Word: firming
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...Morningstar analyst Todd Lebor praises the company's "excellent financial disclosure and conservative accounting" and notes that it has no unconsolidated debt. Pfizer's announcement last week that it will merge with Pharmacia sent several drugmakers looking for partners. But while Vasella doesn't rule out an acquisition, his firm is considered one of the few strong enough to succeed on their...
Novartis quietly bought a 20% voting stake in Roche last year, startling the firm's managers and prompting speculation about an impending acquisition. But Vasella is biding his time now that he has, in the words of WestLB Panmure analyst Michael King, "parked the tanks on Roche's lawn." Vasella says when he heard that Swiss financier Martin Ebner would be selling his $2.8 billion stake in Roche, he realized the continuing consolidation of the industry might leave a major competitor in his backyard if he didn't act fast. "You don't want to wait to dance until...
...sense." He spends about a third of his workdays traveling around Europe, Asia and the Americas. The rest of the time, he is usually in back-to-back meetings with managers. "He challenges us," says John Manser, Novartis' treasurer, who meets with Vasella once a month to discuss the firm's investments. "He wants to know what sectors, what stocks--he goes to that level." Notes another top manager: "He's not a patient guy. He won't sit with you for 15 minutes as you carefully explain something. He wants to know the facts, and you better have them...
...while, Del Vecchio kept returning to the company's history. When Brooks was on the verge of getting kicked out of the tony Americana Manhasset mall on Long Island, N.Y., he spent an entire day talking to the owners about the firm's heritage and convinced them that the quality of merchandise and service would return. And Brooks designers and merchants still travel frequently to the archives, which are kept by a company called the History Factory in Virginia. "There are so many ideas," says creative director Simon Kneen, "you have to pace yourself...
...UBS’s privileged position gave it unique leverage over PetroChina, and a responsibility to exercise sound ethical judgment. Had UBS declined to underwrite PetroChina, PetroChina’s success on the Shanghai stock exchange would have hardly been guaranteed. Without the support of a western firm, PetroChina would have had to rely upon a Chinese investment bank, which would not have been able to provide the same level of financial expertise or resources...