Billionaire Mike Ashley offloads a £218m stake in Sports Direct April 7, 2014 SPORTS Direct founder Mike Ashley is to sell £218m of his majority stake in the retailer in the latest twist in a series of events that saw him snap up a stake in House of Fraser just days ago. Ashley is selling up to 25m shares in Sports Direct through an accelerated bookbuilding run by [...]
JP Morgan reshuffles top execs at corporate and investment bank April 7, 2014 A NEW top team was appointed to head JP Morgan’s corporate and investment banking (CIB) arm yesterday in a major reshuffle of talent at the institution. Daniel Pinto became the sole head of the arm of the giant bank last month, when his co-head Mike Cavanagh quit the firm. Pinto sent out a memo to staff, seen by [...]
Cambian flotation heading for low end of price range: bankers April 7, 2014 CAMBIAN, the provider of specialist behavioural health services, looks like having to settle for a valuation towards the lower end of the price range in its forthcoming flotation. Market sources told City A.M. yesterday they expected the group, which has had a low-key marketing campaign, to price its new shares at a value that will [...]
Bottom Line: Mixing up a strong case for the regulators April 7, 2014 EXECUTIVES at Lafarge and Holcim must be hoping their investors buy into the idea that good things come to those who wait. Regulatory approval for deals of this size are notoriously drawn out, and yesterday’s admission that the planned merger could face scrutiny from up to 15 different antitrust authorities will have added months – [...]
Cement giants outline £25bn merger April 7, 2014 THE WORLD’S two largest cement companies yesterday confirmed their plans to merge, outlining £4bn of divestments in an attempt to assuage competition concerns. France’s Lafarge and Swiss firm Holcim unveiled a share-for-share deal, which would create a self-proclaimed “merger of equals” with sales of €32bn (£26.5bn) and core earnings of €6.5bn. Bruno Lafont, chairman and [...]
Irish pharma giant joins deal bonanza April 7, 2014 IRISH-based pharmaceutical giant Mallinckrodt joined the merger frenzy yesterday by announcing it will buy drugmaker Questcor Pharmaceuticals for around $5.6bn (£3.37bn). The US firm, which has headquarters in Dublin, was keen to gain access to Questcor’s multiple sclerosis drug, Acthar Gel, which is forecast to hit sales of $1bn this year and $1.9bn by 2018. [...]
Architects reveal Battersea Power Station designs April 7, 2014 ARCHITECTS Frank Gehry and Norman Foster unveiled their designs yesterday for the next phase of development at Battersea Power Station that will include 1,300 homes and a new high street forming the gateway to the landmark building. It will be the first building in London for the Canadian-American Gehry, whose works include the Guggenheim Museum [...]
Candy & Candy returns to profit as One Hyde Park demand rises April 7, 2014 CANDY & Candy (C&C), the management and design arm of Nick and Christian Candy’s property empire, has swung back into profit after suffering a loss last financial year. Accounts for the year ending June 2013 showed profit before tax of £326,718, compared with a £46,899 loss in 2012. The firm attributed the change to “an [...]
Developers to partner on £90m Canary Wharf residential tower April 7, 2014 RESIDENTIAL developers One Housing Group and Mount Anvil have joined forces to create 121 new homes at Dollar Bay, a new 31-storey tower in Canary Wharf. Mount Anvil said yesterday that it had bought the site from rival developer Londonewcastle on Friday via its recently formed joint venture with Ares Management. The £90m waterfront scheme [...]
Fund firms may face action over advice failings April 7, 2014 TWO FINANCE companies could face tough penalties after the City watchdog uncovered “egregious failings” in charges levied on customers for financial advice. The unnamed firms, a financial advisory and wealth manager, are likely to be referred by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to its internal enforcement division after a probe found large swathes of the [...]