Frank Timis swoops to save Marampa iron mine in Sierra Leone November 3, 2014 Mining tycoon Frank Timis has acquired the Marampa mine from London Mining’s administrators at PwC, through his business Timis Corporation. Timis is executive chairman of African Minerals, which operates the Tonkolili iron ore mine in Sierra Leone, where Marampa is also located. Timis Corp and African Minerals are looking at blending the products from [...]
Evraz share price dips as Roman Abramovich-backed miner aims to raise $350m in note offering November 3, 2014 Russian steel-making and mining company Evraz announced yesterday that it is aiming to refinance a portion of its debt with an offering of 7.5 per cent of secured notes worth $350m (£219m) through its Canadian subsidiary EICA. According to Evraz, which is headquartered in London, the notes will be guaranteed by Evraz North America and one [...]
Holcim share price down as weak emerging currencies dent sales November 3, 2014 Cement giant Holcim has reported a nine per cent drop in profit in the first nine months of 2014, down to 1.16bn Swiss francs (£752m) from 1.28bn Swiss francs in the same period of 2013. Holcim said this was partly because the company has not yet received the final compensation instalment of $97.5m for the [...]
Heidelberg Cement will not bid on assets for sale after Holcim-Lafarge merger November 3, 2014 German firm Heidelberg Cement announced yesterday that it would not be bidding for any of the assets currently up for sale as a result of the Holcim-Lafarge merger. Earlier this year it was reported that Heidelberg would use the proceeds from a sale of its US and UK building products business to buy cement assets [...]
Ophir Energy share price rises as oil and gas firm plans to use Salamander cash to fund further exploration if deal goes through November 3, 2014 Oil and gas exploration company Ophir Energy has confirmed that it is still in discussions concerning a bid for Salamander Energy. Ophir said in an announcement to the stock exchange that it will remain an exploration-led upstream company and plans to fund further exploration through cash flow from Salamander’s current production. Ophir stated that it [...]
Mick Davis’ X2 Resources bid for Anglo assets not yet tabled November 3, 2014 A source close to private mining company X2 Resources yesterday cast doubts on reports that the firm, led by Mick Davis, had tabled a bid for some key Anglo American assets. Davis, who sold Xstrata to Glencore for $27bn (£17bn) in 2013, set up X2 earlier this year with the aim of building a new [...]
Lloyds Banking Group may sell Avant Homes for £170m November 3, 2014 Building firm Avant Homes is considering an offer from a consortium of investment companies made up of Alchemy Partners, Angelo Gordon and Avenue Capital, a source close to the discussions has confirmed. All three of the bidding companies are focused on making distressed investments. Avant is being sold by Lloyds Banking Group, with KPMG advising [...]
Funding for oil and gas sector to suffer if brent prices keep falling November 3, 2014 LONDON’S mid-market oil and gas sector raised almost $1bn (£626m) last year, but law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has warned that this level of fundraising is unlikely to continue. BLP analysed all oil and gas fundraisings announced on Aim and the main market of the London Stock Exchange, greater than £1m and excluding the [...]
Qatari Harrods owners cash in with £118m dividend payment October 30, 2014 Luxury department store Harrods paid out a £118m dividend to its Qatari owners after making record sales of £794m in the year ended 1 February 2014, up from £716m in the previous year. The business also paid a £35.6m royalty to Harrods Corporate Management. It said the year had seen a “confirmed programme of significant [...]
Countrywide expects strong full year profits after record quarter October 30, 2014 PROPERTY services firm Countrywide saw its shares climb 2.4 per cent yesterday, as it reported record profits for the third quarter of 2014. Income at the group was £188m, up 22 per cent compared with the same period of last year, and the company said it was on track to deliver full-year results in line [...]
