Insider dealing case begins over Novartis buyout April 19, 2010 A FINANCE director and two lawyers appeared in court yesterday charged with eight counts of insider dealing during the £305m takeover of a biotech firm NeuTec Pharma by Swiss giant drugmaker Novartis in 2006. Andrew King, 62, is charged with disclosing inside information about the takeover of NeuTec Pharma, which he was party to as [...]
MIRAMAX: BACK TO THE FUTURE April 19, 2010 HARVEY and Bob Weinstein have moved a step closer to regaining control of Miramax, the film studio they sold to Disney 17 years ago. They are preparing to launch an audacious $660m (£392m) bid for the studio that produced classic movies such as Pulp Fiction, staring Uma Thurman (pictured), and Shakespeare in Love.
Balfour Beatty wins contract April 19, 2010 Contractor Balfour Beatty was named as Ealing Council’s preferred bidder for its £300m public-private partnership school building project yesterday. The contract win, Balfour Beatty’s fourth this month, will see the firm deliver upgrades and extensions to 14 of the borough’s schools, along with the construction of a new site in North Greenford. IT specialist RM [...]
Jarvis grows clients by 44pc April 19, 2010 Shares in Jarvis Securities, the stockbroker, soared yesterday after the company said it grew its active client numbers by 44 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter. Trading volumes were up 71 per cent, while total assets under administration were up 22 per cent. Chief executive Andrew Grant predicted growth in interest income from Jarvis’ [...]
Amec scoops gas support role April 19, 2010 Amec, the engineering project management group, sealed a three-year extension to its work on the Shell Onegas Southern North Sea field. Amec and its joint venture partners, Jacobs Engineering and Stork?Industry Services were handed the deal, worth €200m (£176m) per year, by Shell Exploration and Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij.
NAB’s £8.5bn bid is vetoed by watchdog April 19, 2010 Australia’s competition watchdog blocked National Australia Bank’s (NAB) A$13.3bn (£8.5bn) bid for AXA Asia Pacific, putting the agreed deal in limbo and allowing rival bidder AMP to make a comeback. AXA Asia Pacific, owned 54 per cent by French insurer AXA, is Australia’s sixth-largest wealth manager and a hot takeover target in a £650bn market [...]
Philips sees the light as quarterly profits rebound April 19, 2010 GLOBAL electronics giant Philips has reported a pre-tax profit of €320m (£283m) for the first three months of the year. The company’s performance in the first quarter compared with big losses in 2009. Sales of its lighting products – which jumped by 18 per cent – helped to boost the latest figures, the firm said. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 19, 2010 NOVAE Execution Noble has maintained a “buy” recommendation for insurance company Novae following its recently announced initiatives to improve the group’s return on equity. It expects Novae to emerge as a stronger player in the sector over the next 12-18 months. The group has had no material exposure to the Chilean earthquake. CAPITAL & REGIONAL [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 19, 2010 Bluefin Corporate Consulting The consulting firm, part of Bluefin Advisory Services, which is owned by Axa UK, has appointed Sean Glasgow as its new head of investments. Glasgow previously worked in a variety of roles both in the UK and internationally. He has held senior positions at soft drinks giant Coca-Cola and in the investment [...]
The UK’s software king sees a soft recovery for the economy in 2010 April 19, 2010 After 16 years as chief executive of Britain’s IT giant Sage, Paul Walker says it is time to move on to one last hurrah. Earlier this week, the 52-year-old boss of the Newcastle-based firm said he would leave the business he first joined in 1984 when a successor can be found at some point over [...]