982008-07-03T15:07:00.002+02:002008-07-03T15:19:00.517+02:00

CE issued this short press release, stating that the offer from Staples is now unconditional. More interestingly, the same release also stated that an agreement has been reached with Mr. Floris Waller, CFO of CE, whereby his contract of employment for an indefinite period of time will be modified and continued initially for a period of 6 months. It seems logical that the services of Mr. Waller

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-91559356761909030442008-07-02T20:00:00.002+02:002008-07-02T20:22:59.879+02:00

As expected, Staples today declared the offer for all outstanding securities unconditional, and shareholders can expect payment by July 9th for their tendered securities. Staples also decided to provide for a post-acceptance period until July 16th, with settlement on July 23rd (which is effectively after 5 business days). Since this proposition is as close as it will get to a riskless investment,

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-70306974578551964172008-06-29T16:11:00.004+02:002008-06-29T19:51:34.765+02:00

In this news release from Staples we can read that at the end of the acceptance period the following was tendered (or already with Staples): 95.2% of ordinary shares, 99.7% of preference shares A and 99.1% of convertible bonds. On or before July 2nd, Staples will announce whether the remaining conditions to the offer have been satisfied and whether the offer will be declared unconditional, which

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-57757051702993347192008-06-26T20:13:00.002+02:002008-06-26T20:22:39.029+02:00

I thought I would mention that ordinary shares of CE closed at a price higher than the acquisition price today in Amsterdam. With less than 2 hours of trading left, CE started to trade at a price of EUR 9.26, with even some transactions at EUR 9.27, which puzzles me. It seems unlikely that Staples is buying, because that would mean they would have to pay the higher price to all other shareholders

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-30588085616597017162008-06-25T20:23:00.005+02:002008-06-25T20:49:14.911+02:00

Today, after trading hours in Europe, Staple issued a news release, informing us that they have raised the offer price for the preference shares to EUR 3.60. Apparently the combination of the neutral recommendation by CE, and the concentration of a large number of preference shares in the hands of a few parties has led to this result. It does make sense that Staples has increased the offer,

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-66084411574698999872008-06-20T11:46:00.002+02:002008-06-20T11:54:28.552+02:00

I suspect there is not going to be much exciting news anymore with respect to the acquisition of CE by Staples in the next couple of weeks, so anything that gives some insight is welcome. In this article from ARN we can learn a little bit more about the Australian activities of CE. For those who were not aware of this, CE Australia is an indepently listed company, in which CE holds 59% of the

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-51078775153984312042008-06-18T21:10:00.002+02:002008-06-18T21:37:32.632+02:00

I assume most readers have not taken the trouble to watch the webcast of the above mentioned meeting. It was a bit of a sad display with dissatisfied shareholders asking questions, mainly to Mr. Meysman, the chairman of the supervisory board. There were however a couple of interesting pieces of information. One is that CE internally had given itself a valuation of EUR 8.50 on a stand alone basis,

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-80200798827755113132008-06-18T08:00:00.004+02:002008-06-18T08:19:04.019+02:00

In this news release from Staples they announced that clearance has been obtained from the European Commission with respect to the outstanding offer for Corporate Express. It is strange that it has not yet been announced by the European Commission themselves, but I am sure we can expect their news release today. This final regulatory hurdle means it is now all up to the shareholders of CE, and

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-18407123983370080332008-06-17T19:53:00.005+02:002008-06-17T20:09:02.141+02:00

Today was the day where we expected to receive clearance from the European Union for the acquisition of CE. As Staples mentioned in the news release in the beginning of June when they increased the offer to EUR 9.15 per share:"Staples is confident that clearance in the European Union will be granted on or before 17 June 2008."Unless employees of the European Commission are working overtime, no

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-67235205801065501832008-06-17T14:24:00.002+02:002008-06-17T14:54:33.546+02:00

While we are reaching the last stages of the acquisition of CE by Staples, speculators with Euronext listed options, may want to check what will happen with their positions, when they don't liquidate them before the end of the acceptance period. In this case positions will be settled with the so called fair value method, which is explained in this article. Information with respect to volatility

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-40195238266602407152008-06-12T09:50:00.004+02:002008-06-12T10:09:53.089+02:00

This morning CE released a press release announcing the publication of the position statement on Staples' offer to buy the company. The 24 page statement does not offer many new insights, and repeats a lot of known facts. Interestingly the company is taking a neutral stance in respect of the offer for the preference shares. The most interesting new information in the statement was the following:

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-49982059415313239422008-06-11T12:11:00.003+02:002008-06-11T12:43:51.696+02:00

Peter Ventres confirmed in the Q&A session of the press conference that a break up fee of EUR 30 million will have to be paid to Lyreco. Mr. Ventress also mentioned that they decided to agree with the deal only last night when Staples agreed to the higher price of EUR 9.25 when they purchased shares outside the regular market. Mr. Ventress refused to disclose who the sellers of the 1.1% of shares

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-90368436789072259042008-06-11T11:09:00.002+02:002008-06-11T11:39:22.204+02:00

Many people were under the impression that Staples would not be in a position anymore to increase the offer price further, after they increased the price from EUR 8.00 to EUR 9.15 a week ago. The Dutch Decree on Public Takeover Bids (Besluit openbare biedingen Wft) gives a detailed overview of the process, and both parties have referred to it in their communications with the public. Article 15 of

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-25840512730391838562008-06-11T10:50:00.003+02:002008-06-11T11:01:48.384+02:00

