Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize-winning author "The War in Iraq: Bush's Democracy and the Real Thing" (Princeton University Lectures)

Excellent lecture by Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and writer for the New Yorker: "The War in Iraq: Bush's Democracy and the Real Thing.
In the lecture, Hersh talks about the US policy in Iraq. He sees US troops withdrawal soon and replacing the troops with extensive air cover for un-prepared Iraqi Army. Gives deep insight into the White House Strategy, US media coverage of the war and new Iraqi Adminstration.

Vodafone wins Telsim - Has victorious Sarin made the right call? (Times Online)

Following highly contested bidding for Telsim (second mobile operator), Vodafone won with US$ 4.55 billion price tag out bidding MTC (Kuwait) by US$20 million as well as runners up Egypt's Orascom and Emaar of Dubai. Russia's Sistema and Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates were eliminated earlier on after they submitted the lowest sealed bids.

Telsim was seized by the Turkish Government following the collapse the Uzan's family Imar Bank which laddened the Government with debts as well as claims by Nokia & Motorola for over US$ 2 billion. The Sale is good news for Turkey's finances, credibility and its privatization efforts.

Vodafone will need to invest over US$ 1 billion in Telsim. With mobile telephony penetration at 56% in Turkey in comparison to 86% in Germany & 101% in UK, Turkey will offer Vodafone growth opportunities. The city reaction was mixed. The share price of Vodafone dropped by close to 3% following announcement of the deal and several downgrades by City Brokers, one of the largest daily movement for FTSE 100. Nevertheless, several Investment banks have expressed bullishness on the deal. What is for sure, is that the Turkish mobile market is set for a huge shakeout judging by the 7% drop in Turkcell (the no1 mobile operator in Turkey).

Vodafone beats off rivals in Turkish mobile auction
Turkcell May Struggle Following Vodafone's Turkish Acquisition

Richard Pryor, Iconoclastic Comedian, Dies at 65 (New York Times)

Italy pulls on the reins of Orascom (Milano Finanza Interactive Edition)

According to Milano Finanza, the Italian goverment, as part of the Orascom agreed takeover of Wind, can veto every decision by Orascom and its controlled companies to invest or manage operations in any countries which the Italian Government considers officially hostile to the national or international interests of Italy. This clause includes Corporate Governance of Orascom as well.

Orascom recently sold one of the GSM operators in the Congo Democratic Republic to Millicom International Cellular for 35 million dollars (a company under Luxemburg Law, quoted on NASDAQ). On 12 December, on the other hand, the company managed by Sawiris announced the sale of its 65 per cent in Libertis Telecom to a subject whose identity has not been revealed, yet, for 66 million dollars. Libertis Telecom is one of the mobile operators in the Brazzaville Congo Republic.

Singapore Temasek does not rule out P&O bid. DP World may face a bidding war for P&O. (FT)

Seems Dubai's DP World may face a potential bidding war from Temasek, the Singaporean state investment company for P&O. Temasek has been building stake in P&O, reportedly around 5%, and in a carefully worded statement to the London Stock Exchange, it has not ruled out bidding for P&O.
Under UK rules, an acquirer of a company can force minority investors (less than 10%) to sell. Temasek knows a thing or two. P&O was established under a 200 year old Royal Charter that does not adhere to UK company rules. An acquirer cannot force a minority with less than 10% to sell their shares.
Seems Temasek will be hanging around for a while.

evhead: Ten Rules for Web Startups

evhead: Ten Rules for Web Startups

Wind bonds prove exuberance remains in high-yield market (WSJ)

Investors have snapped up bonds issued by Wind on a yield of less than 10%. That is pretty punchy.
Naguib Sawiris's Weather acquired Wind for $14 billion. But Wind EBITDA at Euro 1.4 billion puts it on par with Turkcell & Mobistar and implies valuation of Euro 9.5 billion. This means that bond investors are effectively buying equity. Rather than receiving 20% + returns they are getting a fixed 10%.

Why have they accepted this? First, they presumably buy the Sawiris argument that Wind was undermanaged by its old parent Enel and that there are quick wins that will degear the company. Second, they hope Wind will be sucked into pan-European mobile consolidation at a juicy price. And lastly, they point out that Mr. Sawiris has sunk a lot of equity into Weather -- including his majority stake in Orascom, the Middle Eastern telecom group he built. Surely he would lose heavily if things went wrong.

That may sound reasonable. But Mr. Sawiris is not a seller. Far from it, he'd like to merge Wind with Orascom -- a deal that few believe offers many industrial benefits. And, as for his equity contribution, Mr. Sawiris has control of Weather, so the injection of Orascom into Weather isn't quite the commitment it seems to be. His stake would not be forfeited if anything went wrong at the Wind level.

Bond investors are taking a punt on Wind. Hopefully it's not an irrational one.