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TRADING MARKETS: BYD: E6 Meets US Regulations

BEIJING, Jan 18, 2010 (SinoCast Daily Business Beat via COMTEX) —

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The E6, a pure electric vehicle (EV) model of BYD Co. Ltd. (SEHK: 1211), has met the laws and regulations of the US market, according to Li Zhuhang, general manager of BYD’s auto export division.

At the end of 2010, the model will start trial marketing in California. The general manager did not tell its price and sales target, but sources guessed that the model would be sold at slightly higher than USD 40,000.

Moreover, the Chinese company intends to export its double-mode EV model, the F6DM, to the US in 2011, whose selling price is a little lower than USD 30,000, previous reports said.

At the 2010 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), BYD, known as a battery maker and also engaged in automobile production, showed both the E6 and F3DM. Next year, the company will also take part in the NAIAS, with a larger exhibition area, stressed the general manager.

Notably, Warren Buffet, who holds a 10% stake in the Hong Kong-listed company, will give a leg up to the future sale of the BYD E6 in the US, told Wang Jianjun, vice general manager of BYD Auto Sales Co., Ltd.

In late 2009, an export executive at BYD said that the company would possibly regard Los Angeles as its main battlefield first of all, and then extend the E6 distribution to San Francisco. Finally, it will extend its sales network synchronously to Seattle, Chicago, New York, and Boston.

BYD Auto, which is under the aegis of BYD, is known for its products with low displacement, but it has expanded its business into the medium-grade vehicle market these days.

On October 26, 2009, the company’s first medium-grade car model, the G3, hit the market, rivaling some salable counterparts like Excelle, Elantra HDC, Lavida, and Cruze.

BYD Auto aggregately sold 44,000 vehicles in September 2009, surging 88 percent from a year earlier and hitting a record high since its establishment in 2003.

It is reported to have sold less than 100 F3DMs by the end of August 2009, and Morgan Stanley thought that the actual F3DM sales would fall far behind the goal of 3000 to 4000 ones set in early 2009.

However, large Chinese automakers and regional government are still bullish on new energy vehicles. Experts warmed that the blind expansion of new energy vehicles would possibly lead to redundant construction and overcapacity.

In December 2008, BYD Auto unveiled the F3DM EV in Shenzhen, south China, with its selling price fixed at CNY 149,800. Both the battery pack and gasoline engine are installed on the BYD F3DM EV, which is the world’s first EV independent of the professional charge stations, said Wang Chuanfu, president of BYD.

(USD 1 = CNY 6.83)

Source: thebeijingnews.com (January 18, 2010)

For full details on (BYDDF) BYDDF. (BYDDF) has Short Term PowerRatings at TradingMarkets. Details on (BYDDF) Short Term PowerRatings is available at This Link.

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BLOOMBERG: Kraft’s ‘Wiggle Room’ to Win Cadbury Must Be in Cash

By Duane D. Stanford, Andrew Cleary and Zachary R. Mider

Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) — Kraft Foods Inc., facing a deadline to make a revised bid for Cadbury Plc tomorrow, would have to use cash, rather than stock, for a higher offer to keep its own shareholders satisfied.

Billionaire investor William Ackman last week joined Warren Buffett, Kraft’s biggest shareholder, in saying Kraft risks diminishing the merits of a Cadbury takeover by issuing too much stock to pay for it. Kraft’s 11 billion-pound ($17.9 billion) cash-and-stock bid values the U.K. chocolate maker at 771 pence a share, below today’s highest price for Cadbury of 808 pence.

The deficit has left Kraft Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld trying to win over Cadbury investors without alienating her own shareholders. Earlier this month, Kraft said it would sell pizza brands including DiGiorno and Tombstone to Nestle SA and use proceeds from the $3.7 billion deal to boost the 300 pence cash component of its bid by another 60 pence.

“Any wiggle room you have has almost got to come from the cash side, not the stock side,” Donald Yacktman, founder of Yacktman Asset Management Co., which holds Kraft shares, said in a Jan. 15 telephone interview. “The issue has always been price. It’s not a matter of them being a terrible fit because I think they do fit.”

Cadbury shares rose as much as 14.5 pence to 808 pence in London, the highest price since Dec. 1. They were up 11 pence, or 1.4 percent, to 804.5 pence as of 12:16 p.m. local time.

