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Вчера 1366 членов NYSE голосовали за слияние с электронной Archipelago, владеющей Тихоокеанской фондовой биржей. Если сделка состоится (для одобрения необходимо набрать две трети голосов), появится публичная компания NYSE Group стоимостью $3,5 млрд, в которой 70% акций получат члены NYSE и 30% – акционеры Archipelago.

Первое время для акций NYSE Group будет трудным, предупреждают аналитики. С 20 апреля, когда было объявлено о сделке, акции Archipelago подорожали в три раза. По мнению экспертов, этот рост связан с ожиданиями прибыли в объединенной компании. К тому же бизнес Archipelago в этом году показывает не лучшие результаты, а часть членов NYSE намерены продать акции объединенной компании более чем на $1 млрд буквально через несколько недель после завершения сделки.

По данным Thomson Financial, трое из шести аналитиков, оценивающих акции Archipelago, присвоили им рекомендацию «держать», еще трое – «продавать». Целевая цена этих бумаг, которую дают четверо из шести, колеблется от $26 до $38, что гораздо ниже сегодняшних котировок Archipelago, переваливших за $60. Новая NYSE «столкнется с огромной конкуренцией», поясняет Ричард Репетто из Sandler O’Neill, понизивший рекомендацию с «держать» до «продавать».

Между тем с тех пор как Ричард Герр из Keefe, Bruyette & Woods в мае понизил рекомендацию по акциям Archipelago с «покупать» до «держать», они взлетели на 80%. Членство в NYSE тоже сильно подорожало: с $1,62 млн до объявления о сделке с Archipelago до сегодняшних $4 млн. Но рынок имеет собственную точку зрения. Аналитики основываются «на том, что есть сейчас, а инвесторы – на том, что будет», говорит портфельный управляющий Томас Колдуэлл, которому на NYSE принадлежит 41-е место. Он намерен остаться акционером NYSE Group в течение нескольких лет.

Эксперты также обращают внимание на крайне высокую конкуренцию в секторе, особенно со стороны NASDAQ Stock Market и региональных площадок, в которые стали много инвестировать Morgan Stanley, UBS и Fidelity Investments. Впервые за несколько десятилетий объем торгов на NYSE акциями из ее листинга упал ниже 75%. NYSE и NASDAQ стараются отобрать друг у друга как можно больше сделок с акциями из «чужого» листинга. NYSE рассчитывает, что сделка с Archipelago поможет переманить с NASDAQ небольшие компании, а NASDAQ, у которой комиссия ниже, пытается увести с NYSE крупный бизнес.

Пять крупнейших акционеров Archipelago, владеющие 60% акций, уверены, что после объединения общий объем торгов на NYSE в 2006 г. увеличится космически. Сейчас примерно 14% сделок на NYSE осуществляются через электронную систему (по сравнению с 10% в 2004 г.), но большая часть по-прежнему ведется в биржевом зале с участием живых трейдеров. Джеми Селуэй, бывший экономист Archipelago, который теперь руководит брокерской фирмой White Cap Trading, считает, что с ростом торгов через электронную систему общий объем торгов на NYSE удвоится. А некоторые инвесторы, по его словам, ожидают пятикратного роста.

Источник: WSJ, 6.12.2005, Арон Луккетти

Originally the term «securities» was used to denote security interests (such as mortgages and charges) supporting the payment of a debt or other obligation. Then, companies and government agencies began to raise capital from the public using secured debt obligations, which came to be known as «securities». As shares became more readily transferrable, their functional similarity to debt securities became clearer, and both forms of investment became known as «securities».

For the issuer:

Issuers of securities include commercial companies, government agencies, local authorities and international and supranational organisations (such as the World Bank). Repackaged securities are usually issued by a company established for the purpose of the repackaging – called a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

New capital: Commercial enterprises have traditionally used securities as a means of raising new capital. Securities are an attractive alternative to bank loans, which tend to be relatively expensive and short term. Also, the bank may seek a measure of control over the business of the borrower via financial covenants.

Repackaging: Recently, securities have been issued to repackage existing assets. In a traditional securitization, a financial institution may wish to remove assets from its balance sheet in order to achieve regulatory capital efficiencies or to accelerate its receipt of cash flow from the original assets. Alternatively, an intermediary may wish to make a profit by acquiring financial assets and repackaging them in a way which makes them more attractive to investors.

For the holder:

Investors in securities may be retail, i.e. members of the public. The greatest part in terms of volume of investment is wholesale, i.e. by financial institutions acting on their own account, or on behalf of clients. Important institutional investors include investment banks, insurance companies, pension funds and other managed funds.

The traditional function of the purchase of securities is investment, with the view to receiving income and/or achieving capital gain. Debt securities generally offer a higher rate of interest than bank deposits, and equities may offer the prospect of capital growth. Equity investment may also offer control of the business of the issuer.

The last decade has seen an enormous growth in the use of securities as collateral. Collateral arrangements are divided into two broad categories, namely security interests and outright collateral transfers.