As the above title suggests, discussions between CE and Staples have been succesful. In this news release CE informs us that they recommend shareholders to accept the increased offer of EUR 9.25 per ordinary share. The increased offer was possible because Staples purchased ordinary shares at the increased price in a transaction, other than an ordinary market transaction. Under Dutch takeover

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-74837466516060439882008-06-09T12:14:00.005+02:002008-06-09T12:34:57.419+02:00

A couple of days ago Dutch financial website IEX published the answers to questions that were submitted by visitors of their website to Mr. Ventress and Mr. Bigeard. I am posting this, because it gives some information directly from the source, but as can be expected, the answers are very predictable and in line with information we already received through other communications from CE about the

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-81745714695230697302008-06-09T11:08:00.004+02:002008-06-09T11:22:16.834+02:00

It seems there is a lot of confusion with respect to shares and percentages. Reuters tries to play it safe in this article by mentioning both the 9.5% as reported by the AFM and the 12.3% mentioned by Staples. We know of course that Staples was talking about the percentage of ordinary shares, while the AFM looks at total voting rights, including preference shares. And even the AFM is a little

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-32663541433757295462008-06-07T09:11:00.005+02:002008-06-07T11:18:45.403+02:00

On the website of the AFM we can see that the purchase of ordinary shares by Staples has been registered. According to the information Staples purchased 22,456,115 ordinary shares, representing 9.51% of voting rights. There is also a notification from Halcyon Asset Management LLC, showing a holding of 13,389,000 shares or 5.67% of voting rights. Since only interests above 5% have to be registered

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-6194212528894965152008-06-06T16:07:00.003+02:002008-06-06T16:33:38.933+02:00

This news release from Staples is not as exciting as news about the share related offer, but is noteworthy anyway. Since Staples wants to capture most of the enterprise value of CE, and apparently some change of control covenants exist, an offer was made on these notes. It is interesting to read that Staples has received consent from holders of 98.67% of the principal outstanding amount of the

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-70464912751183403632008-06-06T07:54:00.004+02:002008-06-06T08:04:23.762+02:00

According to this Dutch article in "Het Financieele Dagblad", CE and Staples have been talking since Tuesday. It claims Peter Ventress invited Ron Sargent already on Tuesday immediately after the offer was increased and they spoke with each other almost all day on Thursday. Although it is not a real due diligence, Staples would have been provided with meaningful information. The article also

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-21058826938039113712008-06-05T21:40:00.003+02:002008-06-05T21:50:13.765+02:00

CE and Staples have moved rapidly, with a spokesperson for CE confirming that the two companies already have begun discussions. In this article from AP we also learn that Lyreco CEO Eric Bigeard is still confident his deal will go through, and that he will continue communicating with shareholders in hopes of finalizing the deal, although he understands CE has agreed to talk to Staples. Further in

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-88185091029789016732008-06-05T16:06:00.006+02:002008-06-05T16:16:14.868+02:00

The following press release was just issued by CE:As previously announced Corporate Express NV, one of the world’s leading suppliers of office products, is carefully reviewing Staples’ increased offer of €9.15 per ordinary share. In this context, Corporate Express has invited Staples to enter talks in order to receive further clarification and exchange information.I wonder what they will discuss,

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-53709533676621955542008-06-05T11:08:00.006+02:002008-06-05T12:32:32.394+02:00

While raising the offer price for CE ordinary shares to 9.15 Euro, Staples also lowered the minimum acceptance condition from 75% of ordinary shares to 51% of the voting rights attached to the fully diluted share capital. This includes preference shares, convertible bonds and options granted. In this post I will try to determine how much potential voting rights there are, although as a disclaimer

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-89424378896270172122008-06-05T07:35:00.003+02:002008-06-05T07:45:13.578+02:00

What we suspected two days ago is already confirmed today by Staples in this news release. A percentage of 12.3% of ordinary shares was purchased by Staples, including authorization from the sellers to vote against the Lyreco deal on June 18th. This is important, because only shareholders on record on May 29th, are allowed to vote on the shareholders meeting. Just buying shares in the open market

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-33515096595728525472008-06-04T17:15:00.002+02:002008-06-04T17:27:00.846+02:00

Ron Sargent, the CEO of Staples spoke with the press today and indicated the company could start buying shares in CE. He did not disclose whether Staples has already been buying, but we will not be surprised if they were part of the action yesterday. There are more interesting pieces of information in this article on CNN Money. One of them is the statement by Mr. Sargent that he is not aware of

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-65052566807759982142008-06-04T11:52:00.006+02:002008-06-04T12:08:15.352+02:00

In this article on CNN Money, statements from Ron Sargent, the CEO of Staples can be found, indicating that he believes the deal is a match made in heaven at a terrific price for shareholders. He also informs us that he has no intention to acquire the CE-Lyreco combination. In the coming weeks Staples will talk to European institutional shareholders and try to convince them to back the deal.

