Fewer “crazy signs.” More karaoke.
That could be the future for Club Med, the French resort operator,
which said Monday that it had received a $700 million buyout offer led
by its two largest shareholders, an investment unit of the French
insurer AXA and a Chinese conglomerate called Fosun International.
The proposed deal gives a Chinese company an unusually visible role
in the acquisition and development of a prominent Western brand, which
was founded in 1950 by a Belgian water polo player and for years defined
the packaged exoticism of beach vacations for Europeans and North
Americans. Now, though, the ascent of the Chinese tourist is helping
reshape the world’s idea of the ideal getaway.
Club Méditerranée
has long been known for the blend of escapist fun and Frenchness in its
vacation formula — including the staff’s frequent performance of
synchronized, heavily gesticulated dance moves set to pop music.
With Chinese co-ownership, Club Med cannot help becoming a bit less
French. It has been hit hard by the euro crisis, during which its name
has been borrowed by economists as an epithet for the debt-ridden and
austerity-ravaged countries of Southern Europe.
Club Med is looking to emerging markets, especially China, for new customers and new resorts, which it calls villages.
Read More : http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/05/27/club-med-targeted-in-700-million-privatization/?ref=business
Tampilkan postingan dengan label spirit. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label spirit. Tampilkan semua postingan
Selasa, 28 Mei 2013
Rabu, 28 Desember 2011
How to Write an Exit Strategy for Your Business
Exit strategy is a predetermined objective which is employed by a businessman who is planning to transfer his business responsibilities to another person, for various reasons. This article will help you to know how to write an exit strategy.
Exit strategy should be planned, keeping in mind the long and short-term objectives of the company owner. It should be considered and developed right from the beginning, once you have finalized with your long-term and short-term goals. Keeping the expectations according to your business, and planning the strategy will be helpful. Before you plan the exit strategy, it is required to concentrate on strategic planning, organizational planning, and financial planning of the company. The three important questions which you must address to yourself about your business before writing the plan are: to whom, by when, and for how much.
Writing the Exit Strategy
Choose the Best Exit Strategy for your Business
Write Down the Questionnaire Document
Choosing the source of capital is very important, as it will directly influence your decision to exit. The objective of choosing your financing is not only about increasing the funds, but it also concerns the cost of both money and relationships, if you are borrowing the money from your family or friends.
Dealing with the Taxing and Other Legal Issues
Discuss the legal and tax related issues with an experienced corporate attorney and other business accounting professionals. Some of the legal and tax issues that you must discuss with your advisors are listed below:
Legal Issues
Begin the planning and the implementations, once you have set the timeline. Implement the following actions before finalizing the agreements and the complete disposal.
From:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-write-an-exit-strategy-for-your-business.html
Exit strategy should be planned, keeping in mind the long and short-term objectives of the company owner. It should be considered and developed right from the beginning, once you have finalized with your long-term and short-term goals. Keeping the expectations according to your business, and planning the strategy will be helpful. Before you plan the exit strategy, it is required to concentrate on strategic planning, organizational planning, and financial planning of the company. The three important questions which you must address to yourself about your business before writing the plan are: to whom, by when, and for how much.
Writing the Exit Strategy
Choose the Best Exit Strategy for your Business
- Selling the business to a family member.
- Selling the business to other company, which is usually larger than yours (acquisition and merger).
- Selling the business to Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), in which the stocks of the company is sold to the employees of the company itself.
- Initial Public offering (IPO) is a risky strategy in which the stocks of the company are sold to the public. The investors need to take a risk because the traders get in (buy stocks) and out (sell stocks) and may cause a financial swing.
Write Down the Questionnaire Document
- How much investable assets should I have in my account?
- What would be the tax impact on the amount that I would receive after I quit?
- What are the legal agreements that I should sign before I complete the disposal?
- Does my business have the required opportunities and value from the view of the buyer?
- How can I clear my debts, successfully?
Choosing the source of capital is very important, as it will directly influence your decision to exit. The objective of choosing your financing is not only about increasing the funds, but it also concerns the cost of both money and relationships, if you are borrowing the money from your family or friends.
Dealing with the Taxing and Other Legal Issues
Discuss the legal and tax related issues with an experienced corporate attorney and other business accounting professionals. Some of the legal and tax issues that you must discuss with your advisors are listed below:
Legal Issues
- Liability of Owners, officers and directors
- State and federal security laws
- Rights of minority owners
- Cost of transfer of ownership
- Buy-sell agreements with shareholders and partners
- Capital gains upon transfer or sale of the business
- Corporate and personal taxes
- Properties owned
- Reasonable compensation limits
- Retirement plans
- Income tax
- Capital Gains Tax (CGT) tax
Begin the planning and the implementations, once you have set the timeline. Implement the following actions before finalizing the agreements and the complete disposal.
- Train the new managers.
