Excite Europe US portals are losing ground in Europe as they retrench to conserve cash. For a company stuck in a strategic stranglehold, belated attempts to build scale are not the way to maximise value. Rather than playing catch-up, Carlton should accept that its days as a standalone are numbered and launch a share buyback. A surprising glimmer of hope emerges from the courts. The Belgian brewer may just get Bass Breweries after all.
Investors ought to hold their enthusiasm until the court decides how to proceed.
Maybe Interbrew claws some E1.5bn of charges back. The shareholders would be putting their heads in the lion's mouth if they accepted. The deal would give Vivendi control without putting in any capital or promising to take out minorities at fair value. The French group continues its metamorphosis from dull public sector bank to bancassurer. Time to make them pay off.