Marconi boss in £9m windfall October 26, 2005 Marconi CEO Mike Parton is £8.8m richer after Ericsson bought his company for £1.2bn. Ericsson is buying the bulk of Marconi, the former GEC, once the country’s biggest private employer. The remainder of the business — the British services operation — will be spun off into a new company, telent, which will be listed on [...]
Grapes of wealth October 26, 2005 Wine investment requires patience and special knowledge and is not a way to make a quick profit — you need to be in it for the long run, says Toby Walne Wine lovers can savour a fine vintage not just in a glass but also as a tasty investment. Despite the wine market being notoriously [...]
No end to Wolseley’s buying spree October 25, 2005 Building materials wholesaler Wolseley has continued its buying spree and added insulation distributor Encon and North American plumbing company Camellia Valley Supply to its global portfolio. Wolseley, the world’s biggest plumbing and heating distributor, raised $1.2bn (£677m) last week through a private placement to more than 30 institutional investors, which was marketed by the Royal [...]
Bush names Bernanke Fed chairman October 25, 2005 President George W Bush has nominated Ben Bernanke to succeed Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke was a bookies’ favourites, along with Republican stalwarts Martin Feldstein and Glenn Hubbard, both advisors to Ronald Reagan. A former economics professor at America’s elite Princeton University, Bernanke served as a Fed governor between 2002 and [...]
Thames Water plans £15bn float October 25, 2005 RWE, the German utility, is considering spinning off the Thames Water business. A float on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is expected to a capitalisation of up to £15bn. Thames Water left the LSE following the RWE acquisition in 2000. According to German press reports yesterday RWE is now weighing up a partial flotation, possibly [...]
Dubai puts in bold £469m bid for Refco October 25, 2005 The fortunes of stricken American hedge fund Refco took a fresh twist yesterday after a bid led by the Dubai government and billionaire Ronald Burkle trumped offers for its future trading units. The Dubai group’s $828m (£468.8m) offer exceeds a $768m bid by private equity fund JC Flowers and $790m from Interactive Brokers Group LLC. [...]
Ericsson on brink of £1.2bn Marconi deal October 25, 2005 Swedish mobile phones giant Ericsson is expected to announce a £1.2bn cash deal this morning to purchase the major assets of British engineering group Marconi. Marconi shareholders are expected to receive a cash pay out of £2.50 to £3 per share at the start of next year. That is close to the price shares in [...]
KPMG staff scoop £59m in bonuses October 25, 2005 Secretaries and directors at KPMG will share in a £59m bonus bonanza. The 8,950 people who make up the accountancy firm’s British workforce will share in the £59m pot, which equates to just under £6,600 per person. The bonus pot has risen 68 per cent from £35m last year, when the company gave on average [...]
How the Queen’s Dressmaker got its cutting edge back October 25, 2005 When Timothy Maltin was just 27 he became the managing director of a national institution. Five years ago, Timothy Maltin went to work in tracksuit bottoms and a green Pilgrim Services sweatshirt top. Just the job when you’re running a grave tending business. But these days Maltin is chairman and chief executive of Hardy Amies, [...]
Beauty fixes to turn back the clock October 25, 2005 Horrific tales of botched cosmetic surgery might put some people off going under the knife. But there are now procedures available which claim to offer similar youthful benefits without resorting to such extreme measures. In Britain the popularity of cosmetic surgery continues to grow. Aside from the medical risk that these invasive procedures pose — [...]
