DPL64 schreef op 3 maart 2023 10:02:
Reuters:
WANT TO BOOST YOUR SHARE PRICE? MOVE TO AMERICA! (1129 GMT)
If the mountain won't come to Muhammad then Muhammad must go to the mountain, goes an old saying, and it does look like some UK executives seeking to boost their company's share prices are indeed thinking along these lines.
Take Shell
SHEL
. The Financial Times reported last week that top executives at the Anglo-Dutch energy including CEO Wael Sawan discussed moving listing and headquarters to the U.S..
The idea - a potential blow to London as a financial hub -was ultimately dismissed, the report said, even though for Shell a relocation could have the advantage of lifting its share price further by the means of a higher U.S.-level valuation multiple.
European and UK companies including are typically much cheaper than their U.S. peers, and some analysts believe the deep discount boils down to market factors with the bigger capital depth of Wall Street that helps lift U.S. multiples.
The report about Shell discussing a move to America comes after talk of U.S. takeovers. In January, Alastair Syme, head of energy research at Citi, advocated a re-run of the industry consolidation seen 20 years ago, saying transatlantic mergers were the only way for European majors to fill the value gap.
But any U.S. takeover would likely stumble on government opposition. "Nice in theory, but impossible in practice," says Andrea Scauri, portfolio manager at Lemanik. "European states won't hand over governance of such sensitive companies".