Peacocks sale is called off November 5, 2010 The owners of Peacocks, the discount fashion retailer, have called off talks to sell the company after prospective buyers opted against stumping up the £500m price tag, according to Sky News. Bain Capital and Blackstone, the two remaining bidders for the company, have decided not to make formal offers after indicating that they were not [...]
News Corp is facing long Sky bid delay November 5, 2010 RUPERT Murdoch was yesterday assessing how much damage a probe into his proposed bid to bring BSkyB back under the News Corp umbrella could cause. Business secretary Vince Cable stepped in to order a preliminary investigation into the bid by media watchdog Ofcom, with a full EU probe also on the cards. At the very [...]
HOW BIG IS RUPERT’S HEADACHE? November 5, 2010 Q.SO WHO IS INVESTIGATING THE NEWS CORP BID? A.Business secretary Vince Cable has asked communications watchdog Ofcom to prepare a report for him. Cable will then decide whether an investigation by the Competition Commission should be launched. The European Competition Commission will also decide whether it will launch a separate investigation after being notified of [...]
SAV Credit and Blackstone team prepare to up offer for Egg bank November 2, 2010 SAV Credit, the owner of the Marbles and Aqua credit card businesses, has teamed up with private equity group Blackstone to prepare an offer for internet bank Egg. SAV and Blackstone are expected to make a joint offer to current owner Citigroup later this month, according to a report by Sky News. Citi’s auction to [...]
BP’s Hayward in line for Temasek role October 28, 2010 TONY Hayward, the former chief executive of BP who stepped down at the beginning of this month, is believed to have been approached to take a role at Temasek Holdings, the Singaporean state investment fund. Hayward has been holding talks with Temasek about a possible appointment to its international advisory panel. Last month Hayward spoke [...]
Don’t take the Little Pea out of Man United October 28, 2010 MANCHESTER UNITED vs TOTTENHAM TOMORROW, 5.30PM, ESPN JAVIER HERNANDEZ’S late goal against Stoke could be the first of many turning points in the Premier League this season. His first half back header was an unbelievable piece of skill, but the three points were all that mattered for Sir Alex Ferguson and they now have Chelsea [...]
Mail.ru eyes $878m IPO October 27, 2010 FACEBOOK investor, Mail.Ru Group’s initial public offering (IPO) is up to two times oversubscribed with nearly two weeks left before pricing, financial market sources said yesterday. Fund managers said the organisers put total bids as of Tuesday night at $1.1bn. Mail.ru was looking to raise up to $876m in the sale of 16 per cent [...]
Sir Fred’s sidekick returns October 25, 2010 A FORMER Royal Bank of Scotland executive who agreed never to work in the City following an FSA probe is to become a senior adviser to a small investment bank, it emerged last night. Johnny Cameron, who sat on the board of RBS alongside Sir Fred Goodwin at the time of the bank’s bail-out, struck [...]
Puma forced into writedowns after fraud claims at Greek joint venture October 25, 2010 GERMAN sporting goods maker Puma said yesterday it would bring criminal charges against its partners in a Greek joint venture after discovering an alleged swindle that could cost it as much as €130m (£115.3m). Puma said it suspected that its “Greek joint venture partner, along with members of the Greek local management, has committed a [...]
THE TIPSTER October 24, 2010 FOR the last month and a half the euro has strengthened against the dollar, topping out at $1.4156. It might now be due to have a retracement before mounting another charge higher. WorldSpreads offer a zero spread for platinum holders on euro-dollar. The dollar has been dropping against the yen over the past few weeks. [...]