Pret a Manger float? No IPO appetite from owners Bridgepoint August 9, 2015 Bridgepoint, the private equity owner of Pret a Manger, has poured cold water on a report that it could potentially float the lunchtime favourite of City workers. The sandwich chain already has interest from potential bidders, Reuters reports, and is considering a market listing for 2016, maybe in the US, citing unnamed sources. A Bridgepoint [...]
Here’s what we can learn from the 10 biggest deals in pharmaceutical history August 7, 2015 The pharmaceutical world is abuzz about a major deal struck between AbbVie and small biotech company Pharmacyclics last night. The US pharma giant bought Pharmacyclics for a massive $21bn (£13.8bn), after fending off fierce competition from the likes of Johnson & Johnson. Why? To get its hands on the firm's super-successful cancer drug Imbuvrica, whose [...]
The rise of the posh burger: How London has fallen for Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Byron, Honest Burger, Five Guys and Shake Shack August 7, 2015 We’ve all seen them: on busy streets and in trendy back alleys, London has been invaded by posh burger joints. When did this invasion start? And who are the main protagonists? We’ve chosen five players in the influx and charted their progress in the capital. Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK), Byron, Five Guys and Shake Shack. [...]
Deal bonanza as global mergers and acquisitions hit post-downturn high August 7, 2015 For deal junkies, it's hardly surprising – but now new figures have proved that the summer lull failed to materialise in July, with global M&A volume hitting $549.7bn, the highest figure since the global financial crisis. The figures, by Dealogic, showed deals peaked at $559.2bn – but that was in April 2007, shortly before the [...]
William Hill share price dives as it takes a punt on lottery software maker NeoGames August 7, 2015 Shares in bookies William Hill fell almost 5.5 per cent to 388.3p this morning, after it revealed it had taken a gamble on online lottery software maker NeoGames, spending $25m (£16m) on a 29.4 per cent stake. Luxembourg-based NeoGames is a "pioneer of online scratch cards", William Hill said, but has moved into online lotteries. [...]
Zynga increases revenue despite losing more gamers August 6, 2015 Zynga's revenue rose in the second quarter of 2015 as net losses narrowed despite a fall in users. The figures The gaming company’s net loss narrowed to $26.9m, or $0.03 per share, 57 per cent down from a year earlier when it stood at $62.5m. This also improves upon the $0.07 loss per share a [...]
Twitter share price swoops lower and edges closer towards IPO price August 6, 2015 Twitter shares have closed 3.27 per cent down at $27.55 after having fallen more than four per cent, touching a new record intraday low of $27.29 per share in Thursday trading, hot on the heels of record low close of $28.48 per share yesterday. The social network's share price is edging ever closer towards its [...]
Quindell share price plummets by a third on its first day of trading since June August 6, 2015 The share price of troubled insurance claims processor Quindell fell almost 40 per cent to 79p this morning as trading in the company's shares resumed for the first time since it suspended them in June. The news came the day after the the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) launched an investigation into the company, following a [...]
Pfizer and Flynn Pharma accused of overcharging for anti-epilepsy drug by the Competition and Markets Authority August 6, 2015 Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Flynn Pharma have been accused by the Competition and Markets Authority of “charging excessive and unfair prices in the UK,” including to the NHS. The British market regulator said in a statement that the firms have ramped up prices by up to 27 times in the UK for phenytoin sodium capsules, [...]
Freesat unveils 200 pc boost to Freetime customers August 6, 2015 Subscription-free satellite TV service Freesat boosted subscribers to its Freetime TV service by 200 per cent in the first half of this year, it said this morning The figures In results posted this morning the company said sales of its Freetime service grew 48 per cent year-on-year in the first six months of the year, with [...]