Global Investing Roundup

Commercial Bank of China Makes Move in South Africa; Petro-Canada Notches Profits; Nike Buys Out Umbro; PetroChina Could Test $9 Billion in IPO

• Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (IDCBF), China’s largest bank, is buying 20% of The Standard Bank Group Ltd. (SBGOF), South Africa’s largest bank, in a deal valued at $5.56 billion, the Business Report of South Africa reported. Under the terms of the deal announced Wednesday, Industrial and Commercial will buy about 11% of the stock from existing shareholders and the remaining 10% from newly issued shares. Standard Bank plans to use the cash infusion to finance expansion. The company currently has branches in 18 African nations and a presence in 21 countries outside of Africa, including Brazil, Hong Kong and Russia.
• Petro-Canada (PCZ), an integrated oil-and-gas company based in Calgary, reported that third-quarter profits rose 14%. The Canadian company cited strong contributions from its North Sea and Canadian oil sands operations as the chief reasons for the increase. Earnings from continuing operations totaled $802.5 million for the quarter, up from earnings from continuing operations of $701.1 million for the same quarter a year ago. Petro-Canada shares rose 41 cents each, or 0.75%, to close at $54.76.
• On Monday, Umbro Plc. (UMBOF), the world’s largest supplier of soccer clothing announced it had accepted a takeover offer from U.S. shoe and fitness apparel giant Nike (NKE).  Nike will pay $582.2 million, or $3.94 a share - 61.0% higher than the closing price on Wednesday.  Shares of Umbro soared 15.3%, or 52 cents, to $3.89.  Nike gained 95 cents, or 1.5%, to $64.12, indicating investor approval of the deal.  With sluggish growth in demand for its products in the United States, Nike’s acquisition of Umbro will give it firm footing in the global athletics market where soccer reigns supreme. 
• PetroChina Co. Ltd. (PTR), China’s largest oil producer, could raise as much as $8.9 billion (66.8 billion yuan) from the sale of as many as 4 billion of its Class A shares in an initial public offering (IPO) that will be priced on Tuesday. The shares will start trading Nov. 5, according to The Wall Street Journal. The indicated price range is $2 to $2.23 per share. The range is well below the price of its Class H shares traded in Hong Kong, which closed at $2.50 yesterday. The mainland China government has encouraged a number of companies to make large-scale offerings on the domestic exchanges to meet strong demand from local investors. If the shares are sold at the top end of the price range and the company sells the maximum number of shares it plans, the IPO would be the largest on the domestic exchanges to date. Last month, China Shenhua Energy raised just about $8.9 billion (66.58 billion yuan) in its A-share IPO, making it the largest mainland offering so far.