- Start your debt reduction program.
- Update your business plan.
- Dispose the loss-making subsidiaries and surplus machinery.
- Approach venture capital backing for MBO (Management Buyouts).
- Discuss the propositions with the concerned bank management.
- Appoint lead adviser.
- Conduct environmental audit.
- Reduce the stock levels of your company.
- Review personal financial positions.
- Undertake mock due diligence.
- Most importantly, plan the activities to get engaged after your exit from the business.
From:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-write-an-exit-strategy-for-your-business.html
Jumat, 18 November 2011
Automatic spending cuts a new threat to US economy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Just as the U.S. economy is making progress despite Europe's turmoil, here come two new threats.
Deep spending cuts are set to kick in if a congressional panel can't agree by Thanksgiving on how to shrink the budget deficit. And Congress may let emergency unemployment aid and a Social Security tax cut expire at year's end. Either outcome could slow growth and spook markets.
Analysts are concerned. Yet most aren't panicking.
Many say the economy and markets can withstand the blows. That's because Congress or the Federal Reserve could take other steps next year to blunt the automatic cuts and lift the economy. And investors expect so little from the congressional panel that they're unlikely to overreact if no deal is reached.
"There's no doomsday scenario in reducing government spending," said David Kelly of JP Morgan Funds.
The 12-member bipartisan panel, or supercommittee, was created in August to defuse a political standoff over raising the federal borrowing limit. It's supposed to find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts by Nov. 23. If it fails, federal spending would automatically be cut by that amount over nine years, starting in 2013.
The law triggers cuts in programs prized by both parties: social services such as Medicare for Democrats, defense spending for Republicans.
The panel appears to be deadlocked.
Economists say a stalemate makes it harder for Congress to extend the Social Security tax cut and unemployment benefits. On the other hand, if the supercommittee does forge a deal, it might include an extension of those benefits. Or it could at least clear the way for an extension later.
The Social Security tax cut gave most Americans an extra $1,000 to $2,000 this year. Unemployment benefits provide about $300 a week. Most of that money quickly and directly boosts consumer spending, which drives the economy.
By contrast, an expiration of those benefits could cut growth by about three-quarters of a percentage point, economists say. Throw in other cuts, like those passed in the August debt deal, and all told, federal budget policies could subtract 1.7 percentage points from growth in 2012, according to JPMorgan Chase and Moody's Analytics.
Given the tepid economy, such a hit could be damaging.
"It would be very difficult for an economy that's doing well to digest, let alone one that's barely growing at potential," said Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody's. "That could unwind a lot of the improvement we've seen so far."
The economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter. Some analysts fear it could fall below 2 percent next year, especially if the emergency unemployment benefits and Social Security tax cuts aren't renewed.
The U.S. economy faces other threats, too — from persistently high unemployment to Europe's spreading debt crisis, which could hasten a recession.
If the automatic spending cuts take effect, the defense budget could be cut by nearly $500 billion over nine years. Some contractors are nervous.
Wes Bush, CEO of Northrop Grumman, has told analysts that the company is bracing for spending cuts.
"It's certainly going to be a more challenging environment" next year, he said.
Another wild card: Some investors fear that the supercommittee's failure would spark fresh downgrades of U.S. debt. Standard & Poor's downgraded the government's long-term debt in August. That contributed to a stock market plunge. It's possible that a deadlocked supercommittee would lead the two other major rating agencies — Fitch and Moody's — to follow suit.
Yet S&P's downgrade did little to tarnish U.S. debt. Treasury prices rose, and yields fell. Bond investors still saw Treasurys as a super-safe investment. Federal borrowing costs actually declined.
"S&P showed that when a rating agency downgrades the best-known security in the world, it has little impact," Kelly said. The market for U.S. Treasurys is so broad, accessible and transparent that ratings downgrades don't pose much threat, he noted.
Kelly said Wall Street is unlikely to panic given that expectations for the supercommittee "are so low as to be subterranean."
Even so, some traders appear to be positioning for a shock. So-called "defensive" sectors of the stock market, like healthcare companies and utilities, which tend to retain their value in a weak economy, have been outpacing the S&P 500 index as a whole.
In the past month, the economy has shown surprising strength. Reports this week showed that manufacturers are producing more goods and consumers are spending more. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits for the first time is at a seven-month low.
Still, more than once since the recession officially ended more than two years ago, the economy has displayed vigor only to stumble again. High gas and food prices and Japan's earthquake sharply slowed growth in the first half of the year. Congress' debt-ceiling fight sent consumer confidence to recession levels.
Sweet thinks there's a good chance Congress will end up extending the Social Security tax cut. Partly on that assumption, Moody's foresees 2.6 percent growth next year. For this year, analysts generally estimate less than 2 percent growth.
