On Dow Jones Investment Banker Today: Renewables Consolidation, Warrants

12th Jul 2010 17:39

LONDON (Dow Jones Investment Banker)--The following columns have been published exclusively on Dow Jones Investment Banker in recent days. Many Dow Jones Investment Banker columns contain spreadsheets, video, PDFs and other supporting material. To arrange access to the best of Dow Jones news and opinion on companies, sectors and deals for investment bankers, please contact [email protected]. To see more, visit: http://www.dowjones.com/banker THE GRID: Funding 'Tsunami' Could Fuel Renewables Consolidation LONDON--The wind sector is ripe for consolidation, faced as it is with logistical, physical, planning and financing headwinds, combined with supply chain constraints and project delays. For opportunistic buyers with capital to deploy, such as private equity, it's time to buy on the cheap and sell out in five years' time. Uncertainty about funding necessary capex is a likely major reason behind depressed valuations in the sector at present. Contact the columnist: [email protected] THE SIGNAL: Taking The Temperature Of The Sell-Side LONDON--Breaking the technically important 1,040 level on the S&P 500 (and then moving slightly above it), combined with macro worries, suggests that that the stock market is at one of those important junctures that will set the overall direction for the next few months. As a result, I've been dipping a toe in the water of TMT sell-side research and looking for key data points. To cut a long story short, the mood music is that tech analysts are getting increasingly worried, while media analysts remain in a positive frame of mind. Contact the columnist: [email protected] THE SIGNAL: Big Data, Big Growth, Big M&A NEW YORK--The big data problem is getting bigger. Every enterprise data center vendor, from Oracle Corp. (ORCL) to Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), sees an opportunity in solving it. So EMC Corp.'s (EMC) purchase of Greenplum Inc. won't be the last example of an IT Leviathan buying a small, innovative data warehousing and analytics firm. Aster Data Systems Inc., Vertica Systems, Netezza Corp. (NZ), and even the larger Teradata Corp. (TDC), are potential targets. The interesting question is: Who are the buyers? The database powerhouses -- Oracle, International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) are not the leading candidates. Instead, EMC's move will inspire other non-database firms to use the warehouse market as a forum to challenge the database leaders. Contact the columnist: [email protected] LANDSCAPE: Warrants Warrant A Closer Look NEW YORK--The U.S. Treasury's bailout of the financial sector has had an unintended but beneficial side effect: It has created a new, more liquid market for warrants. With demand primed by the government's auction of its TARP warrants, banks and other businesses have a new tool with which to manage their balance sheets -- and one that in some cases may offer cheaper capital. (Includes supporting graphic.) Contact the columnist: [email protected] TIER ONE: Barclays' Venture Across The Pond NEW YORK--Barclays PLC (BARC.LN) has never been coy about its ambitions to acquire a U.S. retail bank. So reports that the British bank is weighing a bid for SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) come as little surprise. Indeed, if a deal with SunTrust or another similar-sized bank were to work out, the timing for Barclays couldn't be more right. Contact the columnist: [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 12, 2010 12:39 ET (16:39 GMT)