CVC carries on spending with €600m buy August 19, 2013 CVC CAPITAL Partners, one of the world’s biggest private equity firms, yesterday said it had snapped up a controlling stake in online payment system Skrill for €600m (£511m), its second buy of the week. It will buy the stake from Bahrain-based alternative investor Investcorp, which originally backed Skrill in March 2007 with €25m. The deal [...]
Minera IRL strikes $80m deal to source Argentinian gold mine August 19, 2013 LATIN American miner Minera IRL yesterday said it had secured $80m (£51m) to finance an Argentinian gold mining project. The Don Nicolas Project, as it is known, will be funded and developed by Compania Inversora en Minas (CIMINAS), a group of private Argentinian investors. In return for a $45m investment, the group will keep a [...]
Dreams hires former Mothercare director as new chief executive August 19, 2013 BEDS retailer Dreams said yesterday it has appointed former Mothercare managing director Mike Logue as chief executive. Logue, 41, stepped down as head of the baby products retailer’s UK business in January, with his role made redundant so that chief executive Simon Calver could play a more direct role in the UK. He took up [...]
Wave energy firm looks to raise £6m August 19, 2013 Wave energy firm Anaconda is looking to raise £6m by the end of the year to finance the testing of its devices in the ocean, City A.M. has learnt. The UK-based firm – which wants to harvest wave power in the sea – is targeting both institutional investors and high net worth individuals for the [...]
UK life insurance market falls August 19, 2013 Britons shunned life insurance following the credit crunch, according to a report out today. Gross written premiums in the UK’s life insurance category fell by 57 per cent between 2007 and 2012, according to a new report by data provider Timetric. Despite regaining momentum in 2012, the report finds that the sector will grow by [...]
Squeeze on pension buyouts ahead August 19, 2013 Pension schemes seeking to offload their liabilities could be thwarted by a looming squeeze on market capacity, lawyers said yesterday. A surge in demand from schemes looking for a buyout of their pension payments costs will far outweigh the number of providers who can offer such services amid a pullback from the market by investment [...]
European firms carve up North Sea oil assets August 19, 2013 NORWAY’S Statoil sold stakes in North Sea oil fields to Austria’s OMV yesterday, in a $2.65bn (£1.69bn) deal giving the former cash to develop new projects and placing the latter on course to meet ambitious output targets. The deal, which analysts said came at a comfortable premium, gives OMV a foothold in one of Norway’s [...]
London buses set to stop accepting cash fares from next year August 19, 2013 TRANSPORT for London wants to axe cash payments on the city’s buses from next year, though user groups and politicians have sought assurances that the proposal will not leave passengers stranded. TfL estimates that less than one per cent of journeys, or 60,000 a day, are paid for in cash. Yesterday it asked the public [...]
Shipping broker Clarkson sees further rough trading ahead August 19, 2013 SHIPPING services firm Clarkson is still being buffeted by the choppy global economy, with flat revenues and profits in the first six months of the year. The London-listed company, which brokers boats for some of the world’s largest producers and traders of natural resources, posted revenues of £89.1m and pre-tax profits of £10.8m. “Rates across [...]
Caracal cheers strong start as it joins the FTSE August 19, 2013 OIL EXPLORER Caracal Energy said yesterday it has enjoyed a “transformational” start to the year as it pressed on with production and joined the London stock market. The Chad-focused firm, which is based in Canada but has gained approval for its shares to be included in the FTSE UK index, said it ended the second [...]