Lawmakers could make other policy changes next year to energize the economy. The tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration, and extended in 2010, are set to expire after 2012. Republicans will push to renew them.
Some of the automatic cuts set to kick in in 2013 could be delayed or altered. That's particularly true if the White House or either chamber of Congress changes sides in 2012.
And some economists say the automatic spending cuts could actually boost confidence a bit: They would reassure the world that the U.S. government can make progress in shrinking its deficit.
Even so, the supercommittee seems likely to fall short of its goal to help reduce the federal debt load.
And there's more pressure to come.
Priya Misra, an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, estimates that Congress will need to find $2 trillion more in cuts by August 2013 to prevent another credit downgrade.
Read More:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/automatic-spending-cuts-threat-us-080312061.html
Deep spending cuts are set to kick in if a congressional panel can't agree by Thanksgiving on how to shrink the budget deficit. And Congress may let emergency unemployment aid and a Social Security tax cut expire at year's end. Either outcome could slow growth and spook markets.
Analysts are concerned. Yet most aren't panicking.
Many say the economy and markets can withstand the blows. That's because Congress or the Federal Reserve could take other steps next year to blunt the automatic cuts and lift the economy. And investors expect so little from the congressional panel that they're unlikely to overreact if no deal is reached.
"There's no doomsday scenario in reducing government spending," said David Kelly of JP Morgan Funds.
The 12-member bipartisan panel, or supercommittee, was created in August to defuse a political standoff over raising the federal borrowing limit. It's supposed to find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts by Nov. 23. If it fails, federal spending would automatically be cut by that amount over nine years, starting in 2013.
The law triggers cuts in programs prized by both parties: social services such as Medicare for Democrats, defense spending for Republicans.
The panel appears to be deadlocked.
Economists say a stalemate makes it harder for Congress to extend the Social Security tax cut and unemployment benefits. On the other hand, if the supercommittee does forge a deal, it might include an extension of those benefits. Or it could at least clear the way for an extension later.
The Social Security tax cut gave most Americans an extra $1,000 to $2,000 this year. Unemployment benefits provide about $300 a week. Most of that money quickly and directly boosts consumer spending, which drives the economy.
By contrast, an expiration of those benefits could cut growth by about three-quarters of a percentage point, economists say. Throw in other cuts, like those passed in the August debt deal, and all told, federal budget policies could subtract 1.7 percentage points from growth in 2012, according to JPMorgan Chase and Moody's Analytics.
Given the tepid economy, such a hit could be damaging.
"It would be very difficult for an economy that's doing well to digest, let alone one that's barely growing at potential," said Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody's. "That could unwind a lot of the improvement we've seen so far."
The economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter. Some analysts fear it could fall below 2 percent next year, especially if the emergency unemployment benefits and Social Security tax cuts aren't renewed.
The U.S. economy faces other threats, too — from persistently high unemployment to Europe's spreading debt crisis, which could hasten a recession.
If the automatic spending cuts take effect, the defense budget could be cut by nearly $500 billion over nine years. Some contractors are nervous.
Wes Bush, CEO of Northrop Grumman, has told analysts that the company is bracing for spending cuts.
"It's certainly going to be a more challenging environment" next year, he said.
Another wild card: Some investors fear that the supercommittee's failure would spark fresh downgrades of U.S. debt. Standard & Poor's downgraded the government's long-term debt in August. That contributed to a stock market plunge. It's possible that a deadlocked supercommittee would lead the two other major rating agencies — Fitch and Moody's — to follow suit.
Yet S&P's downgrade did little to tarnish U.S. debt. Treasury prices rose, and yields fell. Bond investors still saw Treasurys as a super-safe investment. Federal borrowing costs actually declined.
"S&P showed that when a rating agency downgrades the best-known security in the world, it has little impact," Kelly said. The market for U.S. Treasurys is so broad, accessible and transparent that ratings downgrades don't pose much threat, he noted.
Kelly said Wall Street is unlikely to panic given that expectations for the supercommittee "are so low as to be subterranean."
Even so, some traders appear to be positioning for a shock. So-called "defensive" sectors of the stock market, like healthcare companies and utilities, which tend to retain their value in a weak economy, have been outpacing the S&P 500 index as a whole.
In the past month, the economy has shown surprising strength. Reports this week showed that manufacturers are producing more goods and consumers are spending more. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits for the first time is at a seven-month low.
Still, more than once since the recession officially ended more than two years ago, the economy has displayed vigor only to stumble again. High gas and food prices and Japan's earthquake sharply slowed growth in the first half of the year. Congress' debt-ceiling fight sent consumer confidence to recession levels.
Sweet thinks there's a good chance Congress will end up extending the Social Security tax cut. Partly on that assumption, Moody's foresees 2.6 percent growth next year. For this year, analysts generally estimate less than 2 percent growth.
