2024-08-09 11:07

Woodside was sole bidder, no investors for Driftwood project Australian energy firm provided bridge loan with offer HOUSTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) , opens new tab which agreed last month to buy Tellurian (TELL.A) , opens new tab, the developer of a fully-permitted U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, for $1.2 billion including debt is unlikely to face a rival bid, people close the deal said. While taking over the troubled Driftwood project would help Woodside's ambition to become one of the world's largest independent LNG producers, the Australian company had no competition, the people said, despite Tellurian's eight-year-long effort to recruit investors to the project that it had claimed to have invested $1.5 billion. Woodside's offer came with a bridging loan of up to $230 million that allows construction of the 27.6 million metric ton per annum facility in Louisiana to proceed. A Tellurian spokesperson said the LNG developer has not yet scheduled a shareholder vote on the Woodside deal, which is not expected to close until late this year. Its board has endorsed the deal, agreed to not solicit other offers, and to pay a $36 million termination fee in the event a higher bid upends the current offer. The transaction includes the $900 million cash purchase of outstanding Tellurian common stock at $1 per share, which Woodside said represented more than a 75% premium to Tellurian's last closing price before the deal. Tellurian's second largest shareholder, Chatterjee Management Company, which owns 5.3% of Tellurian, is not happy with the sale price, but expects to support the Woodside deal barring a better offer. "If there is a better offer for the company, they can and will show up, before the deal is presented to the shareholders," said Chairman Purnendu Chatterjee. Chaterjee Management bought most of its shares in Tellurian between Dec. 13 and Dec. 22 when the stock traded between 65 and 84 cents per share. Hedge fund Magnetar Capital Partners this week disclosed it had bought 46.1 million shares of Tellurian in Julyat weighted average prices between 91 cents and 94 cents apiece. The company, which holds a 5.16% stake in Tellurian, did not comment on the purchases. But in a securities filing, it described the stock purchases in the days after Woodside's bid as designed to profit from the spread between the share price and Woodside's $1 share offer. Tellurian shares last traded at under 91 cents on Thursday. Former Tellurian Chairman Charif Souki this year had floated putting together an offer for the company after his departure at the end of 2023. None has materialized and he did not reply to requests for comment through his attorney or the company. Prior to Woodside's offer, there was no serious interest expressed in an equity investment in the Driftwood project or Tellurian, two people familiar with the process told Reuters. "We could not get anyone to commit to take volumes out of Driftwood. The closest we got was the Heads of Agreement( HOA) with Aethon Energy, one of the people told Reuters. Aethon is a natural gas producer that acquired Tellurian drilling assets. "If they could have gotten a few commercial arrangements it would have convinced people the project could be built," the person said. Tellurian had reduced its liquefaction fees to closer to the market's average $2.25 per million British thermal unit processing fee, but potential customers wanted even lower fees, the source said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/woodsides-bid-lng-developer-tellurian-unlikely-be-rivaled-sources-say-2024-08-09/

2024-08-09 11:02

PARIS, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Wine output in France, the world largest producer, is set to fall sharply this year after very humid weather helped develop diseases across French vineyards this year, and some regions were hit by hail and frosts, the farm ministry said on Friday. Overall wine output is projected to be between 40 million and 43 million hectolitres, below the five-year average of 44.2 million and well under the 2023 output of 47.9 million, the ministry said in a preliminary estimate. Wine, along with spirits, is one of France's biggest export earners. The sector is facing declining domestic consumption, which has hit some production areas such as Bordeaux, contributing to recent protests by farmers. It is unclear how the fall in output would affect the overall price of wine. Big chateaux usually tend to lift the price of their scarce vintages but France has been suffering from strong competition on world markets. In Champagne, producers mix several vintages in their bottles but this would not necessarily prevent them from raising prices. The French farm ministry said mildew, helped by the humid conditions of early summer, hit most wine-growing areas and could cause significant losses. In addition, many vineyards experienced a fall in flowers, leafs and young berries, a consequence of humid and cool conditions during flowering, it said. However, wet soils after months of rainfall could limit the drop in production, the ministry said, with vegetation one to two weeks behind last year. The ministry did not give detailed regional estimates but said that in Champagne, for example, production was expected to be lower than in 2023 after spring frosts and hail impacted potential. In the Bordeaux region, a cut in area of around 8,000 hectares (19,768 acres), following the uprooting of vines aimed at stopping excessive output, and potential losses due to coulure, mildew and hailstorms are set to lead to a further reduction in output after a drop in 2023. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/french-2024-wine-production-seen-falling-after-wet-weather-2024-08-09/

