Hansteen plans exit from AIM September 7, 2009 Property firm Hansteen has announced its intention to move from AIM to the Official List and transform itself into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). The company said it would hold a meeting with investors on 25 September to discuss the plans and hopes to complete its transfer to the Official List in early October, [...]
Swiss agrees UK tax treaty September 7, 2009 FINANCIAL secretary Stephen Timms yesterday signed a tax treaty with Switzerland that will give UK authorities access to more information on the activities of wealthy banking clients in the European tax haven. The deal takes Switzerland a step closer to the 12 international agreements it needs to sign to be removed from a global grey [...]
Cadbury-Hershey merger would be best September 7, 2009 EVER since I can remember, the markets have been expecting a bid for Cadbury. The names in the frame haven’t really changed for 15 years. A bid became even more likely when the firm sold off its soft drinks unit, a decision which was well-received by the markets but which I always thought was a [...]
Kraft may have to sweeten deal September 7, 2009 KRAFT’s £10.2bn approach to Cadbury may have been rejected by Todd Stitzer’s board, but it did not surprise those who have been anticipating more M&A activity since Mars’s high-profile takeover of Wrigley was announced in April last year. The deal – which saw Mars pay $23bn (£14.1bn) in cash for America’s largest chewing-gum maker – [...]
Whitbread up as Baker hire steadies ship September 7, 2009 WHITBREAD, the owner of hotel group Premier Inn and Costa Coffee, yesterday appointed former Boots chief executive Richard Baker as a non-executive director. Baker, who is also chairman of gym chain Virgin Active, succeeds Charles Gurrassa, who is stepping down after nine years at the group. Chief executive Alan Parker yesterday slammed rumours that Baker [...]
Veteran asset managers see consolidation September 7, 2009 A QUARTET of top names in the asset management industry have predicted a period of consolidation, coupled with simplification and heightened scrutiny of the financial products they offer. Martin Gilbert, who heads Aberdeen Asset Management, said he expected there to be “fewer asset managers in three years than there are today”. “Firms today can be [...]
Goldman in Eurotunnel stake September 7, 2009 CHANNEL Tunnel rail operator Eurotunnel said yesterday that US banking giant Goldman Sachs is to become its biggest shareholder, sending its shares surging by 7.8 per cent. The group said Goldman has decided to convert all of its convertible bonds, taken on when it acted as underwriter to a capital raising last year, into equities. [...]
BarCap poaches Rothschild’s Marsaglia amid growth drive September 7, 2009 BARCLAYS Capital has taken its plans to become a global investment-banking player up a gear by naming Stefano Marsaglia, the respected Rothschild banker, as chairman of its financial institutions group (FIG). In the latest in a series of high-profile hires Barclays has snapped up the Italian heavyweight, who has spent the last 17 years at [...]
Obama names union adviser to boost manufacturing in the US September 7, 2009 US President Barack Obama yesterday named Ron Bloom, former special assistant to the president of the United Steelworkers union, as his senior manufacturing adviser. Bloom, senior adviser to Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner, has been the leader of Obama’s auto industry task force since February. He will work with the National Economic Council to help boost [...]
ARE YOU IMPRESSED BY WHITBREAD’S MANAGEMENT TEAM? September 7, 2009 SAM HART CHARLES STANLEY“Whitbread’s trading update was slightly better than expected. Going forward, we expect the trading environment to gradually improve as the UK economic recovery gathers momentum.” MATTHEW GERARD INVESTEC“The decline in Premier Inn has stabilised and management is making significant progress on cost savings, which is leading us to upgrade our full year [...]