Lawmakers could make other policy changes next year to energize the economy. The tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration, and extended in 2010, are set to expire after 2012. Republicans will push to renew them.
Some of the automatic cuts set to kick in in 2013 could be delayed or altered. That's particularly true if the White House or either chamber of Congress changes sides in 2012.
And some economists say the automatic spending cuts could actually boost confidence a bit: They would reassure the world that the U.S. government can make progress in shrinking its deficit.
Even so, the supercommittee seems likely to fall short of its goal to help reduce the federal debt load.
And there's more pressure to come.
Priya Misra, an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, estimates that Congress will need to find $2 trillion more in cuts by August 2013 to prevent another credit downgrade.
Read More:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/automatic-spending-cuts-threat-us-080312061.html
Senin, 30 Mei 2011
We Are What Our Habits Make Us
We are what our habits make us. They are either moving us forward or holding us back.
Unfortunately, when it comes to habits, it's much easier to form bad habits than it is a good habit. This is because bad habits are usually easy to do. They take little effort. On the other hand, a good habit requires effort and self-discipline. They are much more difficult to acquire.
"All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits - practical, emotional, and intellectual - systematically organized, for our weal or woe, and bearing us irresistibly toward our destiny whatever it may be."
-Theron Dumont
Negative habits are time wasting, character eroding, and health destroying. Once developed. A bad habit is difficult to overcome. Once overcome, one must be constantly on guard against slipping back into it. Unlike bad habits, a good habit is much easier to let go. Maintaining a good habit demands constant attention.
It would be much easier to not have formed the bad habit in the first place, but unfortunately, they are often formed in youth, when one lacks the foresight to see ahead the consequences of their actions.
Good habits, once developed, are what drive a person toward success and accomplishment.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit."
- Aristotle
One thing that can help keep you adhering to your good habits is to keep your eye on the "big picture." Keep in mind that each daily task accomplished is moving you toward your goals. It takes about thirty days to form a habit. Once a good habit has been developed, a person feels uncomfortable and ill at ease if he neglects it. Instead of a burden, a new good habit becomes a comfort and a joy.
Don't be discouraged if you slip up, either by neglecting a good habit or falling back into a bad one. Just pick yourself up and get back on the right track. Admonish yourself to show more resolve but don't torture yourself and fall into a hopeless depression.
"The greatest glory is in never falling, but rising when you fall."
-Vince Lombardi
Don't let people ridicule you for persisting in your good habits. They are just trying to pull you down to their level. You will soon leave them in the dust. People who exercise regularly or try to eat healthy are often derided as being fanatics. Those that criticize are just feeling guilty because they lack the resolve to do what you are doing.
Sit down and think for a moment about what habits you may have. What are your good habits? What habits are hindering you? People of character are the ones who have built good habits into their lives and have eliminated the bad ones. It is your life and your responsibility to govern yourself. You are the master of your ship.
Unfortunately, when it comes to habits, it's much easier to form bad habits than it is a good habit. This is because bad habits are usually easy to do. They take little effort. On the other hand, a good habit requires effort and self-discipline. They are much more difficult to acquire.
"All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits - practical, emotional, and intellectual - systematically organized, for our weal or woe, and bearing us irresistibly toward our destiny whatever it may be."
-Theron Dumont
Negative habits are time wasting, character eroding, and health destroying. Once developed. A bad habit is difficult to overcome. Once overcome, one must be constantly on guard against slipping back into it. Unlike bad habits, a good habit is much easier to let go. Maintaining a good habit demands constant attention.
It would be much easier to not have formed the bad habit in the first place, but unfortunately, they are often formed in youth, when one lacks the foresight to see ahead the consequences of their actions.
Good habits, once developed, are what drive a person toward success and accomplishment.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit."
- Aristotle
One thing that can help keep you adhering to your good habits is to keep your eye on the "big picture." Keep in mind that each daily task accomplished is moving you toward your goals. It takes about thirty days to form a habit. Once a good habit has been developed, a person feels uncomfortable and ill at ease if he neglects it. Instead of a burden, a new good habit becomes a comfort and a joy.
Don't be discouraged if you slip up, either by neglecting a good habit or falling back into a bad one. Just pick yourself up and get back on the right track. Admonish yourself to show more resolve but don't torture yourself and fall into a hopeless depression.
"The greatest glory is in never falling, but rising when you fall."
-Vince Lombardi
Don't let people ridicule you for persisting in your good habits. They are just trying to pull you down to their level. You will soon leave them in the dust. People who exercise regularly or try to eat healthy are often derided as being fanatics. Those that criticize are just feeling guilty because they lack the resolve to do what you are doing.
Sit down and think for a moment about what habits you may have. What are your good habits? What habits are hindering you? People of character are the ones who have built good habits into their lives and have eliminated the bad ones. It is your life and your responsibility to govern yourself. You are the master of your ship.
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