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-26752460280945965032008-06-04T10:17:00.002+02:002008-06-04T10:29:43.869+02:00

I just wrote a column giving a short history on the acquisition process from the beginning of February until now. At the end I am making a case why investors should now sell their CE shares. Basically I am arguing that the upside of just some 2% does not compensate for the potential losses in case the acquisition fails. The current low discount to the acquisition price could indicate that Staples

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-19959381504813969182008-06-04T08:07:00.003+02:002008-06-04T08:23:35.574+02:00

This morning the Dutch paper "Het Financieele Dagblad" reported that CE will allow Staples access to their records, in order to perform due diligence. This was revealed by sources in and close to the company, according to the paper. The article also states that after the increased offer from Staples terms like "undervaluing" and "hostile" are no longer used, and that CE plans to give a neutral

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-10068931709472912592008-06-03T21:03:00.003+02:002008-06-03T22:13:14.253+02:00

Today's increased offer was higher than many investors, speculators and analysts had expected. Staples was very cautious not to offer more than strictly necessary, until CE surprised all of us with the Lyreco deal. This was most likely also a surprise for Staples, causing the deal to become more expensive than otherwise would have been necessary. Many observers argued that an increase from EUR

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-34448283167229421902008-06-03T20:56:00.002+02:002008-06-03T21:04:34.957+02:00

Just to be complete, here is CE's reaction to the increased offer from Staples. As you can read it is very short, and chances are CE has to carefully think now about a response, since it will be difficult to dismiss this increased offer as still "significantly" undervaluing the company.

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-14915711192954490502008-06-03T10:37:00.005+02:002008-06-03T11:23:02.824+02:00

After 1.5 hours of trading, already more than 20 million shares have been traded. Theoretically this is more than 10% of total ordinary shares, and it is very likely trading will continue with high volume for the rest of the day. The big question obviously is who is buying, and who is selling. My guess would be that the sellers are speculators who are pleased with their short term profits, and

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-35366390344555636802008-06-03T09:10:00.003+02:002008-06-03T09:17:49.277+02:00

It doesn't get more exciting than this. Just moments after the press release from CE about the Lyreco transaction, we get this news release from Staples, raising the offer to EUR 9.15 per share, and lowering the minimum acceptance condition to 51%. I thought I would post this quickly, because we will all need some time to digest all this news. More comments will follow later.....(end of post)

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-16650548996131943822008-06-03T07:59:00.003+02:002008-06-03T08:12:38.129+02:00

This morning CE published this press release informing us that the shareholders circular on the merger with Lyreco is published today. The Supervisory Board and the Executive Board unanimously strongly recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the transaction with Lyreco. Before doing this, I would suggest taking a look at the documents anyway. By June 12 CE will publish a position statement

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-77527454099384259062008-05-29T08:57:00.003+02:002008-05-29T09:02:45.323+02:00

AMSTERDAM - 29-5-2008Corporate Express NV announces that an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGM) to request shareholders' approval for its intended merger with Lyreco SAS will be held on Wednesday 18 June 2008. This merger will create the leading global B2B office products supplier.In the same meeting, the unsolicited public offer of Staples, Inc to acquire Corporate Express will

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-70326202350894741202008-05-23T08:56:00.006+02:002008-05-23T09:48:26.135+02:00

Yesterday, Staples announced that they commenced the cash tender for certain CE notes. There is nothing special about this announcement, besides the fact that Staples seems to continue the process as if nothing has changed. But then again, why shouldn't they continue like this, since we appear to have landed in some sort of high stakes poker game. By continuing the process this way, Staples can

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-57004965729939666832008-05-22T20:09:00.006+02:002008-05-22T22:00:21.342+02:00

Today was a very quiet day with respect to CE, compared to the launch of the offer from Staples to buy the company just a couple of days ago, which was rapidly followed by a trick of CE themselves, namely the proposed merger with the French company Lyreco. After the announcement yesterday, shares of CE initially dropped about 8% to EUR 7.44, but recovered during the day to a level of EUR 7.99,

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-2600148632824585932008-05-21T18:23:00.003+02:002008-05-21T18:27:10.590+02:00

The initial reaction from Staples just came out. Not very surprising, and very short:Staples, Inc. Acknowledges The Corporate Express N.V. Proposed Acquisition Of Lyreco SASFRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 2008--In light of today's news about the proposed Corporate Express N.V. acquisition of Lyreco SAS, Staples, Inc.(Nasdaq: SPLS) and Staples Acquisition B.V. are considering all

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-77973531771057081082008-05-21T09:08:00.003+02:002008-05-21T09:33:10.192+02:00

The proposed merger of CE with Lyreco, could turn out to become an ever bigger and better price for Staples. Obviously Staples will have to pay more, but arguably they get a better company in return. If Staples would indicate that they are willing to pay EUR 9.00 per share for either CE stand alone or the merged company with Lyreco, it would create instant additional value for the Lyreco

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-21500442897600315512008-05-21T08:07:00.025+02:002008-05-21T22:09:38.200+02:00

This morning CE surprised most of us, if not all of us with the announcement of the proposed merger with Lyreco, a French private company. CE claims the merger has nothing to do with the offer from Staples, and would have also been announced without the offer from Staples. This may be true, but from the valuation of Lyreco, I do get the impression this was a defensive move to prevent the

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-13635270322417897472008-05-21T07:20:00.002+02:002008-05-21T07:23:12.756+02:00

Amazing and surprising news just published by CE:"Corporate Express NV and Lyreco SAS announced today that they entered into a transaction, subject to shareholders’ approval, to combine both companies to create the undisputed leading global office products supplier focused purely on the business to business (B2B) market. The combination will benefit from a shared vision on industry and strategy,

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-66984462691585353182008-05-20T20:33:00.004+02:002008-05-20T20:41:03.351+02:00

Yesterday, Staples launched the offer for the acquisition of Corporate Express with an offer of EUR 8.00 per ordinary share. Shareholders can submit their shares until June 27th. Staples also made an offer for Corporate Express’ preference shares and subordinated convertible bonds due 2010. The most important condition for making the offer unconditional is acceptance of at least 75% of ordinary

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-35694613926110116312008-05-19T20:59:00.004+02:002008-05-20T07:11:16.585+02:00

