Saudi Stock Exchange opens to foreign investment: Meet the biggest companies you’ve never heard of June 15, 2015 Saudi Arabia’s largest natural resource is oil. Yet there is one deep, very different well that remains still untapped: direct foreign investment in the Tadawul, better known as the Saudi Stock Exchange. With a market capitalisation of more than $560bn (£360bn) it is the final major capital market not yet open to direct foreign investment. [...]
Digital money transfer firm Azimo raises $20m to push its expansion June 15, 2015 Digital money transfer service Azimo has raised $20m (£12.8m) to accelerate its expansion. The latest funding round was led by Frog Capital – backer of local tradesman comparison site RatedPeople.com, as well as MCI Investments and existing investors, including e.ventures and Greycroft Partners. The London-based tech firm, set up three years ago, allows customers to [...]
Aberdeen Asset Management in new fundraising June 15, 2015 Aberdeen Asset Management has raised £100m from one of its largest investors to strengthen its balance sheet and to seed new fund launches. The shares will be issued to Japan’s, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB) which has a stake of 17 per cent in the fund manager. The preference shares will count towards [...]
Canadian fund Omers make $1.7bn swoop on UK consultancy Environmental Resources Management June 15, 2015 Charterhouse yesterday sold its stake in the world’s biggest environmental consultancy to Canadian mega fund Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (Omers) in a deal worth $1.7bn (£1.1bn). Omers’ private equity arm (OPE) will buy Charterhouse’s 55 per cent investment in Environmental Resources Management (ERM), which is headquartered in London with 162 other offices around the [...]
Apax Global Alpha share price rises after IPO as parent floats new listed vehicle on London market June 15, 2015 Shares in Apax’s new £585m listed fund Apax Global Alpha rose nearly five per cent as trading kicked off in the stock on the London stock exchange yesterday. The private equity firm raised £218.2m from investors last week to float the fund on London’s main market. The vehicle is comprised of investments made by Apax [...]
River and Mercantile gets £700m Royal Mail Pension Plan contract June 15, 2015 River and Mercantile yesterday announced it will manage the £700m options mandate for the Royal Mail Pension Plan. The advisory and investment business was appointed in April by the FTSE 100-listed Royal Mail and the structure of the mandate was designed and executed last month. “The derivatives team at R&M has a track record of [...]
Au revoir to Verona and Kuala Lumpur as Air France scraps flights June 15, 2015 Air France is chopping three European routes as part of £58m worth of cost-cutting measures in an attempt to restructure the flag carrier. The airline, part of Air France-KLM and the SkyTeam alliance, said it was cutting flights to the loss-making destinations of Stravanger in Norway, Verona in Italy and Vigo in Spain from September [...]
Airbus and Boeing deals cleared for takeoff at Paris air show June 15, 2015 Aerospace giants Airbus and Boeing opened the Paris air show with a flurry of multi-billion-dollar plane deals yesterday, as hungry Asian and Middle Eastern carriers put in orders faster than the rivals can make them. Airbus said Garuda Indonesia had signed a letter of intent to buy 30 A350 XWB jets, worth $9bn (£5.8bn) at [...]
Aviva to cut hundreds of jobs in Manchester area as part of cost-cutting plan June 15, 2015 Aviva will cut hundreds of jobs in the Manchester area over the next 18 months as it closes offices in Stretford and Salford. Following the £5.6bn takeover of rival Friends Life, the insurer has embarked on a cost-cutting plan to deliver £225m in savings to its business by the end of 2017. On top of [...]
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi tells European Parliament ball lies “squarely” in Greece’s court June 15, 2015 European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said today that the ball lies in Greece's court, during a testimony before the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, after talks stalled last night. "While all actors will now need to go the extra mile, the ball lies squarely in the camp of the Greek government to take [...]