‘Extremely Undervalued’

A takeover of Uxbridge, England-based Cadbury would give Kraft, the maker of Toblerone chocolate and Tang powdered drinks, a faster-growing business and access to emerging markets, such as India. The combined company would have about $50 billion in annual sales.

Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP bought at least 32 million shares in Northfield, Illinois-based Kraft, or 2 percent of the company, and plans to purchase more. The stock is “extremely undervalued,” Ackman said Jan. 15. Pershing’s stake in Kraft is now the firm’s biggest holding.

“The more Kraft stock they issue, the less interesting this deal is,” Ackman said. “Fortunately, the seller also prefers cash.” The deal makes “tremendous sense,” Ackman added.

Rosenfeld announced the additional cash component on Jan. 5, the same day Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said it voted against a plan to issue millions of shares to finance a Cadbury takeover. The proposal, which shareholders will vote on next month, amounts to a “blank check” to modify the bid, Berkshire said.

‘Compelling’ Offer

Berkshire said it may support a Cadbury takeover if it concludes that the final offer “does not destroy value for Kraft shareholders.”

Kraft advanced 46 cents to $29.58 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading on Jan. 15. Based on that price, the hostile offer of 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 Kraft share is more than 60 percent stock. Cadbury shareholders have the option to substitute as much as 60 pence of shares with cash.

Cadbury spokesman Trevor Datson declined to comment as did Kraft spokesman Michael Mitchell.

Kraft must raise its bid by at least 10 percent to 850 pence to stand a chance of capturing the maker of Dairy Milk chocolate bars, a survey of nine Cadbury shareholders shows. Together they account for about 11 percent of the shares. Responses ranged from 800 pence to 900 pence.

Standard Life

A bid at 850 pence “would not secure support from companies like ourselves,” David Cumming, head of U.K. equities at Standard Life Investments, said today.

“If Kraft want to get Cadbury they need to pay a full price to get long-term shareholders,” Cumming told the British Broadcasting Corp.’s Radio 4, according to an e-mailed transcript from Standard Life. “That price would have to be, in my view, above 9 pounds a share.” Standard Life said it holds less than 1 percent of Cadbury’s shares.

Jeffrey Scharf, president of Scharf Investments in Santa Cruz, California, said 900 pence a share would be “compelling,” while an offer in the “low 800s” may struggle. Scharf Investments has about 760,000 Cadbury shares.

“It’s more than a little ironic that Kraft sold its pizza business to Nestle for a higher multiple than they are willing to pay for Cadbury’s candy business,” Scharf said. “It’s not really a plausible, attractive offer.” Nestle said it paid 12.5 times earnings for the unit.

‘Derisory’ Offer

Cadbury Chairman Roger Carr has repeatedly called Kraft’s offer “derisory.” He said on Jan. 14 that Hershey Co. recently reaffirmed its interest in the company and would transform itself into a global business by trumping Kraft’s bid.

Hershey, the Pennsylvania-based chocolate maker that’s controlled by a charitable trust, was stepping up efforts last week to prepare a competing bid, people with knowledge of the matter said at the time. The company will make a decision on what to do after Kraft submits its final offer, the people said.

Kraft may be able to increase the cash portion of its offer without further negotiations with its lenders. In addition to a 5.5 billion-pound bridge loan it’s getting from Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, and seven other banks, it has an agreement to borrow $3 billion, according to a Dec. 4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Yacktman, the Kraft investor, said that he’s not opposed to a higher cash offer and thinks CEO Rosenfeld has left room to negotiate.

“As long as the economics are satisfied rather than the egos, then it’s a good deal,” Yacktman said.

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MARKETWATCH: Cadbury investor wants much bigger payout

LONDON (MarketWatch) — One of Cadbury’s top shareholders thinks the U.K. chocolate maker is worth more than $20 billion and wouldn’t back a takeover bid by Kraft Foods along the revised terms that have been reported in recent days.

Speaking in an interview on BBC radio, David Cumming, Standard Life Investments’ head of U.K. equities, said Cadbury’s management team has done a good job and that Kraft would need to pay a “full price” to get long-term shareholders on its side.

