Russian rail group plans London IPO October 12, 2010 RUSSIAN transport group TransContainer is poised to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in Moscow and London, in a bid to raise as much as $500m (£317m). TransContainer, a subsidiary of the state-owned Russian Railways group, will float 35 per cent of its equity, or 4,863,170 shares. Last week, Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin signed [...]
Intel offers upbeat sales forecast for fourth quarter October 12, 2010 INTEL forecast strong fourth-quarter sales and margins as resilient demand from emerging markets and corporations offset weak consumer spending, raising hopes that the technology sector could end 2010 on a strong note. Intel’s forecast for a better-than-expected December quarter gross margin of around 67 per cent affirmed hopes that higher-end spending on servers or data [...]
BP venture to pay highest ever dividend October 12, 2010 TNK-BP HOLDING, the publicly traded part of BP’s joint venture in Russia, said yesterday it has recommended a record-high interim dividend of 124bn roubles (£2.6bn). Russia’s third-biggest oil company, which elected former BP chief executive Tony Hayward to its board last month, has recommended the payout in what several analysts said is a move to [...]
OPEC raises oil demand forecast October 12, 2010 OIL cartel OPEC said the world will need 100,000 barrels of oil a day more than previously forecast this year, thanks to a stronger than expected global economy supported by government stimuli. The group, which represents 12 oil-rich countries in the Middle East, Africa and South America, predicted that the world needs an extra 1.1m [...]
US lifts its ban on Gulf drilling early but toughens up regulation October 12, 2010 THE AMERICAN government lifted its ban on deepwater drilling yesterday, weeks ahead of its 30 November deadline. The Obama administration said drilling can resume once companies comply with new drilling rules and show they have adequate blow-out containment resources. The ban was put in place after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in April, which killed 11 [...]
Pfizer buys King to beef up portfolio October 12, 2010 PFIZER is to buy drug manufacturer King Pharmaceuticals for $3.6bn (£2.26m) to strengthen its portfolio before key patents on drugs such as its flagship cholesterol-reducer Lipitor expire next year. The world’s biggest pharmaceutical company will pay $14.25 (£8.95) per share for King from existing cash, a 40 per cent premium on King’s closing share price [...]
PR giant Brunswick tops table of M&A advisers October 12, 2010 BRUNSWICK has kept its position at the top of the global M&A league tables for public relations firms. The PR?giant advised on 131 deals worth a total of $224bn (£142bn) in the first three quarters of the year, according to data from Mergermarket. That gave it a clear lead of $82bn over its nearest rival [...]
Small-caps and mid-caps see deals return October 12, 2010 MERGER and acquisition (M&A) deals in the small and mid-cap markets saw significant positive growth during the first nine months of the year, according to Reuters data published yesterday. It said mid-cap M&A deals worth up to $500m totalled $489.9bn (£309.6bn) in the first nine months of 2010 – a 35.5 per cent increase on [...]
Partner profit rises at Magic Circle law firm October 12, 2010 Profits per equity partner (PEP) at “Magic Circle” law firm Clifford Chance rose to £933,000 last year, according to the firm’s accounts, after the firm cut more than 40 top end partners. The amount of profits divided by the number of partners soared by 25 per cent from the previous year, when PEP came to [...]
Business failures in London fall by 16 per cent, says report October 12, 2010 BUSINESS failures in London fell by 16 per cent in the third quarter of 2101 compared to a year earlier, according to a new report. The Equifax Business Failures Report found failures across the country fell by 13.4 per cent year-on-year, with the number of failures for the quarter standing at 6,646. However, this is [...]