JPMorgan European Industrials Morning Note: Power-Sector Volatility, Firm Bodycote Offer, Activist Stake in Air Liquide
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JPMorgan's European industrials sales team morning note (September 1) covers power-sector volatility, the Bodycote offer battle and activist interest in Air Liquide. Siemens Energy fell 5% after reports that SpaceX may develop gas-turbine blades and nozzles in-house, potentially shortening delivery timelines by up to 18 months; JPMorgan counters that this reinforces gas turbines as the best power source for AI data centers, noting poor precedents such as Alstom's GT24/GT26, and expects greater volatility in power generation and equipment as multiple US states review electricity demand and residential tariffs ahead of the midterms. On M&A, Bodycote's board recommended Veritas's 940-pence offer (932.8p cash plus 7.2p interim dividend), above prior 914p and 915p indicative bids from Veritas and CVC; with no irrevocable undertakings disclosed, CVC could still return higher. The FT reports Elliott has built a stake in Air Liquide—below 3% given no holding announcement—and has engaged the company in recent weeks. Markets traded the Strait of Hormuz escalation script overnight: S&P 500 -0.3%, industrial machinery -1.5%, airlines -2.1%, autos +4.8%; EU gas rose 5.5% to $70.2. Research snippets span China developers' August sales slowdown, Zhongsheng's downgrade to Neutral, Estun-A's RMB41 Overweight target, Tenaga's 13GW data-center visibility, plus German inflation and Turkish demand readings.