UK firms have had mixed fortunes in the United States December 5, 2012 CADBURY SCHWEPPES Bought Dr Pepper/Seven Up in 1995. Then in 2000 bought the Snapple Group. Combined the two, but had to demerge its US fizzy drinks business by May 2008, so spun off Dr Pepper Snapple Group in a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. MARKS & SPENCER Bought the 155-store male outfitter Brooks [...]
11,000 jobs to go in Citi’s new efficiency drive December 5, 2012 THE FINANCIAL services sector took a new blow yesterday as Citi announced a restructuring plan that will see 11,000 jobs go by the end of next year – the first major decision under new chief executive Michael Corbat. London will bear some of the losses. Citi employs roughly 10,000 staff in the capital, but declined [...]
Thai tycoon snaps up HSBC’s £5.8bn slice of insurer Ping An December 5, 2012 A CONGLOMERATE controlled by Thailand’s richest man has bought a minority stake in China’s Ping An Insurance for $9.38bn (£5.83bn) from HSBC in a move that ranks as Asia’s second-largest deal this year. CP Group bought the 15.6 per cent stake in a deal that marks a departure from its core food businesses, such as [...]
What the other papers say this Morning December 5, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Deutsche hid $12bn losses, say staff Deutsche Bank failed to recognise up to $12bn (£7.5bn) of paper losses during the financial crisis, helping the bank avoid a government bailout, three former bank employees have alleged in complaints to US regulators. Deutsche denied the claims, and said they were more than two and a [...]
Hula Hoops owner snapped up in £500m merger December 5, 2012 UNITED BISCUITS yesterday struck a deal to sell its subsidiary KP Snacks, the maker of Hula Hoops crisps, to Germany’s Intersnack, in a deal valued at around £500m. Blackstone and PAI Partners, the private equity owners of United Biscuits, put their salty snack division up for sale earlier this year, attracting interest from both rival [...]
Obama tells Republicans not to use debt talks as a weapon December 5, 2012 PRESIDENT Barack Obama bluntly warned Republicans yesterday that he would not engage in another debt ceiling standoff and predicted a “fiscal cliff” deal could be reached in a week if his opponents would compromise on taxes. Obama, speaking to the Business Roundtable group of chief executives, said any suggestion that Republicans would have more leverage [...]
Shareholders clinch deal on EADS structure December 5, 2012 SHAREHOLDERS in EADS reached agreement yesterday on the biggest shake-up of control in the aerospace company since it was founded over a decade ago, putting the bulk of its shares beyond government influence. The accord to wind down a complex Franco-German power-sharing pact came weeks after talks broke down to merge the group with UK [...]
Freeport pays $9bn for Plains and McMoRan Explorations December 5, 2012 FREEPORT-McMoRan Copper & Gold said yesterday it would acquire Plains Exploration & Production and McMoRan Exploration for $9bn (£5.6bn) in cash and stock in a major expansion into energy. The combination would create a company with gold, oil and natural gas assets around the world. Freeport said the new entity, on a pro-forma basis, would [...]
BTA bank to clear its debt December 5, 2012 BTA, Kazakhstan’s third-largest bank by assets, is set to wipe out around 70 per cent of its $11bn (£6.8bn) debt after creditors voted to accept a second restructuring deal in as many years. In the last major hurdle to approval, claimants holding a cumulative $10.2bn of the bank’s debt voted yesterday in favour of a [...]
Sage revenues slow on tough Europe trading December 5, 2012 PAYROLL software maker Sage yesterday warned tough trading conditions in Europe next year would plague the firm’s revenue. The accounting programme maker, the only software company in the FTSE 100, said revenues had edged up two per cent over the past year, but this was less than the four per cent increase last year. The [...]
