1. Auction for Genzyme?
Genzyme Corp., a biopharm company based in Cambridge, Mass., has rejected a takeover offer from Sanofi-Aventis, the largest drug manufacturer in France.
According to a Bloomberg story, the discussions thus far have been informal, but "Sanofi may send a formal letter to Genzyme detailing its interest in an acquisition as soon as this week."
Genzyme has had the pleasure of Carl Icahn's company for some time now. Icahn curently controls two seats on the board. Icahn will surely make his views on the subject known if this does play itself out over the weeks to come.
GlaxoSmithKline is also sometimes mentioned as an interested party, so a real auction for Genzyme is a possibility.
2. Higher cross-border bid.
Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canadian convenience store concern that owns the Circle K brand, has increased its bid for Casey's General Stores. It was bidding $36 a share in April and has now raised that to $36.75.
This values Casey's at $1.9 million, including debt says DealBook.
The offer expires at 5 PM on August 6 -- which, it so happens, is my baby sister's birthday. (Hello, Beth!)
Oh, and perhaps I' naive, but this strikes me as odd.
3. GSI Group Emerges from Chapter 11.
GSI is a multi-national family of companies that supply parts ("precision technology") to the medical, electronics, and industrial markets. Parts that, so far as I can tell, involve lasers.
Three of the entities within this family filed for chapter 11 reorganization in November 2009, in Delaware: GSI Group Inc., the parent Canadian holding company; GSI Group Corp., of Massachusetts; and MES International, Inc., a non-operating subsidiary of GSI Group Corp.
But now they have returned from that legal world of the undead to that of the truly living.
The Boston Business Journal, in May, described the descent into bankruptcy as
"a slew of regulatory and accounting setbacks that stemmed from revenue-booking practices between 2004 and 2008."
That got me curious, so I went here. Seventeen months ago, and eight months before its bankruptcy filing, GSI announced the results of an internal accounting probe and admitted to material revenue-recognition errors.
Showing posts with label GSI Group. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GSI Group. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
Three more brief items
1. Dragon Oil holders
Today's Wall Street Journal informs me that shareholders of Dragon Oil PLC, a Dublin-based operation, have rejected a takeover offer from Dubai-based Emirates National Oil Co. This is despite a recommendation by the advisory group RiskMetrics, which says that in its view the price offered is fair.
Dragon Oil's principal asset is the Cheleken contract area in the Caspian Sea, with what the story, with James Herron's byline, calls "proven and probable reserves of 645 million barrels of oil and contingent gas resources of 3.2 trillion cubic feet as of June 2008."
As I observed last month, the answer to the question, "what is a 'proven' reserve?" is not as self-evident as the naive among us might expect. I wonder how solid these numbers are, especially since they have to be date-stamped to a year and a half ago.
2. Paul Samuelson, RIP
Paul Samuelson, the economist who wrote the textbook in which generations of undergraduate college students have learned the basics of supply and demand, micro and macro, fiscal and monetary policy tools, etc., has passed away at the age of 94. I have seen anything more specific about the cause of death than ... welll ... the fact that he was 94.
Samuelson was married to Marion Crawford from 1938 until her death in 1978. In 1981 he re-married, Risha Eckhaus, who survives him, as do six children from his first marriage. As does a nephew named Lawrence Summers, Obama's chief economic advisor.
3. The GSI bankruptcy
GSI is a multi-national family of companies that supply technology to the global medical, electronics, and industrial markets. Three of the entities within this family filed for chapter 11 reorganization last month in the bankruptcy court in Delaware: GSI Group Inc., the parent Canadian holding company; GSI Group Corp.; and MES International, Inc., a non-operating subsidiary of GSI Group Corp.
On November 23, Stephen Bershad requested the creation of an equity committee. It now appears that he'll get his wish. He has entered into an agreement with the debtors in possession that they will support this request, in return for his commitment not to contest the April 30, 2010 meeting date set by the Board of Directors.
If the equity committee is not formed by December 31, 2009, or, if formed, is disbanded for any reason, Mr. Bershad retains his right to challenge the April 30, 2010 meeting date.
Today's Wall Street Journal informs me that shareholders of Dragon Oil PLC, a Dublin-based operation, have rejected a takeover offer from Dubai-based Emirates National Oil Co. This is despite a recommendation by the advisory group RiskMetrics, which says that in its view the price offered is fair.
Dragon Oil's principal asset is the Cheleken contract area in the Caspian Sea, with what the story, with James Herron's byline, calls "proven and probable reserves of 645 million barrels of oil and contingent gas resources of 3.2 trillion cubic feet as of June 2008."
As I observed last month, the answer to the question, "what is a 'proven' reserve?" is not as self-evident as the naive among us might expect. I wonder how solid these numbers are, especially since they have to be date-stamped to a year and a half ago.
2. Paul Samuelson, RIP
Paul Samuelson, the economist who wrote the textbook in which generations of undergraduate college students have learned the basics of supply and demand, micro and macro, fiscal and monetary policy tools, etc., has passed away at the age of 94. I have seen anything more specific about the cause of death than ... welll ... the fact that he was 94.
Samuelson was married to Marion Crawford from 1938 until her death in 1978. In 1981 he re-married, Risha Eckhaus, who survives him, as do six children from his first marriage. As does a nephew named Lawrence Summers, Obama's chief economic advisor.
3. The GSI bankruptcy
GSI is a multi-national family of companies that supply technology to the global medical, electronics, and industrial markets. Three of the entities within this family filed for chapter 11 reorganization last month in the bankruptcy court in Delaware: GSI Group Inc., the parent Canadian holding company; GSI Group Corp.; and MES International, Inc., a non-operating subsidiary of GSI Group Corp.
On November 23, Stephen Bershad requested the creation of an equity committee. It now appears that he'll get his wish. He has entered into an agreement with the debtors in possession that they will support this request, in return for his commitment not to contest the April 30, 2010 meeting date set by the Board of Directors.
If the equity committee is not formed by December 31, 2009, or, if formed, is disbanded for any reason, Mr. Bershad retains his right to challenge the April 30, 2010 meeting date.
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