< The 2014 All-Europe Research Team
Dropping back to second place is Hannes Wittig’s team of five in London. Buy-siders nonetheless applaud the J.P. Morgan Cazenove analysts’ “unique long-term and constant view, and excellent IPO reports,” as one portfolio manager puts it. Key issues for the sector this year, says Wittig, include potential consolidation in German and Italian mobile segments, U.S. giant AT&T’s possible entry into European markets, whether cyclicality is positive and the broad impact of long-term evolution (or LTE) wireless technologies. Even so, on balance, the researchers maintain a favorable view of the sector, forecasting that “the positive overhang of a possible bid for Vodafone [Group] by AT&T,” says Wittig, as well as “accretive exit options for some players, and various consolidation scenarios for various markets, will outweigh continued operational challenges.” Favorites among the 40 companies they track are BT Group of the U.K.; Greece’s largest player, Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, commonly known as OTE; Germany’s United Internet; and Vodafone of the U.K. The team exhibits a “deep knowledge of regulatory developments at the European Union level,” another booster relates, providing “valuable insights on the different approaches within the different EU legal bodies involved in the regulatory discussions.” |