Digital growth propels Centaur July 12, 2012 Centaur Media has increased its earnings estimates thanks to improved digital revenues. The business publishing group expects an 18 per cent profit margin on a two per cent increase in sales. Centaur has also announced the acquisition of digital marketing group Econsultancy.com for an initial £12m. The group’s digital operations now account for 30 per [...]
Premier in $1bn move to pump oil in Falklands July 12, 2012 PREMIER Oil yesterday said it had agreed a $1bn (£647m) deal to explore the Falkland Islands with Rockhopper. The FTSE-250 British company said Rockhopper, an explorer that made an oil discovery in the Falklands in 2010, was the ideal partner. It will pay an initial $231m in cash for the deal as well as providing [...]
Wet weather hits insurers with flood payouts set to top £200m July 12, 2012 INSURERS face a bill of “hundreds of millions of pounds” following this summer’s floods, an analyst said yesterday. Barrie Cornes of Panmure Gordon estimated that Aviva, which insures around 12 per cent of households in the UK, will be hit with a charge of £20-£40m for flood damage during the first six months of 2012. [...]
Centrica buys two US power suppliers in $110m cash deal July 12, 2012 CENTRICA, which owns British Gas, said yesterday that it had agreed to buy two New York-based power providers from Iberdrola USA for $110.2m (£71.18m) in cash to strengthen its position and increase its customer base in the north east of the country. The British utility’s North American subsidiary, Direct Energy Services, will buy Energetix and [...]
Cove Energy sale drags into its eighth month as Shell extends July 12, 2012 THE SALE of Cove Energy enters its eighth month today, with pursuer Shell extending its offer for a fourth time. So far Shell has persuaded just 3.27 per cent of investors to accept its £1.12m bid. Mozambique-focused Cove, which opened its data room to potential bidders on 13 December, is also fielding advances from Thai [...]
Rio Tinto in shake-up as chief financial officer set to retire July 12, 2012 ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN miner Rio Tinto said yesterday chief financial officer Guy Elliott would retire at the end of next year, and that the company would be creating a new position to oversee the group’s strategy. Elliott, a 32-year veteran of the company, was finance director when Rio Tinto made its ill-fated $38bn (£24.6bn) takeover of Alcan [...]
BTG Pactual and former Vale boss to form new Latin America miner July 12, 2012 BTG PACTUAL, Brazil’s largest independent investment bank, has teamed up with former Vale chief executive Roger Agnelli to set up a new mining venture, the bank said in a securities filing yesterday. The partnership with Agnelli’s investment company, AGN Participacoes, will involve investments worth up to $520m to finance the development and growth of the [...]
Fenner in £100m refinancing July 12, 2012 Conveyor belt maker Fenner said yesterday weak order numbers from the US coal market have been offset by strong demand in other regions. It also said it had secured a £100m refinancing package with banks. The Yorkshire-based company said that its Dutch and Australian businesses were forging ahead. Liberum Capital analyst Ben Bourne said: “Since [...]
Oxford Instruments in sales lift July 12, 2012 Oxford Instruments, which makes high-tech tools for industry, said yesterday that it had made a strong start to the year with sales of products ahead of the previous year. The company said that it had performed well in the three months from 1 April. It said in a statement: “Our markets remain strong despite continued [...]
Actelion plans research cost cuts July 12, 2012 Europe’s top biotech company Actelion said yesterday it would slash costs and cut back on research to focus on its pulmonary arterial hypertension business, in a bid to ensure growth when its key drug Tracleer goes off patent in 2015. Actelion said it would review its pipeline and stop or license out projects which did [...]
