KKR, MBK bid for Samsung Group asset: sources
Samsung Group said in August that it planned to sell a combined 58.7 percent stake in the non-core business, held by nine of its affiliates, in a rare divestment by the South Korean conglomerate. The bids went in on Friday.Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) has been hired to advise on the sale of the stake, which is valued at 372 billion won ($326 million) based on Tuesday’s closing share price of 17,650 won.An official for South Korean shopping mall operator Interpark Corp (035080.KQ) also confirmed it is heading a consortium which placed a bid.The Interpark group contains private equity fund H&Q, the sources said.An external spokeswoman for KKR could not offer an immediate comment, while MBK could not immediately be reached for comment. Goldman Sachs declined to comment.The sources declined to be identified as the discussions were private.The size of the stake could be smaller, as Samsung earlier said it might maintain an interest in Imarketkorea if buyers request it. That interest could be up to 10 percent, one of the sources said.Samsung set up Imarketkorea in 2000 to provide goods and maintenance services for business clients.The conglomerate is providing five-year guarantees to prospective buyers, to ensure two trillion won of revenue annually through Imarketkorea, one of the sources said.($1 = 1140.450 won)
UPDATE 1-Beazer Homes says Q4 orders up by a third
* Backlog at end-Sept up 88 pctOct 13 (Reuters) - Home builder Beazer Homes USA Inc
said its fourth-quarter orders rose by a third, suggesting an
improvement in the housing market after a prolonged slump.The company said July-September orders rose 33 percent from
last year on a preliminary basis. This double-digit growth comes
on the back of order growth of 23.7 percent in the company’s
third quarter.Last month, KB Home — the fifth-largest U.S. home
builder — reported a 40 percent jump in quarterly orders, while
third-ranked Lennar Corp posted an 11 percent increase.Beazer shares closed at $1.69 on Wednesday on the New York
Stock Exchange.
Sony sees “murky” holiday sales outlook
“Looking at Europe and North America overall, the outlook is murky,” Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday when asked about year-end sales. “We don’t see any reasons for optimism,” he said.Sony had no “tricks” to deflect the currency pain, he added.That double whammy is adding pressure on the one-time symbol of Japan’s high-tech might to revamp its TV division, which is heading for its eighth straight annual loss.Sony has no plan for a major announcement on restructuring of that unit, Kato said.The company, which sells products ranging from PlayStation game consoles to life insurance, has forecast operating profit of 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion) for the year to March 2012, compared with analysts’ consensus estimate of 175.5 billion yen as per Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Part of the pressure on profits could come from the euro’s weakness, given that the company estimated in April that each one yen rise in the yen against the euro would cut operating income by 6 billion yen.On Tuesday, the euro hovered around 104 yen, compared with the company’s forecast of 115 yen.Kato said switching more product assembly to the euro zone would not be an effective way of combating the yen’s rise, because parts would still need to be procured from Japan and other parts of Asia.Sony had already taken 75 percent of its manufacturing overseas and would have difficulty raising this figure further, he said.Companies are also facing weakness in European markets.Consumer confidence fell in Europe in September, hit by high unemployment in Ireland and Spain and austerity programs across southern Europe, in the latest worrying sign for electronics makers.Europe accounted for 21 percent of Sony’s sales last year.Sony’s shares ended 5.7 percent higher on Tuesday as the yen eased against the euro. The Nikkei average rose 1.9 percent.LOSSMAKING TV BUSINESSSony had previously said it would pull together plans to restructure its TV business, sparking speculation it would reveal a revamp when it announces its July-September results by early November.”I am sorry if we have given the mistaken impression that there is going to be some big announcement,” Kato said of the TV unit restructuring. “We are not thinking of doing that.”Sony’s second-in-command, Kazuo Hirai, has already ruled out withdrawing from the business, which it sees as core to its strategy of combining hardware and content.Kato said the company was constantly working on improving profitability in televisions and would answer questions on the process from time to time.The TV unit is struggling to compete with rivals such as Samsung Electronics, which said last week it expected to beat consensus forecasts for July-September results.”It’s disappointing, but I think the share price indicates that the market is already assuming that they won’t be able to do it (the restructuring),” said Ryosuke Katsura, an analyst at Mizuho Securities.Sony’s shares have fallen more than 40 percent since the financial year began on April 1 versus a 10 percent fall in the Nikkei average.”Restructuring the TV business is their most important task, because even if they manage to increase profit in other areas, TV losses will outweigh that,” Katsura said.Sony has already sold off TV factories in Spain, Slovakia and Mexico in the past few years and outsources more than half of production to companies including Hon Hai Precision Industry. It retains four TV plants of its own, in Japan, Brazil, China and Malaysia.Analysts and investors say it needs to go further, with some calling on the company to slash personnel costs and even consider pulling out of the highly competitive business. ($1 = 76.730 Japanese Yen)
