Best International Company: Lloyds TSB

In the spirit of the Winter Olympics taking place in Torino, Italy, The Motley Fool is pitting companies against one another. The writers will outline why their company is the best, and our very own panel of judges will decide the winner after a period of deliberation. Today, the next gold medal is awarded for the Best International Company. Stay tuned for more!

Anyone who has been watching over the past few weeks knows that the medal ceremony isn't always a matter of striking up the American anthem. We live in a global village, and that's clearly evident as gold-medal winners trigger a variety of national tunes when they stand tall and victorious.

Our international nominees are everywhere. How many folks flew out on a Brazilian Embraer (NYSE:ERJ) jet to Italy this month to catch the games? Once there, how many are downing one of Britain's Diageo's (NYSE:DEO) potent libations to fight off the cold? How many of the events are being staged in structures fortified by Holland's Mittal Steel (NYSE:MT)? Tickets and travel aren't cheap, either. How many people are financing their trip of a lifetime through Britain's Lloyds TSB (NYSE:LYG)?

That leaves NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES). OK, so you really can't play the company's online games outside China right now. That still shouldn't detract from the fact that as many as 827,000 Chinese citizens have played the company's most popular Internet game at the same time.

In picking a winner, it was easy to be swayed by the international behemoths. Embraer offered to fly us around the world. Diageo tried to get us liquored up. Mittal reminded us that the Steelers won the Super Bowl. However, a few passport stamps later, it was Lloyd's that won our vote.

It's hard to argue against a company that has been at it since 1765. The generous 7% dividend is there to reward the patient, and we're looking at a globetrotting financial institution with a brand that matters. The company may not seem to be firing on all cylinders at the moment, but it's trading at a bargain price, and redemption will come after either a corporate turnaround or potential buyout.

Besides, the stock has been a favorite of Philip Durell since he recommended it as a value play to his Inside Value subscribers in 2004. All of our newsletter gurus are worth their weight in gold, but when it comes to international investing, Philip's got the coolest accent -- and heaviest passport -- by far.

Embraer is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick. NetEase is a Motley Fool Rule Breakers pick. Diageo is a Motley Fool Income Investor pick. Mittal Steel is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick. Take the newsletter that best fits your investing style for a 30-day free spin.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz wonders when his fine hometown of Miami will host the winter games. Never? He was afraid of that. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy . Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early