Duffy in line for gaming job August 1, 2010 Simon Duffy, the man credited with saving debt-laden NTL, is the frontrunner to take the chairman’s role at the new firm being formed from the PartyGaming and Bwin merger. While no decision has been made yet, Duffy’s experience as chairman at both EMI and Orange is thought to have persuaded the boards he is the [...]
Bridgepoint to buy jeweller August 1, 2010 Private equity firm Bridgepoint is in advanced talks to buy French jeweller Histoire d’Or from Silverfleet Capital. It is also understood to be interested in rival jewellery retailer Marc Orian – owned by Qualium – with a merger between the two targets the likely result. The combined retailers would have more than 300 stores and [...]
ITV to unveil strategy shift August 1, 2010 ITV’S new management team is set to use tomorrow’s interim results presentation to unveil plans to move into pay-TV, as part of a radical new strategy to turn the broadcaster around. Advertising revenues are expected to have improved sharply on 2009, thanks to Britain’s exit from recession, the World Cup, and the continued success of [...]
Think-tank calls on coalition to scrap the BBC licence fee August 1, 2010 THE licence fee that funds the BBC should be scrapped and replaced with a voluntary subscription, a think-tank will say today. In a report entitled “Global Player or Subsidy Junkie?”, the Adam Smith Institute will argue that the BBC’s reliance on the licence fee has led to stagnation. David Graham, a former BBC producer and [...]
ITV August 1, 2010 IT will be tempting to think that ITV has turned the corner when it reports interims this week, which are expected to show advertising up 20 per cent. Recovery kings Archie Norman and Adam Crozier have only just arrived, but some of their magic appears to be rubbing off. It’s probably a coincidence. Britain has [...]
Abu Dhabi in bid for high speed rail line August 1, 2010 THE Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has agreed to join Morgan Stanley and private equity group 3i in a bid for the high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel, it is understood. State-owned ADIA, considered the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is said to be in the “very early stages” regarding its involvement in [...]
Dana to meet Korean suitors and pave way for £1.7bn deal August 1, 2010 LONDON-listed oil explorer Dana Petroleum and would-be buyer Korea National Oil Corp have agreed to meet, ending a tense stand-off between the two sides, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. Dana and KNOC are scheduled to hold a meeting this week, the source said, in what will be the first direct talks between [...]
Lion asks Rothschild to advise on £250m sale of Wagamama August 1, 2010 PRIVATE equity firm Lion Capital is understood to be re-examining an exit of Japanese noodle chain Wagamama after cancelling a flotation of the business three years ago. Rothschild, the investment bank, is advising Lion on a sale process which could value Wagamama at between £200m and £250m. Rothschild was involved in the initial public offering [...]
Sri Lanka opens port to investors August 1, 2010 Sri Lanka yesterday said it would invite outside investors into its $1.5bn (£956m) Hambantota port project, the keystone of a $6bn post-war infrastructure revitalisation drive. The invitation for external investment will coincide with the November opening of the port on Sri Lanka’s southern coast, along an ancient “Silk Road” trading route and one of the [...]
CBI’s Lambert gets Indian offer August 1, 2010 Richard Lambert, the outgoing director general of employers’ group the CBI, is set to be asked to take up a post as high commissioner of India as part of a government drive to sign up businessmen and women for diplomatic roles. Lambert, a ex-Financial Times editor and former external member of the Bank of England’s [...]