Staples just released the news that the offer for the ordinary shares of CE will be launched on Tuesday May 20th en will end, subject to extension, on Friday June 27th. The Dutch AFM already approved the offer memorandum, and Staples is moving ahead. The offer also includes the preference shares and convertible bonds. There is a special section on the Staples website with all relevant information

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-43501997977469364292008-05-19T16:08:00.003+02:002008-05-19T16:13:14.410+02:00

I can't say it better than the news release:BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - The European Commission said the deadline for its inquiry into office product supplier Staples Inc.'s $2.47 billion or 8.00 euros per share hostile takeover bid for Netherlands-based rival Corporate Express NV. is set for June 17.Corporate Express rejected this raised offer last week.The transaction will be reviewed under

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-51336399483591076142008-05-17T13:28:00.005+02:002008-05-19T16:08:03.753+02:00

I just saw the notification by Centaurus Alpha Master Fund Limited to the AFM of a 5.16% interest in CE, through a holding of 12.2 million shares. I am a little confused by this, since there is also a notification from Centaurus Capital Limited dated June 7th, 2007 with a holding of 5.02% voting rights, which equals 11.8 million shares. I am not completely sure if this is an additional interest

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-60590575437776592522008-05-14T16:18:00.003+02:002008-05-14T17:17:46.847+02:00

On several websites like MSN Money, Forbes and Reuters we can read that Staples has been upgraded to "buy" from "hold" by Jefferies & Co. analyst Daniel Binder, with a price target of $28. It seems the recommendation is mainly based on the possible acquisition of CE, which could add $0.60 to earnings per share. Mr. Binder joins us in speculation about the final price and he believes the price may

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-75564346937069503552008-05-13T20:55:00.003+02:002008-05-13T21:42:56.101+02:00

In this press release, you can read the formal refusal from the management and supervisory board of CE of the revised offer from Staples. Mr. Ventress is writing directly to Ron Sargent to express his dissatisfaction with the offer. The refusal leaves the door for negotiations wide open, and is not at all anymore about preferring a stand alone strategy, although reference is made to the strategic

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-72443321702933749322008-05-13T17:25:00.004+02:002008-05-13T18:18:50.272+02:00

Here is an interesting piece of news in Dutch from Betten Financial News. Basically the article mentions comments made by Mr. Paul Capelli, spokesperson of Staples, who states that Staples has been in contact with shareholders in order to get their opinion about the initial offer. These conversations have resulted in the current offer. The rest of the article talks about comments from both CE and

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-25693575327184923292008-05-13T12:48:00.003+02:002008-05-13T13:09:30.612+02:00

Following the increased offer from Staples, CE issued this reaction. The reaction can be regarded as positive, since CE management indicates that it is now ready to talk, or in their words is "available to engage in a dialogue with Staples and if appropriate will meet with Staples management to allow them to elaborate on the revised proposal." The CEO of CE, Mr. Ventress is quoted as saying: "We

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-66884670452485669562008-05-13T07:27:00.005+02:002008-05-13T08:39:49.346+02:00

As expected, Staples has moved forward with their intentions to acquire CE. The offer has been increased to EUR 8.00 per share and the offer memorandum has been submitted to the AFM for approval. Details can be read in the news release issued by Staples. In my opinion a couple of observations can be made after reading this news release.First of all I can't help but have respect for the way Ron

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-45724429542452056182008-05-12T10:31:00.007+02:002008-05-16T12:53:17.339+02:00

(Nederlandse versie hier)On February 19th of this year Staples made an offer to acquire all the ordinary shares of CE for a price of €7.25 per share. Following Dutch regulations, Staples confirmed after 4 weeks its intention to make an offer. In this announcement Staples also clearly indicated that they were aware of their obligation to submit the offer to the AFM within 12 weeks of the first

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-42875006370477972492008-05-10T17:44:00.005+02:002008-05-10T18:22:41.668+02:00

In anticipation of the submission of the offer documents to the AFM there is some movement to be observed. As you can read in this Form 8-K SEC filing of yesterday May 9th, as recently as May 5th, Staples has agreed some changes to the credit arrangements they have in place with a number of banks to finance the acquisition of CE. From this, it seems they are still moving full steam ahead, and an

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-24499104135480846582008-05-08T15:20:00.003+02:002008-05-08T16:48:47.557+02:00

On the website of Reuters we can read that Staples has to submit a request for approval of the offer memorandum to the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) before May 13. The AFM will inform Staples within 10 working days if they have approved the memorandum, after which Staples must make the formal offer within 6 working days. This means we can expect the formal offer in the

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-62146710590086018052008-05-07T14:41:00.013+02:002008-05-07T18:24:39.906+02:00

This morning CE published the results for the first quarter of 2008, which can be found here on their website. At noon there was also a presentation of the results. The video, audio and presentation slides can be found here. I am disappointed with the net result of just €0.05 per share. I feel sorry for Mr. Ventress, who tried so hard in his presentation to show that his strategic plan is working

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-26753179912490021522008-05-05T20:09:00.002+02:002008-05-05T21:17:29.925+02:00

Wednesday May 7th, CE will announce their Q1-2008 results. Today we were informed about analyst expectations for these results. The average expectation of 7 analysts is an increased net result of 13% to EUR 18 million compared to EUR 15.9 million in Q1-2007. Expected revenue is EUR 1.36 billion versus EUR 1.44 billion for Q1-2007.The analyst expectations are taking into account the divestment of

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-33902744247821998232008-05-04T21:24:00.004+02:002008-05-04T21:42:55.357+02:00

