New Look hires new chair as it prepares for an IPO December 3, 2009 HIGH STREET fashion chain New Look yesterday gave the strongest signal yet that it was preparing for a stock market flotation, by hiring City veteran John Gildersleeve as chairman. It is said that Gildersleeve will pocket a substantial “golden hello” to steer the company through its widely-expected IPO. Gildersleeve has previously chaired music group EMI [...]
Peugeot is in talks with Mitsubishi December 3, 2009 PEUGEOT CITROEN, the French carmaker, said yesterday it was in talks with Japanese group Mitsubishi about a “strategic partnership”. The move would see the the pair – who have already teamed up in Russia to develop electric cars and four-wheel drives – focus on designing and manufacturing cars for first-time owners, particularly in emerging markets [...]
Seligman joins BG?Group board December 3, 2009 Oil and gas giant BG Group yesterday said Mark Seligman had been appointed as a non-executive director at the company, with immediate effect. Seligman is currently senior advisor to Credit Suisse. He is the ex-chairman of UK investment banking at Credit Suisse and a former member of the bank’s global investment banking executive board. A [...]
Esporta appoints new chief exec December 3, 2009 A retail expert is limbering up to become the new boss of health club group Esporta. Esporta said former Somerfield supermarket chief operating officer John Cleland would take over as chief executive from 14 December. Cleland, 44, has also held senior roles at DIY chain B&Q and US supermarket group Wal-Mart in the UK and [...]
AstraZeneca splashes out December 3, 2009 DRUG firm AstraZeneca has snapped up the rights to an experimental anti-depressant to boost its line-up of new medicines and lift its position in that area of the drugs market. AstraZeneca, UK’s second-largest pharmaceutical company, said it struck a $1.24bn (£749m) licence deal with US biotechnology group Targacept for its TC-5214 drug for major depressive [...]
Bidders line up as Habitat set to change hands in days December 3, 2009 HABITAT, the home furnishing chain, could be sold as early as next week with management and restructuring specialist Hilco said to be the front-running bidder. The retailer, founded in the 1960s by Sir Terence Conran, was put up for sale in October by the Kamprad family. The Kamprad family are also the rich Swedish heirs [...]
Four Dubai banks downgraded by S&P due to Nakheel exposure December 3, 2009 DUBAI’S woes deepened yesterday when four major Dubai banks were downgraded by rating agency Standard & Poor’s. National Bank of Dubai, Dubai Islamic Bank, Mashreqbank and Emirates Bank International had their credit ratings cut because of their exposure to Dubai World and its real estate subsidiary Nakheel, which last week shocked financial markets when they [...]
Comcast and GE in NBC deal December 3, 2009 US CABLE group Comcast yesterday bought a majority stake in American media group NBC Universal (NBC) from industrial giant General Electric, creating a $37bn (£22.3bn) media and entertainment giant. Comcast said it would acquire 51 per cent of NBC from GE in a joint venture, with the industry-to-finance conglomerate keeping the other 49 per cent. [...]
DOT COM SURVIVOR TURNS HAND TO HOLLYWOOD SCREENWRITING December 3, 2009 IN the wake of the credit crunch, the dotcom crash of 2001 feels like a small murmur in the history of the City. But ever wondered what happened to those guys who brought open-necked shirts, scooters and start-ups to the Square Mile? Well, one of those who rode the dotcom rollercoaster is now about to [...]
DIYboost for owner of B&Q December 3, 2009 B&Q owner Kingfisher yesterday beat City forecasts for its third quarter, boosted by a change of strategy in China and a renewed interest in home improvement. The group said that pre-tax profits rose in the 13 weeks to 31 October to £227m, compared to £176m last year, ahead of expectations. Kingfisher said that a revival [...]