Informa eyes German rival November 24, 2009 INFORMA, the trade magazine publisher and events organiser, yesterday confirmed it was eyeing a takeover bid for German rival Springer Science and Business Media. Shares in Informa, which publishes the world’s oldest newspaper Lloyd’s List, tumbled on the news that it was interested in acquiring debt-laden Springer, owned by private equity firms Candover and Cinven. [...]
Ex-FSA boss to grow deals at JC Flowers November 24, 2009 JC Flowers, the US private equity firm, has strengthened its ranks in the City and Europe by hiring former Financial Services Authority boss Callum McCarthy and veteran Australian banker David Morgan. London managing director Ravi Sinha will step down to make way for the high-profile recruits to the $11bn (£6.6bn) fund. JC Flowers was founded [...]
Hedge funds set to rebound by end of year November 24, 2009 INVESTMENT flows into hedge funds have turned net positive and the sector is heading towards having assets under management of around $1.75 trillion (£1.06 trillion) by year-end, according to Morgan Stanley. That would take them back up to levels last seen in the second quarter of 2007, it said. The investment bank said in a [...]
PwC buys consultancy November 24, 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced yesterday it has bought corporate performance management (CPM) business Paragon Consulting Group. Paragon has a staff of 90, with teams in the UK, Turkey, Singapore and Dubai. Over 40 staff have joined PwC in the UK. PwC described the acquisition as “an excellent strategic fit”.
Tories spell out green policy November 24, 2009 Shadow chancellor George Osborne yesterday explained how a Tory government would tackle climate change and stimulate investment in new green technologies and jobs. He said policies included cutting central government emissions by ten per cent within a year, consulting on Britain’s first green bank, introducing green ISAs and paying the public to recycle.
Mandelson praises car makers November 24, 2009 Lord Mandelson yesterday told the SMMT International Automotive Summit that the 1.65m cars made in Britain last year make a mockery of the idea the UK is no longer an industrial economy. He said Britain now has twice as many car makers in the UK as 25 years ago and said the business was “the [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL THE CAPITAL’S OYSTERISATION AFFECT YOU? November 24, 2009 TOM SUTTON RK HARRISON “Sadly this so-called ‘Oysterisation’ Boris has announced will make no difference to my daily commute, but I do think it is a good policy for London in general. It will make moving around the capital a much easier experience, I would imagine.” NICK WEST CHAUCER “This is a brilliant idea, and [...]
T&L ups bond buyback November 24, 2009 Tate & Lyle increased a bond buyback to £100m from a planned £70m after its offer attracted strong demand, the British sugar and sweetener group said yesterday.The bonds were priced at a premium, which the company said was 107.924 per cent or £1,079.24 per £1,000 of bonds. Tate is one of a growing list of [...]
Best of British November 24, 2009 I’M CURRENTLY feeling like a WAG. To clarify, this is purely down to my current motor, and not because I’ve hooked up with a Chelsea striker. You see I’m driving around in a Bentley (times are hard). I haven’t been in one for a long time and I’ve always associated them with elder statesmen, people [...]
Duty hits Gazprom November 24, 2009 Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom may lose around 380bn roubles (£8.17bn) in 2009-2010 due to higher than expected custom duties. The state-run gas giant has already asked the government to settle the dispute that could cost the company around 111.7bn roubles this year and 274.4bn roubles in 2010. But it is still unclear if the [...]
