Petrol station firm EG Group mulls ‘potential $15bn sale’ September 9, 2021 Petrol station forecourt giant EG Group is reportedly mulling options for its future, including a potential sale. Bloomberg reported that a deal to sell the company, which is backed by the billionaire Issa brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital, could fetch as much as $15bn. The firm could also go for an initial public [...]
Easyjet shares dive as carrier rejects takeover bid ‘from Wizz Air’ and flags £1.2bn rights issue September 9, 2021 Easyjet this morning said that it had rejected an unsolicited takeover bid as it announced a new £1.2bn rights issue. Shares in the FTSE 250 firm were down 10.2 per cent by the time markets closed this evening. The budget carrier said that the bid had took the “form of a low premium and highly [...]
UK holidaymakers paid ‘more than £1bn’ on travel tests this summer September 9, 2021 UK holidaymakers could have paid more than £1bn for Covid tests this summer, a crippling levy that has kept the lid on the travel and aviation sector’s recovery. Research from the Evening Standard suggests that 5m passengers have taken a total of 11.5m PCR tests in the period from May to September. With each test [...]
Fresh Morgan Stanley bid wrestles back control of Augean bidding war September 9, 2021 Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) has wrestled back control of the battle to buyout waste management firm Augean. In a statement, the London-listed firm said that the US bank’s subsidiary had upped its bid from 300p to 340p per share, topping a rival offer from consortium Eleia. Having switched their allegiance to the the latter, [...]
Lookers posts record first half profit after ‘exceptionally strong’ trading September 9, 2021 Used car dealership Lookers said that it would look to reinstate dividend payouts “as soon as possible” after an “exceptionally strong” performance in the first half of the year. The London-listed firm said it had swung back into the black after last year’s £36m first half loss, posting a record £50.3m profit. It added that [...]
Meggitt shares plunge as Transdigm pulls out of takeover pursuit September 7, 2021 Meggitt shares closed 12.1 per cent down today after one of the firms battling to takeover the aerospace company pulled out of the race. This afternoon US engineer Transdigm said in a statement that it did not intend to make a firm offer for the FTSE 250 firm. Last month the Ohio-based firm sent Meggitt’s [...]
BA in ‘advanced’ talks over new Gatwick carrier September 7, 2021 The chief executive of British Airways has said that the airline is in “advanced” talks with its unions over the launch of a new low-cost carrier at Gatwick Airport. Speaking at an event at Heathrow, Sean Doyle said that BA wanted to set up a unit with a “competitive cost platform”. However, he warned that [...]
CMA says Sony’s $430m purchase of independent label AWAL raises competition concerns September 7, 2021 The UK’s competition watchdog has today said the US recording giant Sony’s purchase of independent record label AWAL could lead to worse terms for musicians. Sony bought the company, which represents artists such as Jungle, Banks, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Deadmaus for $430m back in May. At the time, the Competition and [...]
New London-Edinburgh rail service to offer £15 tickets September 7, 2021 A new train service will offer one-way tickets from London to Edinburgh for less than £15, it was announced today. First Group-owned Lumo will begin running services on the east coast mainline from 25 October. The 100 per cent electric service is a bid to encourage people to take the train rather than fly between [...]
‘September surge’ continues apace as Tube and bus passengers rise again September 7, 2021 Commuters continued to rush back to public transport this morning, new figures from Transport for London (TfL) show, with both Tube and bus passenger numbers up sharply again this morning. Between 7am and 8am, there were 298,600 “taps” on the Tube, up 33 per cent on last week and 8.0 per cent on yesterday, while on [...]
