UBM dives over fears it overpaid for Advanstar October 1, 2014 COMMUNICATIONS and events group UBM will buy US trade show organiser Advanstar Communications for $972m (£599m), it announced yesterday, becoming the top events organiser by revenue in the US, but its shares fell on concern it had overpaid. UBM said it will fund the deal through a £563m rights issue, which also dampened market sentiment [...]
Ackman surpasses fundraising target with $3bn from investors October 1, 2014 PERSHING Square, the hedge fund run by activist investor Bill Ackman, yesterday smashed its fundraising target for a new listed company after raising over $3bn (£1.85bn) from more than 30 different investors. Ackman, 48, raised $2.7bn for the vehicle, Pershing Square Holdings, having originally intending to sell $2bn worth of shares. An additional private placement [...]
Carlyle and PAI join forces to snap up Schneider sensors unit October 1, 2014 SCHNEIDER Electric yesterday closed the $900m (£556m) sale of its sensors and technologies business to private equity firms the Carlyle Group and PAI Partners. Schneider told investors in April it had agreed to sell the Custom Sensors & Technologies division, which employs about 4,500 people, after entering into exclusive talks. It has now received all [...]
Big Six energy suppliers set to lose customers October 1, 2014 THE BIG six energy suppliers could face the loss of a quarter of their customers over the next six years, knocking £500m a year off their collective profits, according to a report issued yesterday. Some large companies could be driven out of the market, the research arm of Citigroup investment bank said in a report [...]
Analysts call for Blinkx to sell up after second profit warning hits October 1, 2014 VIDEO search and advertising group Blinkx should sell up to a corporate buyer and return cash to shareholders, analysts said yesterday, after the group issued another profit warning sending shares plummeting. Nearly 13 per cent of Blinkx’s value was wiped off after the firm reported its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for [...]
Apple retains smartphone sales lead ahead of iPhone 6 launch October 1, 2014 APPLE’S UK smartphone sales remained steady up to the launch of its new iPhone 6 last month, defying the historical trend of a sales slump ahead of the new devices release, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel. The iPhone 5C was the best selling smartphone in the UK during August, with 8.9 per cent share [...]
Regulator slaps £10,000 fine on Ageas for phantom phone calls October 1, 2014 OFCOM has handed a £10,000 fine to Ageas Retail for making abandoned calls to its UK customers. The watchdog found that the insurer made 148 of these calls, where consumers answer the phone to find there is no one on the line, on three separate days within a seven-week period. A spokeswoman for Ageas said the [...]
Five-in-one joy as firms scoop £3.2bn MoD deal October 1, 2014 BABCOCK, the UK engineering firm which manages naval bases at Devonport and Clyde, has been awarded a contract worth £2.6bn by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Meanwhile, BAE Systems, which manages Portsmouth Naval Base, has struck a £600m deal. Both new contracts will run until 2019. The MoD said the new arrangement, which brought five [...]
The biggest motor show in the world zooms into Paris today October 1, 2014 THE PARIS motor show is getting into gear for its launch today, with a huge line up of exhibitors keen to show off their newest car models at the world’s biggest motor show. An array of top car makers will offer public debuts for their latest cars at the show, which has an Automobile and [...]
Property trusts and merchants group clinch trio of acquisitions October 1, 2014 MCKAY Securities, LondonMetric Property and Grafton Group each added to their respective portfolios yesterday in a clutch of deals. McKay Securities, the only real estate investment trust specialising entirely in the south east and London office and industrial markets, announced the off-market freehold acquisition of The Planets in Woking for £8.75m. The property is adjacent [...]