Travis Perkins buys BSS for £558m July 5, 2010 BUILDERS merchant Travis Perkins has agreed to buy BSS Group for £557.6m ($845m) to expand its heating and plumbing trade and retail distribution business. Robert Walker, chairman of Travis Perkins said: “We believe that there is a strong strategic rationale for the acquisition of BSS which will create the leading plumbing and heating trade and [...]
Lloyds offloads private equity unit July 5, 2010 Lloyds Banking Group has agreed to sell its private equity unit to buyout firm Coller Capital, bringing sale proceeds in the past year to £750m. Under the deal, the 40 private equity investments held in Lloyds’ Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance unit will be transferred to a newly created joint venture owned 70 per cent [...]
BP oil spill bill hits $3bn July 5, 2010 BP’s bill for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has hit $3.12bn (£2bn), the company has said. The total includes the cost of containing the spill and cleaning up the oil, and the cost of drilling relief wells. It also includes the $147m paid out in compensation to some of those affected by the spill. [...]
Hedge funds face “trying” year July 5, 2010 HEDGE fund managers are still nervous about world markets and the future of their industry, a new report has found. Seven out of 10 said they expect a “trying” year as the industry faces regulatory oversight and competition picks up with more funds likely chasing investment dollars, according to a survey by accounting and audit [...]
Bank of China to launch £5.7bn rights issue July 2, 2010 BANK of China plans to raise up to 60bn yuan (£5.7bn) through a rights offer, it said. The bank proposed that shareholders get up to 1.1 rights per 10 shares held, it revealed in a statement. “All the proceeds to be raised from the rights issue … shall be applied towards strengthening the capital base [...]
US LOSES 125,000 jobs in June July 2, 2010 THE US lost 125,000 jobs last month, official figures have shown. It was the first time jobs were lost on a month-on-month basis this year. The figures from the Department of Labour reflected the departure of 225,000 temporary employees who had been working on the census in May. The private sector created 83,000 jobs. US [...]
Eurozone unemployment steady at 10pc July 2, 2010 EUROZONE unemployment held stable in May at ten per cent, compared with the downwardly revised figure in April in the first sign of an improving labour market thanks to economic recovery. The unemployment rate was revised down from 10.1 per cent to 10.0 per cent for April, and stayed there in May. Some economists had [...]
Pets at Home profit surges by 36pc July 2, 2010 BRITISH pet products retailer Pets at Home reported a 36 per cent increase in annual profit – fuelled by new store openings and an 8.8 per cent rise in sales from existing shops. The firm, bought in January by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for about £955m made a pre-tax profit of £54.24m in [...]
Brit Insurance rejects improved Apollo bid July 2, 2010 LLOYDS of London insurer Brit Insurance has rejected an improved takeover proposal from US buyout firm Apollo Management. However, it indicated that it was open to further offers. A possible revised offer of £10.50 per share, up from an original bid of £10 “undervalues the company,” and is not an acceptable basis for takeover talks, [...]
Construction sector steady – but tough road ahead July 2, 2010 CONSTRUCTION sector activity expanded in June at roughly the same pace as in May, but firms were less optimistic about future prospects, a survey of purchasing managers showed. The Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply construction PMI eased slightly to 58.4 in June from 58.5 in May, which was its highest since September 2007. That [...]