“The price in the press I noticed at the weekend, talking about 8 pounds to 8.5 pounds — that would not secure support from companies like ourselves,” Cumming said.

Standard Life said it holds less than 1% of Cadbury shares. The firm is one of the top 20 investors in Cadbury according to figures from FactSet.

The Sunday Times newspaper over the weekend reported that Kraft is preparing to raise its offer to around 820 pence a share ahead of Tuesday’s bid deadline.

Its current offer is worth 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 of its own shares for every Cadbury shares. That valued the bid at 7.69 pounds a share, or around 10.6 billion pounds ($17.3 billion), at Friday’s closing Kraft price.

Shares in Cadbury rose 1.4% on the London Stock Exchange Monday to 8.04 pounds.

Cumming said he expects Kraft to raise its offer, because it needs Cadbury’s faster-growing chocolate and gum operations, as well as its presence in markets such as South America and Asia.

“Kraft is currently a very sort of U.S.-centric amalgamation of relatively low growth businesses like processed cheese, instant coffee and the sort of biscuits you get at coffee mornings,” Cumming told the BBC.

He also said that, even with a bid of around 9 pounds a share, Hershey could still make a counter-offer.

The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday that Hershey plans to offer at least $17.9 billion for Cadbury this week, after concluding that it has the financial muscle to outbid Kraft.

Hershey was working on a finance package including a loan of at least $10 billion from banks including J.P. Morgan Case and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the report said. It was also expected to include $5 billion in new Hershey shares and at least $3 billion from private investors.

Buffett concerned

While Cadbury’s shareholders have been demanding a better price for their stock, Kraft’s biggest investor — billionaire Warren Buffett — has threatened to vote against a deal if the company offers too many of its own shares.

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway said earlier this month that it would vote against the proposal to fund the takeover by issuing millions of new Kraft shares.

Berkshire Hathaway said Kraft stock was a “very expensive currency” to use, though the investment firm added it could change its mind if it concludes the deal doesn’t destroy value. See story on Buffett’s concerns.

The Observer newspaper reported that Kraft is considering sweetening its bid by adding an extra $1 billion in cash, which could lift the value to around 8.20 pounds a share without needing to issue more shares.

Simon Kennedy is the City correspondent for MarketWatch in London.

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January 18, 2010

Kubica Makes First Visit to Enstone, Does Seat Fitting in the Renault R30

Robert Kubica made his first visit to the Renault F1 base in Enstone since he has become official race driver for the French manufacturer, as revealed by the team’s media site. The Polish driver visited the British site and was scheduled to do a seat fitting session within the team’s R30 challenger for the 2010 season, while also meeting new team manager Eric Boullier for the first time.

In addition to that, Kubica also visited the wind tunnel to see the latest developments being put through … (read more)

January 18, 2010
IFAC Conference on Control Methodologies & Technology for Energy-Efficiency

The FAC Conference on Control Methodologies & Technology for Energy-Efficiency will take place on March 29- 31, 2010 in Vilamoura, Portuga.

January 18, 2010
>>>SiNGaPoRe<<< JUST GREAT…

I went to this fantastic city last November , loved everything and got some nice shots to share..hope u enjoy…

I start with this picture that i’ve just posted on the photo contest so if u like it please pass by and vote 😀

LIGHTS

Singapore is definitely a great place to go for a walk by night …

VIEWS FROM THE SINGAPORE FLYER

I’d say the best place for overviewing the city..and you can include champagne!

The Marina Sand project

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January 18, 2010
Warm and Restorative: Favorite Soup Recipes

For a meal that’s both light and comforting, what’s better than a lovely bowl of soup? Especially on a cold and gloomy day, a bowl of hot soup is perfectly filling, even with just a handful of ingredients. We’ve featured a great many soup recipes at The Kitchn over the years. Here are just a few of our favorites.

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January 18, 2010
Motorola gives Korea a little Android love with MOTOROI

While we’re busy sitting here trying to figure out how this new phone is supposed to be pronounced, South Koreans are rejoicing that this Android device has become official there. We’ve all seen this handset before as the Motorola XT701 for China, but now we know that Korea will have it through SK Telekom. The device is running Android 2.0 and supports Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps and Google Talk. Basically, anything and everything Google will be delivered on this handset for the full Android experience. Shutterbugs and weekend videographers will be happy to know the MOTOROI packs an 8 megapixel sensor camera with Xenon flash, and has a 720p HD camcorder. Add to that support for up to 32GB of storage, a 3.7″ WVGA screen, HDMI capabilities, TV out and built in radio and it looks like Korea’s first Android device is a formidable one.

