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solarhydrocan

(551 posts) Fri Feb 7, 2014, 09:38 AM Feb 2014

Guardian: (UK) Royal Mail privatised for up to £1.5bn less than City estimates of its value

Royal Mail privatised for up to £1.5bn less than City estimates of its value
Sean Farrell theguardian.com, Friday 7 February 2014

Estimates of value ranged from £4bn to £4.8bn ahead of government selloff for £3.3bn, business department reveals

Royal Mail shares were trading at 78% above their
flotation price on Friday. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA

The furore over the sale of Royal Mail erupted again on Friday after it was revealed that investment banks have estimated the company's value at up to £1.5bn more than its privatisation price.

Figures released by the business department showed that of 21 City advisers that supplied early valuations in May, the average ranged from £4bn at the low end to £4.8bn at the top of the range. The government sold 60% of its stake in October in a privatisation that valued Royal Mail at £3.3bn...snip

...Umunna said: "David Cameron has serious questions to answer about why his government sold off Royal Mail on the cheap. We now know that the vast majority of banks that provided valuations to the government expected the company to be worth more than the Government sold it for....

The investment banks that advised on the sale, Goldman Sachs and UBS, told MPs on the business select committee in October that the flotation took place when financial markets were jittery and with the threat of a nationwide strike looming over Royal Mail.

more: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/feb/07/royal-mail-privatised-city-estimates-value

From the comments

MissAnneThrop wrote:

A nice little earner for Goldman Sachs.

They undervalued it by around £1.5 billion. They received 4.5 million shares, then sold the shares at the top of the market (that is, £5.87 compared to the £3.30 they bought them at). Result? Around £25m.

Nice one, Vince. That's got to be worth a top non-exec directorship when your voted out next year.
http://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/31674762

People like John Perkins have told us all how it works

Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign "aid" organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources. Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man

John Perkins - Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth about Global Corruption

Goldman Sachs and UBS are "Too big to fail" Will they be "advising" the US on the sale of the USPS? Maybe Dianne Finesteins husband knows

Claim: The husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein chairs a company that brokers sales of USPS facilities.

TRUE http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/blum.asp

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