This morning we received the news that Microsoft decided not to further pursue the acquisition of Yahoo after intense talks last week, where Microsoft increased its offer with $5 billion from $29.40 to $33 per share. Yahoo management felt the offer was not acceptable. Let's watch with great interest what is going to happen with the share price of Yahoo on Monday. I certainly hope that Ron Sargent

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-88411732908335422382008-05-03T18:14:00.004+02:002008-05-03T18:40:13.524+02:00

On April 30th, Staples released its Annual Report 2007 on their website, which you can download through this link. I assumed there must be some mention of the intended acquisition of CE, and indeed I was not disappointed. For readers who are not interested in reading the whole report I have placed all content of the report relating to CE below:PROPOSAL 4— APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO 2004 STOCK

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-77291965985560611692008-04-16T10:02:00.003+02:002008-04-16T10:10:44.285+02:00

Op mijn andere blog heb ik zojuist een post geplaatst met bovenstaande titel, waarbij ik wat mogelijke overnames heb besproken waarin ik posities heb. Een ervan is Corporate Express en ik kon niet nalaten over deze overname wat uitgebreider te schrijven. De volledige post kan hier gelezen worden, maar het stuk dat specifiek over CE ging staat hieronder:Op dit moment hebben we naast het belang in

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-20948583323808262352008-04-14T18:52:00.002+02:002008-04-14T19:02:23.237+02:00

Zie hier een persbericht dat verschenen is waarin staat dat Staples het bod niet zal verhogen na de trading update. Een klein speldeprikje is de opmerking dat onder andere de vertraging in de autonome omzet geen reden geeft tot herziening van het bod. Waarom zouden ze ook in dit stadium van het spel? Als CE blijft weigeren te praten, zal vanzelf twijfel komen over de doorgang van de overname en

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-7784537870028930262008-04-12T20:00:00.004+02:002008-04-12T22:14:28.647+02:00

Nu het wat rustiger is rond CE, en we rustig afwachten is het misschien wel aardig om eens te zien wat voor soort zorgen Office Depot heeft. Zie hier de brief van Woodbridge Equity Fund aan de aandeelhouders van Office Depot, waarin ze vragen om twee door hun aangedragen kandidaten te kiezen in de board of directors. Een stukje tekst: "In the past two years, under Steve Odland's stewardship,

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-71881203909197450902008-04-08T07:54:00.007+02:002008-04-08T09:50:32.417+02:00

De aangekondigde trading update is gepubliceerd op de website van CE. Ik kan in het korte bericht echter geen zaken ontdekken die erg opwindend zijn. De groei in Europa lijkt mij wat tegen te vallen, terwijl de organische groei in Noord Amerika redelijk is. Helaas is de koers van de US-dollar echter weggezakt in het eerste kwartaal, waarmee in Euro's de omzet waarschijnlijk gedaald is. Reuters

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-51305260151934807082008-04-07T15:07:00.002+02:002008-04-07T15:20:04.401+02:00

Zie hier het bericht dat vandaag verscheen op de website van de vereniging van effectenbezitters (VEB) over CE. Er staan eigenlijk alleen maar positieve dingen in voor de aandeelhouders van CE, dus ik hoop dat ze goed hun best doen op de jaarvergadering. Ik heb wel een dubbel gevoel bij de opmerking van de VEB dat zij van mening is dat het bod van Staples de onderneming significant onderwaardeert

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-11444133544113653342008-04-05T18:53:00.004+02:002008-04-05T20:16:30.405+02:00

Eergisteren zagen we het bericht van CE dat er op 8 April een trading update gegeven zal worden over de voortgang in het eerste kwartaal. Dit bericht volgde op het persbericht van Staples op 1 April dat zij de financiering rond hebben voor de mogelijke overname van CE. Het bericht dat Moody's de credit rating van Staples weer gaat heroverwegen, vanwege deze financiering nemen we daarbij maar voor

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-56330753601472464772008-03-18T21:11:00.005+01:002008-03-25T12:06:47.582+01:00

Gisteren nabeurs kwam eindelijk het reeds verwachte bericht van Staples met betrekking tot de voorgenomen overname van CE. Het bericht was enigszins teleurstellend in de zin dat het bod wel herhaald werd, maar slechts tegen het reeds eerder genoemde bedrag van 7.25 Euro per aandeel. Het voorspelbare antwoord van CE liet niet lang op zich wachten. En daarmee zijn we in de situatie beland dat we

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-79464871699685412562008-03-18T10:57:00.005+01:002008-03-18T11:44:48.047+01:00

Het volgende bericht kwam zojuist voorbij op het scherm:AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--Staples zal zijn bod op Corporate Express niet verhogen, is de verwachting van analist Mark Pieter de Boer van ABN Amro. De Amerikaanse kantoorartikelengigant Staples deed vorige maand een bod op zijn Nederlandse sectorgenoot van EUR7,25 per aandeel, dat Corporate Express afwees. De analist verwacht dat Staples zijn

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-90941481448238964542008-03-14T08:18:00.003+01:002008-03-14T08:22:18.776+01:00

Vanmorgen zag ik de melding bij de AFM dat ING haar belang weer tot onder de 15% gebracht heeft. Nu zullen velen daar weer hun eigen interpretatie aan geven. Ik houd het maar op trading posities binnen het concern, die los staan van het grote structurele belang dat ING heeft in CE. (einde post)

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-63592892545521895192008-03-13T11:10:00.002+01:002008-03-13T15:37:33.945+01:00

