WS Atkins in US private placement May 14, 2012 Engineering consultancy group WS Atkins is looking to raise $75m (£46.5m) in the US fixed income markets via a private placement, it said yesterday. The firm’s first foray into the US markets will see it sell seven-year notes with a coupon of 4.38 per cent. It will use funds raised to repay drawn funds and [...]
Diploma profit boosted by seals May 14, 2012 Technical products supplier Diploma said yesterday its half-yearly profit had increased 21 per cent, helped by strong performance in its seals segment in North America, especially in the aftermarket business. Pretax profit rose to £23.3m for the first half of the year from £19.3m a year earlier. Adjusted operating margins rose to 20.8 per cent [...]
Misys deal approved by Portugal May 14, 2012 Vista was yesterday given the green light by the Portuguese antitrust authorities to go ahead with its planned £1.27bn takeover deal for financial software firm Misys. The two companies last week postponed the scheme court hearing, now scheduled for 28 May, citing problems with competition clearance in Portugal. The £3.50 per share acquisition is now [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 14, 2012 Grant Thornton The professional services firm has appointed Andy Morgan as a partner in its London corporate finance team. Morgan is a technology expert and has over 17 years’ experience in mid-market mergers and acquisitions. He joins from PwC, where he led its UK technology, media and communications sector team. Mazars John McMahon has been [...]
BEST of the BROKERS May 14, 2012 LOGICA Deutsche Bank has upgraded the business and technology service company from “hold” to “buy” with an target price of 100p after stable first quarter growth and guidance that full year revenue is on track. PEARSON JP Morgan Cazenove has kept its “overweight” rating on the publisher and upped its target price from 1,440p to [...]
JP Morgan investment chief quits after losses May 14, 2012 JPMorgan Chase & Co sacrificed investment chief Ina Drew on in response to trading losses that could reach $3bn (£1bn) or more and which have tainted the reputation of the bank’s high profile chief executive Jamie Dimon. The biggest bank in the United States by assets said Drew, its New York-based chief investment officer and [...]
FTSE dented by flailing Eurozone May 14, 2012 The FTSE 100 dipped in early trading as a breakdown of coalition talks in Greece sapped investor confidence along with more general fears over global growth. Talks to form a new government in Greece looked to have failed as left wing groups refused to join pro-bailout parties. EU ministers are meeting in Brussels later today [...]
Eurozone output falling as it lurches towards recession May 14, 2012 Output at factories in the Eurozone unexpectedly fell in March, the latest in a series of disappointing numbers signalling that the bloc’s recession may not be as mild as policymakers hope. Industrial production in the 17 countries sharing the euro fell 0.3 per cent in March from February, the EU’s statistics office Eurostat said. Economists [...]
Greek election looms as left parties shun coalition May 14, 2012 Greece’s radical leftist leader spurned an invitation from the president for a final round of coalition talks on Monday, all but ensuring a new election that he is poised to win. Greece’s political landscape has been in disarray for a week since an inconclusive election left parliament divided between supporters and opponents of the 130bn [...]
Genel Energy in Kurdistan expansion May 14, 2012 Oil company Genel Energy is to buy a 23 per cent stake in the Bina Bawi exploration licence in Kurdistan for $175m to expans its presence in the region. The Bina Bawi licence lies alongside Genel’s already producing Taq Taq oilfield, whose current potential output is about 80,000 barrels a day, and is projected to [...]