Deutsche Post: going Dutch

Dutch distributor Wegener plans to start a joint venture with Deutsche Post for mail services. Incumbent operator TPG has recently voiced its confidence that liberalization in the Dutch market will not affect it, as it has the best structure with which to see off competitors. It will now have to prove it.

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Dutch logistics: road takes 36% of market

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Shell/Bechtel: exploiting internal synergies for InterGen

Shell should seek to integrate its power venture InterGen into Shell Gas & Power and sell some regulated assets. Then Shell could either invest further downstream in the US electricity market or use its extensive US gas business to exploit the spark spread - rather than being the victim of it.

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BP: topping the major league

Last week's Q2 results statements cast a positive light on BP. Out of the four oil majors that released figures (TotalFinaElf publishes interim results in September), only BP's were in line with analysts' expectations. Strong management was a key factor, underlined by BP's invitation to CEO Lord Browne to extend his tenure.

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Licensing Week - August 16, 2002

Last week's licensing news had a truly global feel, with companies from the US, the UK, mainland Europe and Japan getting in on the action. The week saw deals between; AstraZeneca and Xenogen; Crucell and GenVec; Takeda and Human Genome Sciences; Adolor and Eli Lilly; and Anadys and Roche.

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Corus: muddled thinking

When Corus was formed in 1999, it hoped to grow by diversifying from steel - but a corporate rethink has overturned these plans. Not only is the firm now spinning off its non-steel businesses, it's merging with Brazil's CSN, thereby guaranteeing ore supplies. It's not clear that heavy exposure to a rickety economy is the best way of hedging commodity price risk, however.

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Pharmaceutical Licensing Weekly Review: August 19 - 23, 2002

Last week's licensing news featured three of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies: first GlaxoSmithKline joined Pfizer in an alliance with Argonaut, then Pharmacia joined forces with BattellePharma. Johns Hopkins University also had a busy week beating out deals with Crucell and Correlogic Systems. Finally Amgen and Praecis agreed to terminate their failed relationship.

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ABN Amro/EDS: outsourcing bandwagon starts rolling

ABN Amro looks set to outsource all IT services for its Wholesale Clients unit to EDS. The deal, worth at least $1.46 billion, will be one of the largest ever IT outsourcing deals in the banking industry. It could represent the turning of the tide for service providers - particularly as there are other, even larger FS outsourcing deals in the pipeline.

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Interbrew: aiming for a Stella performance

Interbrew, the Belgian brewing giant that owns Stella Artois and Bass, will cut 335 jobs in the Netherlands and 68 in the UK. However, the cuts are a rationalization, rather than a sign of trouble. They should free up E12 million for Interbrew to invest, helping the company to maintain its commanding position in the global brewing industry.

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Dutch energy: government protects its own

The new Dutch government wants to liberalize the energy sector before allowing its infrastructure to be privatized, which removes the main target for foreign competitors. Meanwhile, utility consolidation continues as Nuon and Eneco emerge as leading contenders to takeover Remu. But government's moves will only delay, not prevent, the Dutch market's fall into foreign hands.

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