Goldman Sachs leads Diageo to stake in Cuervo April 1, 2012 GOLDMAN Sachs is working closely with Diageo as the spirits company hones in on its deal to buy equity in $3bn-plus (£1.9bn) tequila brand Jose Cuervo. Along with UBS and Credit Suisse, Goldman is expected to lead Diageo to a deal with Jose Cuervo by the early summer, possibly as soon as next month. The [...]
The law firm boss who’s not moving anywhere but up April 1, 2012 LAST weekend, Bryan Hughes found himself hanging 50ft above the ground, attached to nothing but a rope. In an effort to face his son’s fear of heights he’d taken him on the high wires at Center Parcs, but when they reached the highest point Hughes found himself feeling a growing sense of panic. “I made [...]
Facebook’s float could be the kick the markets need April 1, 2012 IT will be one of the biggest market events of the year. Yes, I’m referring to Facebook’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) – and D-Day is getting ever closer. The company filed to go public in February, and last week trading of its shares was halted on the secondary market as it tries to cement its [...]
OLYMPIC MEDIA BUZZ LONDON 2012 PARTNERS April 1, 2012 IN ASSOCIATION with Repskan.com, City A.M. is measuring the relative Olympic media buzz around the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games partners, week by week. The leaderboard, right, reflects their ranking over the past week, in this case from Wednesday 21 March to Wednesday 28 March. Samsung often receives a similar volume of online mentions [...]
Cookson mulls a demerger April 1, 2012 Industrial materials firm Cookson is considering breaking itself in two. The FTSE 250 firm has appointed Rothschild as an adviser and could separate and float its electronics business. Analysts have talked up the benefit of a demerger over the last two months but sources said the review was a routine matter. Cookson, whose products are [...]
PE-backed firms remain upbeat April 1, 2012 Despite continued economic uncertainty and difficult debt markets, private equity (PE) backed companies remain focused on growth and expect to increase both turnover and profitability in 2012. Eight out of ten expect to grow turnover and almost three quarters anticipate EBITDA growth, says PwC in a new report. To reach their growth targets, 60 per [...]
City believes big party donors should get some senior access in return for their cash April 1, 2012 IT is reasonable for major donors to political parties to expect some access to party leaders in return for their cash, according to a majority of those surveyed by City A.M./PoliticsHome.com. Fifty-three per cent of business professionals asked said that those who give over £250,000 should expect to be get “general meetings with the party [...]
Canary Wharf will be open for business during the Olympics April 1, 2012 CANARY Wharf Group yesterday stressed that it would be open for business during the Olympics, following reports the government is pushing for financial services staff to work from home in order to ease travel congestion while the Games are taking place. More than 300 Boris Bike docking stations will be available, while an extra 170-seater [...]
Low export orders hit Chinese growth April 1, 2012 FACTORY output fell again in March, survey data confirmed yesterday, increasing worries over the severity of China’s economic slowdown. Export orders declined once more, Markit’s purchasing managers’ index showed, boosting expectations of a further monetary loosening by the authorities which should stimulate economic activity. The index came in at 48.3 in March, down from 49.6 [...]
Non-execs say boards are not utilising them April 1, 2012 ALMOST half of non-executive directors feel their knowledge and experience is not being used to the full, according to a new study. Some 46 per cent of those polled in the Korn/ Ferry Whitehead Mann and KPMG survey felt under-utilised by the boards they sit on. The research, which involved 300 non-execs from FTSE 350 [...]