Blackstone takes heart from $600m US flotation February 15, 2010 LEVERAGED buyout house Blackstone may have been shaken by its aborted £2.2bn flotation of Travelport last week, but one ray of hope has emerged from the US. The firm managed to list longstanding portfolio company Graham Packaging on the New York Stock Exchange at a market capitalisation of $600m (£383m) on Thursday. Although Blackstone did [...]
New Look mulls trade sale or debt deal after £1.7bn IPO pulled at last minute February 15, 2010 VALUE fashion retailer New Look will consider options including a trade sale and a refinancing package after its private equity owners pushed back plans for a £1.7bn flotation on Friday. Apax, Permira and the company’s management became the latest dealmakers to pull an initial public offering (IPO) after fund managers baulked at the price. The [...]
Minoan gets solar energy licences and eyes deals February 15, 2010 AIM-LISTED resort developer Minoan has acquired two further solar energy licences from the Greek government as it tries to diversify away from its beleaguered Cavo Sidero complex. The company plans to develop a green power subsidiary. The licences will add 2.1 megawatts of capacity to two smaller licenses obtained last November, with construction expected to [...]
Domino’s delivers profit uplift February 15, 2010 Domino’s Pizza, the takeaway company, is forecast to produce a 55 per cent rise in pre-tax profits tomorrow after benefitting from consumers cutting back on restaurant meals and eating at home. Analysts expect group turnover to increase 15 per cent to £157m, with internet sales tipped to account for around a quarter of orders. Domino’s [...]
Castaway investors land £4.9m February 15, 2010 Shareholders in Castaway Television Productions, the reality studio behind worldwide hits such as “Survivor” and “Celebrity Survivor”, have shared a £4.9m dividend. Investors including Bob Geldof and Lord Alli were given the payout, which was up from the £3m distributed in 2008. Sales rose to £8.8m from £6.1m in the year to March 2009, according [...]
MySpace suffers key defection February 15, 2010 A senior software developer at MySpace, Monica Keller, has defected to deadly rival Facebook just days after the beleaguered firm’s chief executive stood down. Owen van Natta left MySpace after only nine months in the top job. The news heaps misery on the News Corp website, which is being beaten by Facebook in the bid [...]
Bharti wins $11bn bid for African unit February 15, 2010 INDIAN mobile phone company Bharti Airtel has had its $10.7bn (£6.8bn) bid for the bulk of the African business of Kuwaiti telecoms company Zain accepted, according to sources close to the deal. Bharti, led by chief executive Manoj Kohli, will now enter exclusive talks with Zain to work out the details of the deal, under [...]
A hung parliament would push sterling down February 15, 2010 The prospect of a hung parliament later this year is worrying the markets. The question is – why? The country faces a number of possible outcomes at the next election but the two most likely ones, according to the latest polling are either a clear win for the Conservative party or a dreaded hung parliament. [...]
Swiss see bank secrecy laws as part of their national identity, survey claims February 15, 2010 A MAJORITY of Swiss people remain in favour of retaining the country’s long-cherished tradition of bank secrecy despite growing international pressure for greater transparency, a poll revealed yesterday. US action against UBS has stirred domestic resentment “The Swiss are not ready to give up their banking secrecy,” Switzerland’s Matin Dimanche newspaper said as it published [...]
Opec to decide on crude output at March meeting February 15, 2010 ALL OPTIONS are open at the next meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) in March, Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil said yesterday. Energy ministers from OPEC meet in Vienna on 17 March to decide whether to change production levels. Asked if Opec would consider new cuts in output or tightening [...]