Arsenal agrees £731m Kroenke takeover April 11, 2011 Premier League club Arsenal said it had agreed to be taken over by American billionaire Stan Kroenke in a deal which would value the club at £731m. Kroenke, who already owns close to 30 per cent of the North London club, said he had offered Arsenal shareholders 11,750 pounds per share and had already secured [...]
NYSE rejects Nasdaq and ICE bid April 11, 2011 NYSE Euronext has rejected a bid from rival US exchanges Nasdaq and ICE, saying it will stick with plans to merge with Deutsche Boerse. The Nasdaq-ICE bid was unsolicited and came after the NYSE and Deutsche Boerse announced their mutual plans. In a statement, NYSE Euronext said the directors found the $11.3bn (£6.9bn ) bid [...]
Michael Page in 30pc profit rise April 11, 2011 Recruiter Michael Page posted a 30 per cent rise in first-quarter profit on strong growth across its main markets and said it was well placed to exceed its profit performance in 2010. The group, which finds jobs for people in the financial, accounting and legal services sectors, said on Monday its gross profit for the [...]
Banks told to “ring fence” retail arms April 11, 2011 Top banks should shield their retail operations from riskier investment banking activities and hold more capital to protect taxpayers in the event of another financial crisis, a report said. Radical shake-up proposals outlined appear harshest for Lloyds Banking Group, which may be forced to sell hundreds more branches in addition to the 600 already on [...]
BHP dismisses Woodside bid talk April 11, 2011 BHP Billiton played down speculation it was in talks to acquire a cornerstone stake that could be worth $10.3bn (£6.2bn) in Australia’s largest oil and gas firm, Woodside Petroleum, from Royal Dutch Shell. BHP Billiton, widely rumoured to be considering a takeover of Woodside, said in a short statement that there was no basis for [...]
John Lewis in Mother’s Day boost April 8, 2011 Sales at British retailer John Lewis were higher last week as Mother’s Day, warmer weather and promotions drove a pick up in trade in a generally subdued retail environment. “The combination of Mother’s Day, price matching competitor activity and better spring weather gave sales a real boost with the week closing at up 12 per [...]
Barclays “most at risk” from bank reforms April 8, 2011 Barclays is most at risk from a government appointed commission’s push to reform the sector by protecting and ring-fencing ordinary savers from risky investment banking, a poll showed. Six out of 11 analysts and fund managers polled said Barclays had the most to lose if the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) proposes on Monday that [...]
BP-Rosneft deal blocked again April 8, 2011 A $16bn (£10bn) share exchange between BP and state-owned Russian counterpart Rosneft has been blocked again. An arbitration panel upheld an injunction on the deal, but gave BP more time to hammer out a solution. Russian shareholders of TNK-BP – an earlier joint venture of the UK firm – have argued that the Rosneft tie-up [...]
Essar asks for £700m more from Vodafone April 8, 2011 India’s Essar group is seeking $600-$700m, (£366-427bn) more from Vodafone to sell its 33 per cent holding in their Indian mobile joint venture to the British company, according to the Economic Times. Last month, Vodafone said it would buy out Essar in a $5bn deal in the joint venture, Vodafone Essar, giving it direct ownership [...]
Factory gate inflation in surprise rise April 8, 2011 Factory gate inflation unexpectedly accelerated in March to its highest since October 2008 after strong rises in the cost of petroleum and food, official data showed. The Bank of England kept interest rates at a record low this week but evidence of building price pressures is a worry at a time when consumer price inflation [...]
