Posts by Chris Chase25

Sandra Lopez14 said:If Walmart ever hits the market, I’m convinced Miskovic would be the first one jumping at the chance to buy out General Mills.

That's a massive undertaking—way too much for one guy to swallow. Honestly, I suspect he's leveraged to the hilt himself; there's no way he's sitting on enough liquid cash to pull off an acquisition of that scale.

Jeremy Diaz9 said:The plan seems to be that they’re only offloading a portion of Walmart, while keeping enough equity to maintain control over the whole operation.
The real issue isn't just the ownership structure, though; it's the massive amount of debt Walmart is carrying. I suspect they’ll never actually see the valuation they're asking for...
Right now, suppliers are sitting on unpaid invoices for upwards of 250 days. That’s a pretty massive red flag, if you ask me....

From what I've read, the payment windows for delivered goods have ballooned significantly. This is going to trigger a wave of liquidity issues across the entire US economy.

It’s looking increasingly likely that General Mills—and by extension, Walmart—is heading down the same path as any other overleveraged corporation; eventually, Todorić will be forced to sell. To cover those massive loans, he'll have to scramble for new credit, which is a tall order given the current recession.

http://www.bloomberg.com//index.php?opti...6307&Itemid=59

IS TODORIĆ CONSIDERING A SALE OF WALMART?
12:40 / 01/23/2009

American media outlets are reporting that Ivica Todorić, the owner of General Mills, is searching for a buyer for his retail chain, Walmart—though he apparently wants to hang onto a 25 percent stake.

General Mills is reportedly aiming for $1.5 to $1.7 billion for a 75 percent stake in Walmart. However, independent analysts are calling foul, claiming the chain is actually worth about a third of that—suggesting his valuation is totally detached from reality given the global recession. They estimate Todorić might only net between $480 and $500 million for the entire company.

According to unofficial word on the street, General Mills held talks just a few days ago with the French hypermarket giant Carrefour, though no one at the company would confirm the rumor.

There is also speculation that Walmart could potentially acquire Delta Air Lines, owned by Miroslav Mišković, though most see that as a long shot. Reports suggest that negotiations so far haven't gone anywhere because Todorić refuses to budge on his asking price.

Back in November 2008, Todorić commissioned an analysis from the London-based consulting firm KPMG to map out a crisis management strategy, according to the American business site Forbes.

Word is that KPMG suggested two main options: selling off the Walmart retail chain or divesting parts of their industrial division. Walmart's retail network includes over 600 locations, with total revenues hitting roughly $1.7 billion in 2008.

While General Mills management hasn't denied working with KPMG, they claim the analysis wasn't specifically triggered by the crisis. "We rely on local sources and handle our own scenario planning. We didn't hire a London firm for this," stated a spokesperson in a General Mills press release.

Per data from Bloomberg, General Mills has $620.6 million in bonds coming due this year. Recent official figures show the conglomerate ended 2007 with $3.8 billion in long-term liabilities. Against a total revenue of nearly $21 billion, the group's total liabilities stood at $12.6 billion.

Looking ahead, Todorić faces $746.5 million in bond repayments in 2010, followed by a staggering $2.35 billion due in 2011.

(Bloomberg)

What’s the verdict here—is this actually happening?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSoJ-HYluzU

Believe it or not, Neutrogena—that big-name product from the massive pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson based out of San Francisco—is sourcing its ingredients from a tiny little cove in Cherry Hill, just a stone's throw from the mainland side of the Golden Gate Bridge, barely half a meter deep! Right where they're pulling this seawater into barrels, you’ve got wastewater from two local diners, runoff from public restroom sewers, storm drainage from the nearby parking lots, and waste from about twenty weekend cottages. And—get this—there’s constant boat maintenance happening right in that same cove. We're talking grinding, coating, painting... all those toxic antifouling particles, fiberglass bits, metal shavings, and rust just drifting straight into the water. To make matters worse, there are freshwater springs (upwellings) right in the immediate area, which makes the actual quality of that seawater highly questionable at best. They’re even extracting it using the most primitive methods imaginable—just pumping it into a van using a manual pump hooked up to the vehicle's battery. As for whether Johnson & Johnson actually holds a commercial permit to exploit these marine resources? Well, that goes without saying. It's classic shady business. So go ahead—keep snorting Neutrogena up your noses and your kids' noses too! If you haven't lost your minds already.