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January 18, 2010
Vinnytsia | Вінниця | Набережна | Embankment

Один з масштабних проектів Вінничини – який на нашу думку заслуговує на окрему гілку!!! Надіюсь форумчанам буде цікаво!!!

30 МІЛЬЙОНІВ НА НАБЕРЕЖНУ У ВІННИЦІ ПОЖЕРТВУВАВ ПОРОШЕНКО
Від мосту до мосту буде лише набережна із світильниками, лавочками і без алкогольної комерції!
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January 18, 2010
Ask the Attorney: Should I be a C-Corp? (And other formation issues)

(Editor’s note: “Ask the Attorney” is a VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions. Submit yours in the comments below and look for answers in the coming weeks. Author Scott Edward Walker is the founder and CEO of Walker Corporate Law Group, PLLC, a boutique corporate law firm specializing in the representation of entrepreneurs.)

Question: Two former classmates and I are launching a new venture. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough money to hire a lawyer. I found a lot of articles on the web, but I’m still not sure what kind of entity we should form and where. I also was wondering if there are any other legal issues we should be worrying about.

Answer: Thanks for your questions. Before I answer them, however, let me just say that I think it would be prudent for you to retain a good, reasonably-priced attorney to assist you and watch your back. If you don’t have the money, some lawyers will defer their fees and/or take equity (if you can get them excited about your venture).

There are, in fact, many issues that should be on your radar – more than we have time to get into in a single column. In the interest of time and space, I’ll examine five this week and five next Monday.

1. Choice of Entity. What’s most important is you form an entity that will protect against personal liability. You have three good choices: a C corporation, an S corporation or a limited liability company. If you’re going to seek funding, you should form a C corporation because that’s the structure that investors will usually require. If you’re not going to seek funding (or funding will not be imminent), you may want to form an S corporation or a limited liability company to obtain “pass-through” tax treatment. The bottom line is that every situation is different, and that’s why it makes sense to sit down with a good lawyer.

2. Place of Formation. If you’re going to seek funding, you should form your entity in Delaware regardless of whether the operations are located in California (or any other State). Why? Because investors will usually require it due to Delaware’s well-developed case law, its management protections and flexibility, and its ease of corporate filings and related state-law administrative issues. If the entity has not been formed in Delaware, investors will generally require this issue to be cleaned-up as a condition to closing. Thus, initially forming in Delaware will demonstrate a certain level of sophistication and credibility.

3. Equity Issues. Form the venture and issue equity to the founders as soon as possible — i.e., before the company has any significant value. Clearly, as the company meets milestones (e.g., the creation of a prototype, the signing-up of customers, etc.), its value – and that of the stock – will increase. This could trigger significant taxable income to founders being issued equity for services or for a nominal purchase price. The same principle applies with respect to the issuance of options to employees: The goal is to do it as soon as possible – when the value of the company is as low as possible.

4. Vesting Restrictions. There are two good reasons to impose reasonable vesting restrictions (e.g., 25 percent/year for four years) on equity issued to founders. First, it makes good business sense because the equity will presumably be issued not only for the founders’ services or property relating to the conception of the venture, but also for their continuing commitment and efforts. Second, if you will be seeking funding, investors will usually require a vesting schedule.

5. Issues re: Prior Employment. Before you get too deep, each founder needs to review the agreements and documents with his or her prior employer. These could be offer letters/employment agreements, non-disclosure and inventions assignment agreements, stock options agreements, employee handbooks or any number of things. The point is: You need to determine if there are any provisions that may prohibit or create problems for the new venture.

Things to look for include (i) confidentiality provisions, (ii) non-compete provisions (which are generally unenforceable in California), (iii) provisions regarding the non-solicitation of customers, vendors or employees and (iv) provisions regarding the assignment of inventions. If the new venture is a technology company, pay particular attention to the creation of the intellectual property and applicable law.

Photo by vaXzine via Flickr

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January 18, 2010