Hammerson makes £423m sale but retail troubles take a chunk out of income July 29, 2019 Hammerson this morning announced it has sold a 75 per cent stake in Parisian shopping centre Italie Deux for £423m. The retail property giant said the deal with Axa Investment Managers brought it to more than 90 per cent of its annual £500m disposal target. Hammerson also released its half-year results this morning. It reported [...]
FTSE 250-listed Cobham’s share price soars as it agrees £4bn deal to escape the public eye July 25, 2019 Engineering firm Cobham’s shares rocketed this morning as it agreed to a £4bn take-private deal by private equity giant Advent International. Shareholders stand to receive 165p per share in the acquisition, a premium of 34.4 per cent on yesterday’s close price of 122.75p. Read more: Defence contractor Cobham finally reinstates its dividend David Lockwood, the [...]
Symantec shares plummet as Broadcom deal talks ‘break down’ July 15, 2019 Symantec shares have plummeted in pre market trading after reports negotiations over a possible takeover by chip-making giant Broadcom had broken down. The US-listed firm’s stock fell 14 per cent before markets opened this afternoon. Symantec shares had surged earlier this month after it emerged Broadcom was close to acquiring the security software company. But [...]
Thomas Cook: How did it end up like this? July 12, 2019 Companies in the travel industry have endured a turbulent year – and none more than Thomas Cook. Read more: Thomas Cook shares plunge to record low as investors face being wiped out The embattled firm this morning said it is closing in on a bailout deal which would see Chinese firm Fosun give it £750m [...]
Thomas Cook shares hit record low amid £750m takeover talks with Fosun July 12, 2019 Thomas Cook’s shares sunk to their lowest price ever this morning as it confirmed it is in advanced talks with Fosun over a proposed £750m deal which would give the Chinese firm majority ownership over its tour operator business. Read more: Thomas Cook engages in Fosun talks to save company The deal would also give [...]
US hedge fund considers bid for Four Seasons Health Care July 11, 2019 A US hedge fund is considering making a formal offer for the UK’s second biggest care home operator after it collapsed into administration earlier this year. Davidson Kempner Capital Management is preparing to make a bid for the parent company of Four Seasons Health Care, Sky News reported. Read more: Four Seasons appoints administrators The [...]
UK fashion brand Karen Millen hoists for sale sign June 27, 2019 British fashion brand Karen Millen is set to be sold by its Icelandic owners. Sky News reported that advisers to Kaupthing, one of the Icelandic banks that collapsed during the financial crisis, are set to begin formal talks with potential bidders for Karen Millen in the next few days. The sale process is being led [...]
Due north: Compass buys Nordic food group in €427m deal June 11, 2019 Ftse 100 catering business Compass said today it had agreed to buy food business Fazer Group in a €475m (£422m) deal. Fazer Food Services has operations in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark across several sectors including business, industry, education, healthcare and defence. Compass said the acquisition will “further strengthen Compass Group’s existing offer, and will [...]
Twitter buys fake news-fighting startup Fabula AI June 4, 2019 Twitter has acquired London-based startup Fabula AI, which uses machine-learning to detect fake news online. Read more: Twitter suspends 170,000 accounts in hate speech battle Founded in 2018, Fabula has developed an AI system that can analyse and learn from large datasets from social media sites. The tool can analyse how fake news spreads across [...]
Greybull Capital ‘to bid for British Steel’s non-UK assets’ June 4, 2019 Greybull Capital, the private equity firm which owned British Steel until it collapsed last month, is reportedly gearing up to bid for the firm’s operations in France and the Netherlands. The move would mean Greybull dispenses with British Steel’s UK business. It bought the firm from Tata Steel for £1 three years ago. Read more: [...]