ANGLO SAYS NO TO XSTRATA MERGER June 22, 2009 ANGLO AMERICAN, led by chief executuve Cynthia Carroll, snubbed rival miner Xstrata’s takeover approach last night, calling its rival’s terms “totally unacceptable”. Anglo said Xstrata’s £40bn plus merger proposal was “unattractive” and would hurt its interests in the platinum, iron ore and diamond markets. Xstrata has strong coal and copper interests. Anglo added that its [...]
Bercow is voted in as Speaker June 22, 2009 CONSERVATIVE MP for Buckingham John Bercow was last night elected as the new speaker of the House of Commons, after a surprise win of over 50 per cent of the House. Bercow won 322 votes in the third round, despite members of the Tory party largely refusing to vote for the maverick former right-winger. But [...]
What obstacles would an Xstrata / anglo tie-up face? June 22, 2009 ALAIN WILLIAM SOCIETE GENERALA merger of Xstrata and Anglo American would make strategic sense. We don’t think the deal will raise competitive concerns. However, we believe the deal carries significant execution risk given potential political headwinds in South Africa, home to around 50 per cent of Anglo’s assets. RONNIE CHOPRA FALCON SECURITIESIf the merger does [...]
Reuters to leave the LSE June 22, 2009 FINANCIAL data provider Thomson Reuters said yesterday that it plans to withdraw its shares from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to simplify its capital structure. The company, formed when Canadian data publishing company Thomson bought British news and financial information provider Reuters, said it would also remove its shares from the Nasdaq. It will retain [...]
Transparency best medicine for banks June 22, 2009 WITH Alistair Darling preparing to unveil some of his thoughts on shaking up financial regulation, it is time to get back to basics. The following are some of the lessons we have all been forced to relearn over the past few months; any proposed reform should be assessed in lights of these simple realities about [...]
BRETT OLSHER DEUTSCHE BANK June 22, 2009 In a deal which could rake in a combined £1.4bn, Deutsche Bank, JPM Caz, Goldman Sachs and UBS are the advisers behind the Anglo-Xstrata mining talks. The latter was advised by co-head of M&A Brett Olsher, head of natural resources M&A for EMEA Nigel Robinson and Charlie Foreman of Deutsche Bank. Olsher, a long-standing adviser [...]
Iran death stokes protests June 22, 2009 A 26-year old woman identified as Neda Agha-Soltan is being hailed as a martyr in Iran after videos of her apparent murder in a protest in Tehran on Saturday have appeared online. Iranians on social networking sites called for mourning for Neda, who was reportedly killed by a sniper from the pro-government Basij militia. Her [...]
Investment banks booming as RBS chief nets pay deal June 22, 2009 INVESTMENT banks are on course for a year of record profits, as they take advantage of dwindling competition to hoover up business from governments and companies raising money in the markets. Bankers at Goldman Sachs are expecting mammoth bonuses, after the investment banking division booked profits of more than £500m in the first quarter, nearly [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 22, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES BRAMDEAN FUND POSTS HEAVY FALLBramdean Alternatives, the listed fund of alternative funds, has posted its worst monthly fall in net asset value in sterling terms since its inception two years ago. The fund, which is managed by Nicola Horlick’s Bramdean Asset Management, suffered a 7.7 per cent fall in net asset value to [...]
US boss to leave BAE June 22, 2009 Walter Havenstein, US president and chief executive of BAE Systems, has resigned to become the chief executive of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Havenstein, who was also a member of the company’s board, took over as US boss of BAE Systems in January 2007 and will step down this Friday. SAIC is a Fortune 500 [...]