Sinds Staples het bod van 7.25 Euro gedaan heeft is de Euro gestegen van ongeveer 1.47 naar nu 1.56, een stijging van ruim 6%. Hiermee is uiteraard de overname voor Staples duurder geworden, aangezien zij in US-dollar rekenen. Het is bovendien ook mogelijk dat ze zich ingedekt hebben voor het koersrisico, maar ik acht die kans niet zo groot. Ze krijgen er echter ook meer winst voor terug,

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-58920886899280949392008-03-13T09:47:00.005+01:002008-03-13T10:14:37.963+01:00

Vanmorgen werd door de AFM melding gemaakt van het feit dat ING het belang in CE heeft vergroot. Volgens het register heeft ING ruim 3 miljoen gewone aandelen gekocht, waarmee het totale belang is gekomen op 15.02%. Als inderdaad de aandelen gekocht zijn op 7 Maart zou dit gedaan zijn tegen een prijs van rond de 7.70 Euro per aandeel.Wat moeten we hier nu van denken ?Ik ga ervan uit dat Staples,

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-6533047412181769382008-03-04T13:57:00.011+01:002008-03-09T17:08:23.948+01:00

Stel dat je in het casino komt en er staat een ballenbak waarin 100 ballen zitten. Van deze ballen zijn er 51 rood en 49 blauw. Vervolgens staat er een bordje waarop staat dat je voor 1 Euro kunt raden welke kleur bal uit de bak komt. Bij een juist antwoord verdubbelt je inzet en krijg je 2 Euro terug, bij een fout antwoord ben je je inzet kwijt. De rationele belegger zal bij deze ballenbak gaan

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-20000212200890430662008-02-28T10:37:00.004+01:002008-02-28T10:43:55.991+01:00

Als ik dit artikel van The Motley Fool lees, denk ik niet dat zij zullen verwachten dat we een verrassingsbod voor CE uit deze hoek gaan krijgen. (einde post)

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-5765931175013716152008-02-22T09:29:00.004+01:002008-02-22T10:32:27.943+01:00

Gisteren verscheen op de website van The Motley Fool het artikel "Staples Looks Sharp", waarin geschreven wordt dat aandeelhouders van CE niet moeten zeuren, want ze worden eindelijk verlost van een zwak management, waarbij ze een prijs aangeboden krijgen die boven de multiples ligt van OfficeMax en Office Depot. Vervolgens is dan echter wel ineens sprake van een "Match Made In Heaven" waarbij

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-84601718208924809772008-02-21T17:02:00.004+01:002008-02-21T18:06:01.025+01:00

Een aantal weken heb ik al vermeld dat ik een positie in CE had in de vorm van een call spread Jun'08 6-7, waarbij ik dus call-opties heb gekocht met een uitoefenprijs van 6 en call-opties heb verkocht met een uitoefprijs van 7, voor een netto aankooprijs van 16 cent en een maximale opbrengst van 1 Euro. Wie het interesseert kan het hier nog eens nalezen.We zitten nu echter in een hele andere, en

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-85540580992308746462008-02-19T16:26:00.004+01:002008-02-20T09:26:49.894+01:00

Update: het is inmiddels ook hier gepubliceerd.Zie hieronder het commentaar wat ik zojuist in het Engels heb geschreven:Today Staples informed us that they have made a proposal to acquire all ordinary shares of Corporate Express for a price per share of EUR 7.25, representing a total enterprise value of approximately EUR 2.5 billion. The proposal has not been discussed with Corporate Express

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-62179840463513053032008-02-18T06:48:00.008+01:002008-02-19T08:29:28.407+01:00

Ik krijg wel eens te zien of te horen negatief over CE te schrijven, wat helemaal niet mijn bedoeling is. Buiten het feit dat CE op dit moment een interessant aandeel is om te volgen, vanwege de bijzondere en onzekere operationele situatie, en alle speculaties betreffende een overname, kijk ik natuurlijk ook naar het aandeel als mogelijke belegging. Daar hoop een slechte raadgever is, kijk ik dan

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-32101346274080945752008-02-14T16:27:00.009+01:002008-02-16T06:36:12.450+01:00

Vandaag is op de bekende beleggers website Seekingalpha een door mij geschreven artikel verschenen met de titel "Will Staples buy Corporate Express?" In dit artikel heb ik mij bij een overwegend Amerikaans publiek nog eens hardop afgevraagd of er inderdaad sprake zal zijn van een overname van CE door Staples.Zoals wellicht bekend, ben ik sceptisch over de waarschijnlijkheid dat deze overname zal

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-18328229310189283272008-02-11T07:08:00.000+01:002008-02-11T08:22:20.042+01:00

Op Zondag avond kwam ik dit bericht tegen met bovenstaande titel op de website van de Boston Globe. Het artikel vertelt ons dat Staples op agressieve wijze in de kosten aan het snijden is, bij een daling van de omzet in de laatste twee kwartalen in de retail sector. Op hetzelfde moment is het bedrijf echter aan het investeren daar waar zij groei verwacht, en dat is met name in het segment dat

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-46795365614066112582008-02-07T08:44:00.000+01:002008-02-07T18:46:50.835+01:00

Nadat we met spanning op de cijfers over het vierde kwartaal en dus ook het hele jaar hebben gewacht, zijn we hedenochtend beloond voor het lange wachten met het persbericht. Hierin wordt ons medegedeeld dat de strategische initiatieven op koers liggen, dat er weer positieve organische groei is in Noord Amerika, maar ook dat deze organische groei in Australie negatief was. De boekwinst op de

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-73965678771518761242008-02-07T07:46:00.000+01:002008-02-07T14:49:18.686+01:00