Securities are traditionally divided into debt securities (lesson 30) and equities.

Equity:

An equity is an ordinary share in a company. The holder of an equity is a shareholder, owning a share, or fractional part of the issuer. Stock is the capital raised by a corporation, through the issuance and sale of shares. A shareholder is any person or organization which owns one or more shares of a corporation’s stock.

In British English, the word stock has another meaning in finance, referring to a bond. It can also be used more widely to refer to all kinds of marketable securities. Where a share of ownership is meant the word share is usually used in British English.

The owners of a company may want additional capital to invest in new projects. They may also simply wish to reduce their holding, freeing up capital for their own private use. By selling shares they can sell part or all of the company to many part-owners. The purchase of one share entitles the owner of that share to literally share in the ownership of the company, a fraction of the decision-making power, and potentially a fraction of the profits, which the company may issue as dividends.

In the common case, where there are thousands of shareholders, it is impractical to have all of them making the daily decisions required in the running of a company. Thus, the shareholders will use their shares as votes in the election of BoD members.

Each share constitutes one vote (except in a cooperative society where every member gets one vote regardless of the number of shares they hold). Effective control rests with the majority shareholder (or shareholders acting in concert).

Although owning 51% of shares means that you own 51% of the company, it does not give you the right to use a company’s building, equipment, or other property. This is because the company is considered a legal person and owns all its assets itself.

Owning shares does not mean responsibility for liabilities. If a company goes broke and has to default on loans, the shareholders are not liable in any way. However, all money obtained by converting assets into cash will be used to repay loans and other debts first, so that shareholders cannot receive any money unless and until creditors have been paid (most often the shareholders end up with nothing).

There are various methods of buying and financing stocks. The most common means is through a stock broker. There are many different stock brokers to choose from such as full service brokers or discount brokers. The full service brokers usually charge more per trade, but give investment advice or more personal service; the discount brokers offer little or no investment advice but charge less for trades. Another type would be a bank or credit union that may have a deal set up with a broker.

There are other ways of buying stock. One way is directly from the company itself. If at least one share is owned, most companies will allow the purchase of shares directly from the company through their investor’s relations departments. Another way to buy stock is through Direct Public Offerings which are sold by the company itself.

Selling stock is procedurally similar to buying stock. Generally, the investor wants to buy low and sell high (short selling), if not in that order although a number of reasons may induce an investor to sell at a loss. As with buying a stock, there is a transaction fee for the broker’s efforts in arranging the transfer of stock from a seller to a buyer. Importantly, on selling the stock, in jurisdictions that have them, capital gains taxes will have to be paid on the additional proceeds.

There are several types of shares, including common stock, preferred stock, treasury stock, and dual class shares. Preferred stock have priority over common stock in the distribution of dividends and assets, and sometime have enhanced voting rights such as the ability to veto M&As or the right of first refusal when new shares are issued. A dual class equity structure has several classes of shares (for example Class A, Class B, and Class C) each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Treasury stock are shares that have been bought back from the public.

Hybrid securities combine characteristics of both debt and equity securities:

– preference shares form an intermediate class of security between equities and debt. If the issuer is liquidated, they carry the right to receive interest and/or a return of capital in priority to ordinary shareholders.

– convertibles are bonds which can be converted, at the election of the bondholder, into another sort of security such as equities.

– equity warrants are contractual entitlements to purchase shares on pre-determined terms. They are often issued together with bonds or existing equities, but are detachable from them and separately tradeable.

The securities markets can be divided into the primary markets and the secondary markets. Primary markets comprise new securities sold to their first holders. The issue of new securities is commonly known as an IPO (see lesson 31).

Secondary markets often consist of stock exchanges (see lesson 28). The International Securities Market Association (ISMA) is the trade association for the banks and other investment institutions that are active in the secondary markets.

In the primary markets, securities may be offered to the public in a public offer. Alternatively, they may be offered privately to a limited number of persons in a private placement. Often a combination of the two is used. The distinction between the two is important to securities regulation and company law.

Bearer securities. Bearer securities are issued in the form of a paper instrument. On the face of the instrument is written the promise of the issuer to pay the bearer of the instrument. In the absence of computerisation, bearer securities constitute tangible assets. They are transferred by delivering the instrument from person to person. In some cases, transfer is by endorsement, or signing the back of the instrument, and delivery. Regulatory and fiscal authorities sometimes regard bearer securities negatively, as they may be used to facilitate the evasion of regulatory restrictions and tax.

Registered securities. In the case of registered securities, certificates bearing the name of the holder are issued, but these merely represent the securities. A person does not automatically acquire legal ownership by having possession of the certificate. The issuer maintains a register (usually maintained by an appointed registrar) in which details of the holder of the securities are entered and updated as appropriate. In recent years, registers have generally become computerised. Unlike bearer securities, registered securities comprise a bundle of intangible rights including the right of the shareholder to share in all the assets of a company, subject to all the liabilities of the company. A transfer of registered securities is effected by amending the register.