Persimmon sees its sales rise by a fifth April 22, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon yesterday said sales were up by a fifth on last year despite a “backdrop of continued uncertainty” from the fledgling economic recovery and upcoming election. The FTSE 250 listed group reported total sales since the start of the year stand at £1.15bn in a trading update. The firm said weekly sales volumes remain [...]
SPORT | IN BRIEF April 22, 2010 Jump stars paraded at Sandown RACING: This season’s equine champions over the jumps will be paraded at Sandown Park on Saturday for bet365 Gold Cup Day. Four-time winner of the King George VI Chase Kauto Star heads the line-up, with 2009 Hennessy Gold Cup champion Denman, World Hurdle winner Big Buck’s and Cheltenham Gold Cup [...]
Essar Energy heads for $11bn valuation in City sharelisting April 22, 2010 ESSAR Energy yesterday revealed the share price range for its forthcoming listing that will raise around $2.5bn (£1.63bn) in one of London’s largest ever IPOs. New shares in Essar Energy, which will be 75 per cent owned by its Indian parent, will be priced at between 450-550p. At the top end of the range, Essar [...]
Virgin’s debt is restructured April 22, 2010 Virgin Media yesterday announced the completion of a three-year refinancing programme it says has “fundamentally changed the capital structure” of the business. Over three years, Virgin has switched its debt mix from near-term to longer-term bond debt, which it says is at “attractive” rates. The company has issued $1bn of convertible notes, £1.7bn of senior [...]
CenturyTel and Qwest to merge April 22, 2010 CENTURYTEL said yesterday it will buy Qwest Communications in a $10.6bn stock deal, combining the third and the fourth biggest US landline phone companies to help them compete more aggressively and cut costs. CenturyTel offered a 15 per cent premium to Qwest’s market price, and expects the acquisition to add to free cash flow right [...]
Ryanair chief in U-turn over ash payments April 22, 2010 RYANAIR yesterday backtracked on a controversial statement by chief executive Michael O’Leary which said the Irish budget airline would not reimburse stranded passengers for hotel expenses. Instead the budget airline boss said Ryanair would comply with European Union regulations and award compensation to passengers stranded by the volcanic ash cloud. A statement from the airline [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHO SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR COMPENSATION OF FLIGHTS? April 22, 2010 ANDREW STEPAN | TPP RECRUITMENT “I don’t think you can blame the government for a volcano erupting. Airlines shouldn’t be held accountable either. If you buy a ticket for a flight, you should buy travel insurance.” CHRIS BRAVERY | CMA SHIPS “The government should be held accountable. They waited until the Monday morning to do [...]
Carlyle to invest in aviation April 22, 2010 US private equity firm Carlyle Group intends to invest $600m in a joint venture with RPK Capital Management that will buy commercial aviation assets around the world. Carlyle and Chicago based RPK Capital, which specialises in aviation investments, have set up a new company that will purchase over $1bn of assets. RPK, which will manage [...]
US Airways ends United talks April 22, 2010 US Airways called off merger discussions with rivals United Airlines’ parent company UAL yesterday. The latest talks marked the second round of merger discussions in as many years but in a statement issued by US Airways the group said: “After an extensive review and careful consideration, our board of directors has decided to discontinue those [...]
Arriva agrees to a £1.6bn German offer April 22, 2010 ARRIVA’S board agreed to be taken over by German rail operator Deutsche Bahn for £1.6bn yesterday. The UK rail and bus firm recommended a cash offer from Germany’s national rail operator, which will see Arriva shareholders receive 775p for every share they hold. “This offer fully reflects the value of the business we have built [...]