Hier vast een kort commentaar op de cijfers:- Office Products US iets lagere omzet, marge valt niet tegen, positieve organic growth- Office Products Europa omzet ok, margin beetje tegenvallend- Office Products Australie omzet valt tegen, marge ok- Printing Systems prima- Corporate one offs en 3 miljoen voor Frans Koffrie- Boekwinst ASAP 96.5 miljoen , versus guidance van 70 miljoen, Raar dat ze

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-9841979041773343462008-02-05T08:22:00.000+01:002008-02-05T08:34:33.299+01:00

Vanochtend staat er een kort bericht in DFT waarin gezegd wordt dat CE gesprekken zou voeren met Staples over een overname. Volgens de bron van Staples zijn de gesprekken in een pril stadium.Ik vraag me af wat zo'n DFT hiermee eigenlijk wil bereiken, vlak voor de bekendmaking van de jaarcijfers, want uiteindelijk zeggen ze gewoon niks. Mooi hoe andere media het dan oppikken en er een verhaal

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-45451152083972674852008-02-04T14:52:00.000+01:002008-02-04T19:40:13.282+01:00

Over 3 dagen krijgen we eindelijk de cijfers over het vierde kwartaal en dus ook de volledige jaarcijfers voor 2007 te horen. De lange stilte rondom de onderneming wordt eindelijk doorbroken en met informatie rechtstreeks van de bron kan men zich weer richten richten op de toekomst. We kunnen dan een nieuwe waarde toekennen aan zowel de prestaties van 2007, als aan de uitspraken van het

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-34930105829379073312008-02-01T08:13:00.000+01:002008-02-01T09:00:04.136+01:00

Het lijkt erop dat er consensus begint te onstaan in de Verenigde Staten dat de retailers voldoende zijn afgestraft en dat het tijd wordt deze weer te kopen op de huidige lage waarderingen. Een recessie zou voldoende zijn ingeprijsd en deze sector zou een van de eersten zijn die weer aan kunnen trekken. Op de website van The Motley Fool werd eergisteren een van de concurrenten van Corporate

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-62642651065968883352008-01-26T18:09:00.000+01:002008-01-26T20:56:42.795+01:00

Het is alweer ruim een week geleden dat ik hier een post heb gezet, terwijl het tempo vanaf het begin van de blog zoveel hoger lag. Hiervoor zijn twee redenen te noemen. Ten eerste was er een hoop aan de hand op de beurs in het algemeen, hetgeen veel van mijn aandacht vergde. Op mijn andere blog is daar het een en ander over te lezen. De tweede reden is echter dat er niet zoveel nieuws te melden

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-43790862039793966982008-01-18T07:43:00.000+01:002008-01-18T07:52:40.209+01:00

CE is natuurlijk erg interessant om te volgen, en is er altijd wel iets over te vertellen. Ik houd me echter op een dag ook nog met andere financiële en beleggings onderwerpen bezig. Sommige daarvan zijn naar mijn mening ook interessant genoeg om met anderen te delen. Diegenen die het lezen van deze blog wel de moeite waard vinden, kunnen hier wellicht ook eens kijken. Je kunt ook gewoon op de

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-54779531003310930062008-01-17T19:26:00.000+01:002008-01-17T19:45:51.252+01:00

Er wordt veel geklaagd over het feit dat het nu zo lang stil blijft bij CE, en er is ook veel kritiek dat de nieuwe CEO, Peter Ventress niet wat vaker van zich heeft laten horen. Op zich is dit terechte kritiek. Goede en tijdige informatie is natuurlijk gewoon een normaal recht dat de eigenaren van een bedrijf hebben en wat het bestuur zou moeten respecteren.Ik kan me echter ook wel voorstellen

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-54761743247191374242008-01-17T12:17:00.001+01:002008-01-17T13:00:55.197+01:00

It was with great pleasure that I noted that you and/or some of your colleagues have been visiting this blog recently, which is entirely dedicated to your, but certainly also our company. I trust that you are also aware that there are many dissatisfied private investors who, although they have remained faithful, are very frustrated with the performance of the shares of their company. In the

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-44793141683324616972008-01-16T15:56:00.001+01:002008-01-16T16:08:38.911+01:00

In een vandaag uitgegeven persbericht maakt CE melding van het feit dat de publicatie van de jaarcijfers vervroegd is van 22 Februari tot 7 Februari rond 07:30 voorbeurs.Ik kan er weinig van zeggen, anders dan dat het goed is dat CE ziet dat de markt met smacht op informatie zit te wachten. Zij hebben natuurlijk nu al, maar zeker voor het eind van deze maand zelf de cijfers kunnen interpreteren.

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-39788859959028771532008-01-15T11:09:00.000+01:002008-01-15T14:52:45.062+01:00

Ik heb al eens geschreven over de waarde die ik toeken aan CE bij een winstscenario zonder veel positieve verwachtingen. Hierbij kwam uit de berekeningen een waarde van 3.70, waarbij een hogere waarde alleen gerechtvaardigd zou zijn bij duidelijk positieve overtuigende berichten of resultaten van het bedrijf. Ook een overname ligt niet voor de hand in de komende maanden naar mijn mening. De koers

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-82974692771955710552008-01-14T15:35:00.001+01:002008-01-14T15:36:35.188+01:00

