Biz people

Appel to bide his time on sale

Deutsche Post could take its time on any decision to sell its Deutsche Postbank unit, new Post Chief Executive Frank Appel (below right) said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"It's true, we need clarity. But clarity can also mean not selling for the foreseeable future," Appel said in comments to be published in the paper's Tuesday edition.

Deutsche Post last month promised to decide soon about the future of Germany's biggest retail bank, which is an attractive takeover target for other banks, but Appel said he was in no hurry.

"I'm not under pressure to act. Postbank's business is going well and there is no reason to rush and certainly not to sell it below its value," he said, adding that he was still discussing options.

Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank have signaled they would be interested in buying Postbank, which has about 15 million customers.

Appel also said he was confident of delivering a solution to restructure Deutsche Post's loss-making DHL Express business in the United States in May as pledged. Turning the unit around and Postbank's future are seen as Appel's biggest challenges as CEO.

Dole chief may plow in cash

Dole Food Co, the world's largest fresh-fruit and vegetable producer, is selling land in Hawaii and California to avoid default on $350 million in bonds.

The asset sales may relieve pressure on 84-year-old billionaire Chairman David Murdock (right) to make an emergency cash infusion into the Westlake, California-based company, whose $350 million issue maturing in 2009, a third of the debt outstanding, has dropped 13 percent this year. Credit-default swaps suggest a 74 percent chance of default in the next five years, according to a JPMorgan Chase & Co valuation model.

Closely held Dole, founded in Hawaii in 1851, is raising cash after European banana tariffs more than doubled to 176 euros per metric ton in 2006 and shipping costs rose, eroding the company's ability to repay debt. The company, which had revenue of $7 billion last year, hasn't passed on the tariff increase to customers, focusing instead on battling Chiquita Brands International Inc to increase its 12 percent share of the European market.

"They're aggressively selling assets and they're working opportunistically to refinance their 2009 maturity," said Suzanne Trepp, an analyst with Legg Mason Inc-owned Western Asset Management Co in Pasadena, California. "We all know that in a worst-case scenario there are deep pockets involved here, too, but that's not even on the table right now."

(China Daily 04/09/2008 page16)