Gruma buys back stake from ADM December 16, 2012 Mexican corn flour processor Gruma has purchased a 23.2 per cent stake of its own stock that was previously held by US agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland, part of a $450m deal Gruma announced in a statement yesterday. In addition to the Gruma stake, the firm bought minority stakes in its units Azteca Milling, Molinera [...]
Vivalis and Intercell set to merge December 16, 2012 France’s Vivalis is set to buy Intercell in a deal valuing the Austrian vaccine maker at around €133m (£108m), and creating an enlarged player in the European biotech industry. Both companies are loss-making and the tie-up, billed as a merger of equals, will allow for cost savings of €5m-€6m a year, the companies said yesterday. [...]
Taxpayers face £50m bill from Comet failure December 16, 2012 THE owners of Comet are set to recover £50m from the collapse of the electricals chain while taxpayers are expected to fork out around £50m in unpaid tax and redundancy costs. A report by administrator Deloitte due to be published today is expected to show that Hailey Acquisitions Limited (HAL), Comet’s parent company, is entitled [...]
American fund sets sights on troubled HMV December 16, 2012 APOLLO Global Management, the American investment firm with almost £70bn of assets under management, is plotting to take control of HMV after buying a chunk of the retailer’s debts. The vulture fund has snapped up more than £20m of the struggling company’s senior debt from Allied Irish Banks, over 10 per cent of HMV’s outstanding [...]
John Lewis decks its halls with shoppers December 16, 2012 JOHN Lewis was the bearer of festive tidings yesterday as the group posted a second week of record trading. Sales at its 39 stores and online outlet reached £147.8m in the week to Saturday, up 11.1 per cent on last year. West End firms today voted to keep representative body New West End Company for [...]
William Hill set to finally make Sportingbet bid December 16, 2012 THE DRAWN-OUT negotiations over William Hill’s joint takeover of Sportingbet are set to come to an end this week, with a formal offer finally to be lodged. With a deadline of 5pm tomorrow approaching, William Hill and bid partner GVC Holdings are putting the finishing touches to a deal valuing Sportingbet at £485m, sources close [...]
Carlsberg doesn’t do minimum prices, says group’s chief exec December 16, 2012 CARLSBERG doesn’t do cut-price offers for its alcoholic products – but even if it did it certainly would not agree with current proposals being considered by the UK government. Carlsberg boss Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen has spoken out against proposals to combat the binge-drinking culture of the UK. The plans could see a minimum price-per-unit of [...]
London float values plunge in a slow year December 16, 2012 THE VALUE of initial public offerings (IPOs) in London this year has fallen by more than 75 per cent, according to figures from financial data provider Dealogic. Over the past 12 months, there has been $4.4bn (£2.7bn) worth of deals, compared to $17.9bn during 2011. In numerical terms, there have been seven IPOs in London [...]
Private equity dealmakers are rushing toward sterling safety December 16, 2012 UK private equity buyout values shot up by nearly a quarter last year as dealmakers keen to do business in Europe headed towards the safe haven status of the UK’s sterling currency, a study out today reveals. Buyout activity across the UK increased 23 per cent to reach £15.7bn for 2012, the data shows, with [...]
Pensions group warns new EU rules may force schemes to shut December 16, 2012 BRITISH companies may have to stop offering final-salary linked pensions because of the cost of applying proposed European rules, an industry lobby group said. The proposed regime would force firms to find an extra £300bn to strengthen their pension pots, the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) said in a report out today, arguing this [...]