2024-08-09 10:58

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Malaysia has started anti-dumping duty investigations on imports of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, originating or exported from China and Indonesia, its trade ministry said on Friday. The investigation was initiated following a petition by a domestic producer received by the government on July 10, the ministry said in a statement. The petitioner had alleged that PET imports from China and Indonesia were sold at a price much lower than their domestic selling price in the originating countries, the ministry said. The complaint also alleged that dumped imports from China and Indonesia have increased in terms of absolute quantity, causing the petitioner material injury. A preliminary finding will be made within 120 days from the start of the probe, the ministry said, without specifying when it began. "If the preliminary determination is affirmative, the government will impose a provisional anti-dumping duty at the rate that is necessary to prevent further injury to the domestic industry," the ministry said. Separately, the ministry also announced an administrative review into anti-dumping duties on imports of stranded steel wires for pre-stressing concrete originating or exported from China. Malaysia had imposed anti-dumping duties on the goods ranging between 2.09% and 21.72%, effective for five years from December 2021 following an earlier probe. On Friday, it said it had received a request for a review from a domestic producer on the grounds that the dumping margin of the imported merchandise had changed substantially, pursuant to local anti-dumping regulations. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/malaysia-opens-anti-dumping-duty-probe-plastic-imports-china-indonesia-2024-08-09/

2024-08-09 10:57

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Malaysia has started an administrative review of anti-dumping duties on imports of stranded steel wires for pre-stressing concrete that were exported from or originated from China, the trade ministry said on Friday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/malaysia-opens-review-anti-dumping-duty-steel-imports-china-2024-08-09/

2024-08-09 10:52

Aug 9 (Reuters) - Insurers and reinsurers' losses from Hurricane Debby are expected to be in the low single-digit billions of dollars, a figure that would be "very manageable" for the industry, according to a report from Gallagher Re. Wind and water-related losses could cost insurers between $1 billion and $2 billion. Fewer active insurance policies were partly why the losses would be so low, the reinsurance broker's report said. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The findings could reassure those worried about the hit to the industry which has been liable for billions of dollars in claims due to weather-related disasters over the past few years. Increasingly frequent storms and wildfires have also prompted some players to retreat from geographies prone to extreme weather events. CONTEXT Debby made landfall on Thursday for a second time this week, in South Carolina, days after slamming into Florida as a Category 1 hurricane. It has left at least seven people dead. It was downgraded to a tropical depression on Thursday. Gallagher warned its estimates for the insured losses were preliminary and subject to change. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/insurance-losses-hurricane-debby-be-very-manageable-says-gallagher-re-2024-08-09/

2024-08-09 10:41

Aug 9 (Reuters) - The British pound steadied against the dollar on Friday but was set for its fourth consecutive week of declines, as investors weighed the prospect of more interest rate cuts from the Bank of England (BoE) amid concerns about slowing global growth. Sterling was flat against the dollar at $1.2754. It fell to a more than five-week low of $1.2666 on Thursday but closed up 0.5% as the dollar side of the currency pair came under more pressure. The pound's recent fall has been triggered by volatile trading across global markets after soft U.S. jobs data last week raised fears of an economic downturn and bigger interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The currency was already near a one-month low last week when the BoE cut rates for the first time since 2020 in a 5-4 vote that took borrowing costs down to 5%. Money markets show traders are pricing in further rate cuts of 42 basis points (bps) from the BoE by the end of this year, compared to 46 bps a week ago and 56 bps priced in at the peak of the market turmoil on Monday. Traders currently expect rate cuts of 103 bps from the Federal Reserve by the end of 2024. Against the euro, sterling firmed for a third consecutive session to 85.59 pence. Euro/sterling touched a more than three month high of 86.25 pence at one point on Thursday. "The huge gains of late July and early August mean that this is not surprising, but overall the new bullish view remains in place," noted Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG. "If the price holds the 200-day (simple moving average) then a rebound towards £0.86 may develop. A close back below 85 pence in coming weeks might signal that a lower high has been created." The 200-day SMA is currently around 85.566 for euro/sterling. Against the yen, the biggest mover in currency markets in recent weeks, the pound held steady at 187.83 yen, rebounding from its weakest level since January hit on Monday at 180.05 yen. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-track-fourth-week-decline-versus-dollar-2024-08-09/