Ik kan me niet aan de indruk onttrekken dat er door velen vooral heel hard gehoopt wordt dat Staples een bod zal doen op CE, waarmee voor velen de beleggerspijn wat draaglijker wordt, terwijl anderen (waaronder ook ondergetekende) hun speculatieve positie beloond zien worden, als ze laag genoeg ingestapt zijn. Ik denk echter dat er redenen zijn waarom Staples niet geïnteresseerd is in CE, en

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-61865387628639384492008-01-14T11:38:00.000+01:002008-01-14T14:05:16.409+01:00

Tja...het begon voortvarend op deze Maandagochtend. De koers sprong omhoog naar een top van 4.46, om weer even rap terug te vallen naar rond de 4.32. Omzet nog geen miljoen stukken, dus veel volume zat er ook niet achter. Of zou het toch een grote koper zijn die per dag voor een paar miljoen Euro stukken wil oppikken. Als deze koper elke dag 500,000 stukken koopt, kunnen we ergens in Februari

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-61335181750851941732008-01-13T20:49:00.000+01:002008-01-13T20:59:25.034+01:00

In het bijgaande artikel kan gelezen worden dat Staples agressief bezig blijft met het openen van nieuwe retail stores, waarbij ze met name in de markten waar de concurrentie sterk is aan het uitbreiden zijn. Een paar interesante quotes:"My guess is that Staples management does not believe there is a high correlation between the housing market and office supplies sales," refererend aan

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-6050690559315991312008-01-11T07:28:00.000+01:002008-01-14T13:59:29.351+01:00

Op IEX.nl verscheen gisteren een interessant artikel van bovengenoemd auteur over CE. Hij kwam daarbij tot min of meer dezelfde conclusies als ik met betrekking tot de te bepalen EBIT marge en EBITDA. Ook hij signaleert dat angsten over het voortbestaan van het bedrijf niet aan de orde zijn, en lijkt ook op korte termijn geen overname te zien. Er zijn echter ook wel een paar verschillen. Ten

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-10578088746831103542008-01-10T11:54:00.000+01:002008-01-14T14:00:36.114+01:00

Na de verlaging van het koersdoel van ING voor CE heb ik er ook nog maar eens naar gekeken. We hebben na het derde kwartaal bericht natuurlijk niet veel nieuwe informatie, behalve dan dat er toch wel behoorlijk wat druk ligt op de activiteiten in de Verenigde Staten. Het was niet verwonderlijk dat ING met een koersverlaging kwam. Iets anders zou gewoon een belediging zijn van de marktkrachten die

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-45426523939457890042008-01-10T08:28:00.000+01:002008-01-10T08:50:08.878+01:00

AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--Het aandeel Corporate Express krijgt van ING Wholesale Banking een koersdoel van EUR5,50 tegen eerder EUR8. ING-analisten geloven dat het bedrijf nog steeds een bovengemiddeld risico biedt gezien de grote afhankelijkheid van de VS en de voortgaande herstructureringen. Overnamespeculaties nemen af en er zijn volgens ING geen impulsen in de nabije toekomst te verwachten. Het

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-15943809888046134942008-01-09T11:59:00.000+01:002008-01-09T13:46:15.724+01:00

Een van de peilers van CE is Office Products Australië. Het is het best presterende onderdeel van het bedrijf met een omzet van 744 miljoen Euro in 2006 en een operationeel resultaat van 8%. Dit komt overeen met 1,241 miljoen Australische dollars, zoals we in het jaarverslag 2006 van Corporate Express Australia Limited kunnen lezen. We weten natuurlijk al lang dat "ons" CE niet de gehele eigenaar

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-79875254369744260002008-01-08T20:03:00.000+01:002008-01-08T20:49:02.727+01:00

Een van de leuke puzzels bij CE is natuurlijk het overname verhaal. Gaat iemand een bod doen, wie is dat dan en hoe hoog zal het bod zijn. Een invalshoek die gekozen kan worden is die van de verkopers.We hebben vastgesteld dat waarschijnlijk ruim 40% van het aandelenkapitaal (normaal en preferent A) in handen is van een kleine groep grote beleggers. We hebben te maken met de grote traditionele

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-9437381570254648152008-01-08T13:20:00.000+01:002008-01-08T13:43:29.809+01:00

Indien CE vergeleken wordt met Staples, Office Depot en OfficeMax, blijkt dat ze het nog niet eens zo slecht hebben gedaan (in US-dollars gemeten). Sterker nog, na Staples heeft CE de beste performance laten zien (om het ook eens een keer positief te benaderen). De koersen waren de volgende:......................Staples..............CE......OfficeMax...Office Depot8-Jan-07.........25.74........

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-52174072053402566312008-01-08T08:23:00.001+01:002008-02-21T16:01:25.984+01:00

Op diverse plaatsen is de waarde van het eigen vermogen per aandeel van CE gebruikt als argument om te stellen dat de koers nu veel te laag is. De laatst gepubliceerde waarde kan uit het derde kwartaalbericht gehaald worden. Voor de gewone aandelen geldt een equity waarde van 1,430.6 miljoen Euro (dus zonder preferente aandelen en minderheidsbelang van Australische aandeelhouders), terwijl er

Adrianusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586789289030941333.post-74583627927486457772008-01-07T16:08:00.000+01:002008-01-08T07:57:11.317+01:00

Het is interessant te weten waar de grote belangen in CE zitten op het moment. Hiervoor zijn 2 bronnen geraadpleegd. Allereerst de registers van de AFM waar verplicht substantiele deelnemingen moeten worden gemeld. Een wijziging van een substantiële deelneming is niet meldingsplichtig zolang er geen drempelwaarde wordt bereikt, overschreden of onderschreden. Alleen voor bijzondere statutaire

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