MARKET MOVEMENTS:
--Brent crude oil edged down 0.1% at $84.07 a barrel.
--European benchmark natural gas edged up 0.2% to EUR43.20 a
megawatt hour.
--Gold futures rose 0.8% to $2,019.70 a troy ounce.
--LME three-month copper futures were flat at $8,868.50 a metric
ton.
--Wheat futures fell 0.4% to $6.76 a bushel.
TOP STORY:
Newmont Raises Bid for Australia's Newcrest to $19.5 Billion
Newmont Corp. raised its takeover offer for Newcrest Mining Ltd.
to around $19.5 billion, as it aims to seal what would be the
largest-ever M&A deal in the gold-mining industry.
Newmont's decision to improve its all-stock offer for Newcrest
comes at a time when gold prices are approaching a record high amid
stress in the global banking system and heightened worries over the
economic outlook. The U.S. company had previously had an around $17
billion bid rebuffed by Newcrest, Australia's largest-listed gold
miner.
Newmont is now offering 0.400 of its own shares for each
Newcrest share, Newcrest said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. In
addition, Newcrest said it is permitted to pay a special dividend
of up to $1.10 a share around the time any deal completes.
After assessing the latest proposal, Newcrest said it would open
its books to Newmont to firm up a binding offer.
OTHER STORIES:
Exxon Deal Hunt Signals Possible Shale M&A Wave
Exxon Mobil Corp.'s hunt for a blockbuster deal in U.S. shale
could kick off a bonanza of deal-making in the oil patch as
drillers look to put large war chests of cash to work.
The oil giant has held preliminary talks with Pioneer Natural
Resources Co. , a Texas fracker with a roughly $52 billion market
capitalization, about a potential acquisition, The Wall Street
Journal reported last week. Exxon, which has been on the prowl in
the Permian Basin for months, has also discussed a potential deal
with at least one other company, the Journal reported.
Such a transaction would send the strongest signal yet that
drillers in the Permian, the hottest U.S. oil field, are set to
bulk up through acquisitions. Oil companies boast healthy balance
sheets that give them the stomach and means to shop for
targets.
The Journal reported there is no formal process between Exxon
and Pioneer, and any deal, if it happens, likely wouldn't come
together until later this year or next year. On Monday, the first
day of trading since the Journal's story, Exxon's stock dropped
less than 1% while Pioneer's stock jumped about 6%.
Investment bankers and analysts have said conditions are ripe
for a deal frenzy in the oil patch this year.
---
Credit Agricole Steps Up EV Leasing as It Seals Stake in
Michelin's Watea
Credit Agricole SA said it has finalized a deal to take a stake
in electric-vehicle rental business Watea as it looks to expand its
EV leasing offer.
The French lender's leasing arm completed the deal with Watea
owner Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin and now has a
30% stake in the business, it said over the Easter weekend. Credit
Agricole didn't set out the financial details of the
transaction.
MARKET TALKS:
Investors Halved Short Positions on Oil Following Saudi-Led
Production Cuts
0752 GMT - Investors sharply slashed short positions on crude
oil and added to longs following a Saudi-led round of production
cuts. Speculative investors' net long position--the balance of
their bullish and bearish bets--jumped by around 73,000 contracts
in the week through April 4, according to data from ICE Futures
Europe. Investors added around 44,000 long positions during that
time and reduced their short positions by almost half, or around
29,000 lots. The changes mean investors hold a net long position of
234,461 lots on Brent crude. (william.horner@wsj.com)
---
Oil Rises Ahead of Supply, Demand Data
0743 GMT - Oil prices edge higher ahead of a week busy with data
on demand. Brent crude oil gains 0.7% to $84.75 a barrel while WTI
adds 0.8% to $80.39 a barrel. The U.S. Energy Information
Administration releases its short-term energy outlook report on
Tuesday, followed by OPEC's monthly report on Thursday and the
International Energy Agency's monthly report on Friday. The oil
market is hungry for information on demand and oil balances after
OPEC+ members made a surprise cut to their production levels.
"Investors are weighing supply tightness against prospects of
slowing demand," says ANZ in a note. (william.horner@wsj.com)
---
Glencore Unlikely to Become Acquisition Target for BHP
0847 GMT - Glencore isn't likely to become an acquisition target
for BHP or any other miner, analysts at Jefferies say in a note.
The commodity mining and trading company has significant exposure
to high-risk regions, such zinc in Kazakhstan, whereas BHP's assets
are located in relatively stable jurisdictions, the analysts say.
Furthermore, its marketing segment wouldn't be a good fit given
jurisdictional risk and a history of regulatory issues, they say.
"A BHP acquisition of Glencore would be problematic from an
antitrust perspective--copper and possibly nickel--even if we
assume Glencore would de-merge its coal business first," the
analysts say. Shares are up 2.9% at 470.70 pence.
(anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
---
Glencore Spinning Off Coal Business Could Unlock Value
0837 GMT - Although Glencore hasn't pushed for a demerger of its
coal business, its plans to merge with Canadian miner Teck
Resources and then demerge the combined company's coal business as
a separate listed entity has "let the cat out of the bag," analysts
at Jefferies say. With or without Teck, a coal spinoff for the
commodity mining and trading company is probable at this point as
this could unlock trapped value, the analysts say. "We believe
Glencore will also continue to hunt for M&A opportunities as
there is a compelling argument to buy rather than build, especially
now as we are still in a weak point of the cycle," the analysts
say. Jefferies rates the stock buy with a 650-pence target price.
(anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
---
Industrial Metals Slip, Gold Lifts as Markets Await Inflation
Data
0729 GMT - Base metal prices are falling while gold futures are
rising as markets look to tomorrow's inflation data - with higher
inflation likely to mean interest rate increases from the U.S.
Federal Reserve. Three-month copper is down 0.3% to $8,838 a metric
ton while aluminum is 0.6%. lower at $2,325 a ton. Gold is up 0.5%
to $2,014.10 a troy ounce. "The macro environment is sending mixed
signals for commodity money flows," says Dave Whitcomb, head of
research at Peak Trading Research in a note. Markets are expecting
a drop in CPI to 5.1% from 6% on month, he says. "Softer inflation
data tomorrow (below 5.0%) would be a bullish tailwind for
commodity markets via a more dovish Fed and a weaker U.S. dollar."
(yusuf.khan@wsj.com)
Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 11, 2023 07:30 ET (11:30 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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