British Land issues £350m convertible bond to fund One Sheldon Square Paddington and Surrey Quays acquisitions June 2, 2015 British Land, one of the UK's biggest developers, has launched a £350m convertible bond. The senior, unsecured convertible bonds, due in 2020, will be used to fund its acquisition of two central London properties and future spending. The developer splashed £210m on increasing its ownership of One Sheldon Square in Paddington in April, and bought [...]
Playtech makes £460m bid for Plus500: Boss Mor Weizer calls deal “immediately revenue enhancing” June 1, 2015 Playtech has announced that it is in the process of buying Plus500, in a deal worth nearly £460m. The online gaming firm said that it would pay 400p a share for the Israel-based and London-listed trading platform. The deal is expected to be concluded by the end of September. Plus500 has previously been [...]
Online marketplace Notonthehighstreet appoints retail veteran Darren Shapland as its chairman June 1, 2015 Online platform for independent retailers notonthehighstreet.com has appointed Darren Shapland as its new chairman. Shapland currently serves as the chairman of the retail businesses Poundland, Topps Tiles and Maplin Electronics. He is also a non-executive director at Ladbrokes and Wolseley, chairing the audit committee. The experienced retailer has also previously worked with other major firms. [...]
Jamie Oliver looking for a pukka pay day as restaurants go to tender June 1, 2015 British private equity firm 3i has been named as one of several prospective bidders being courted to buy a significant stake in Jamie Oliver’s burgeoning restaurant empire. 3i, which counts itself among some of the UK’s oldest private equity firm’s, has previously invested in restaurant chain Giraffe, which it subsequently sold to Tesco. Bids for [...]
Ultra Electronics Holdings enhances war capabilities in $265m Kratos Defence bid June 1, 2015 UK defence firm Ultra Electronics Holdings announced it had agreed to acquire the electronic products division (EPD) of Kratos Defence and Security Solutions yesterday for up to $265m (£174m). Ultra Electronics said the acquisition will strengthen its position in the growing market of electronic warfare and provide long-term contracts to boost its order book visibility. [...]
SVG Capital puts Hugo Boss back on the sales rack but keeps focus June 1, 2015 SVG Capital netted £287m over the last three months as the private equity firm completed its divestiture of Hugo Boss shares it emerged yesterday. In addition, the firm said it had partially sold down its stake in Arysta LifeScience and expected to make at least one new investment commitment and further co-investments this year. The [...]
British American Tobacco in €550m Croatian deal to buy TDR from Adris Grupa June 1, 2015 British American Tobacco (BAT) is set to extend its reach into the Balkans after the cigarette giant agreed to purchase TDR from Croatia’s Adris Grupa yesterday for €550m (£394m). BAT, which last year had a global market share of 12 per cent in tobacco products, said it will benefit from TDR’s strong brand presence in [...]
Tritax Big Box sets its sights on Tesco real estate with £47m bid June 1, 2015 Real estate management firm Tritax Big Box confirmed it will acquire Tesco’s regional distribution centre at Capitol Park in Goole for £47m yesterday. The deal, which has been funded through equity proceeds, will see Tritax take over the site which has a 17.5 year unexpired lease and is expected to yield a 5.67 per cent [...]
Optimal Payments gets go ahead for €1bn Skrill takeover June 1, 2015 Optimal Payments came a step closer to its reverse takeover of Skrill yesterday after the firm said it had met several of the conditions necessary for the deal. The announcement is the latest sign of progress since Optimal stated its intention to conduct the reverse takeover, worth €1.1bn (£791m), in March. The deal will see [...]
Corruption crackdown adds to Macau woe as gambling slumps June 1, 2015 The ongoing slump afflicting Macau’s gaming industry shows no sign of abating after figures released yesterday revealed a 37 per cent plunge in year-on-year revenues for May. The decline represents the twelfth consecutive month of year-on-year falls after Macau’s Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau said revenues for the period fell to $2.6bn (£1.7bn). Macau, which [...]