Tomkins July 19, 2010 INVESTORS might be giving their Canadian suitors a chilly reception, but this really is a no-brainer. The 325p bid offers a premium of 41 per cent on Tomkins’ pre-approach price, and a rich valuation of 15.8 times earnings per share in 2010. A rival is unlikely to trump this generous bid, and the cautious outlook [...]
BoA veteran Jim O’Neil set for UKFI role July 19, 2010 UKFI, the body set up to manage the taxpayer’s stakes in the banks, has welcomed Bank of America Merrill Lynch veteran Jim O’Neil as the latest in a long line of senior executives to parade through its revolving door. O’Neil, who last year advised Lloyds Banking Group on its £22.5bn recapitalisation, will be doing the [...]
FSA fines father and son duo £180,000 for insider trading July 19, 2010 A FATHER and son duo were yesterday slapped with £179,200 of insider dealing fines from the Financial Services Authority (FSA), in relation to their dealing in shares of oil and gas explorer Tower Resources. Jeremy Burley used his position as managing director of Ugandan equipment provider BMS Minerals to glean inside information on Tower Resources’ [...]
India’s HDFC Bank posts its best profit growth in more than a year July 19, 2010 HDFC Bank, India’s second-biggest private sector lender, yesterday reported its strongest profit growth in more than a year, and highlighted more gains for the booming industry on robust loan demand. HDFC Bank and its bigger rivals State Bank of India and ICICI Bank are benefiting from improving business and consumer confidence in an economy set [...]
International Power in GDF merger talks July 19, 2010 BRITISH energy firm International Power (IP) confirmed it had revived merger talks with GDF Energy yesterday, sending its share price soaring. The companies have restarted long-running talks over France’s GDF buying up new shares in IP. Previous talks collapsed in January after the firms failed to agree terms. GDF, already one of the world’s largest [...]
Pressure back on Pru as AIA gets new boss July 19, 2010 AMERICAN International Group (AIG)’s hiring of Mark Tucker to run its Asian arm piles pressure on Prudential to realise value from its Far Eastern operation, analysts argue. Mark Tucker, a former chief executive of Prudential, will take over from Mark Wilson at the head of American International Assurance (AIA) before its Hong Kong flotation in [...]
Birds Eye will pay €805m to buy Findus ? July 19, 2010 UNILEVER has agreed to sell its Italian frozen foods unit Findus to Birds Eye Iglo, which is owned by private equity group Permira, for €805m (£687.9m). The sale represents the disposal of Unilever’s last remaining frozen foods business in Europe. Unilever said in a statement that about 650 factory and head office staff at Findus, [...]
Debenhams seals new debt package July 19, 2010 DEBENHAMS has sealed a new deal to refinance its debts, signing a new £650m agreement that will cut its interest bill. The deal includes a £250m loan and a £400m revolving credit facility expiring in October 2013, with an option to extend to October 2014. It expects interest costs net of fees to fall from [...]
Co-op launches apprentice plan July 19, 2010 THE Co-operative Group yesterday launched a £21m apprenticeship scheme. Under the plans 2,000 new apprenticeships for people aged under 25 will be set up. The apprentices will be given work experience at one of the group’s companies – which include banks and supermarkets – as well as the opportunity to gain a nationally-recognised qualification. The [...]
MBL to hike its dividend 25pc July 19, 2010 MBL Group, the Aim-listed home entertainment products group, has raised its dividend by a quarter after reporting a revenue surge. Revenue jumped by 35.7 per cent to £194.9m for the year to 31 March. Earnings per share rose by 17.5 per cent to 40.3p per share. The company is proposing a 25 per cent rise [...]