Solum in Islamic venture November 27, 2011 British-based, sharia-compliant investment firm Solum Asset Management will launch the first “investment sukuk” in the first quarter of next year, treating Islamic bonds as investment vehicles rather than debt instruments, its chief executive said. Unlike traditional sukuk, which are akin to conventional debt products, the £200m Student Accommodation Investment Sukuk will use equity to provide [...]
Akamai to buy Cotendo November 27, 2011 Akamai Technologies, which helps companies improve website performance, is in talks to buy its smaller Israeli rival Cotendo for more than $300m, the Calcalist financial daily reported yesterday. Cotendo has raised $39m from Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital and Tenaya Capital, Calcalist said.
Doughty Hanson in deal for global oil and gas firm Asco November 27, 2011 THE private equity house best known for its investments in LK Bennett and Jimmy Choo has sold Asco, its oil and gas business. Phoenix Equity Partners sold the fast-growing oil and gas logistics firm, based in Aberdeen, to Doughty Hanson & Co, five years after paying £134m for it. The value of the latest sale [...]
Shell in $17bn gas contract November 27, 2011 IRAQ signed a final $17bn (£11bn) deal with Royal Dutch Shell and Mitsubishi yesterday to capture flared gas at southern oilfields, a project that should boost production of badly needed electricity. The 25-year project, one of the largest Iraq has signed with foreign energy firms, is meant to help harness more than 700m cubic feet [...]
Energy company feeling Inspired as it joins AIM November 27, 2011 A BRITISH energy consultancy will list on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) today with a £10.6m value. Inspired Energy, an energy procurement and management firm, raised £3.4m before expenses with a placing of 111,651,668 ordinary shares at 3p each. The firm, set up by Janet Thornton in 2000, works with energy intensive corporates and advises [...]
Groupon mulls move from temporary Tech City base to Square Mile office November 27, 2011 BARGAIN website Groupon is poised to move out of the Tech City development in East London, according to reports, becoming the latest in a number of big-hitting companies to turn its back on the area. Groupon has been operating out of temporary offices in the zone, which stretches from Shoreditch to Stratford. But the firm [...]
AT&T hacking suspects arrested November 27, 2011 Philippine police and the FBI have arrested four people over a hacking operation that targeted customers of US telecommunications giant AT&T to funnel money to a Saudi-based militant group. Those arrested in Manila were paid by the same group the Federal Bureau of Investigation accuses of having funded the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, the [...]
Charoen in $2bnThai deal November 27, 2011 Charoen Pokphand Foods, a Thai agricultural giant, has agreed to acquire 74.2 per cent of CP Pokphand Co, its Hong Kong-listed affiliate, in a deal potentially worth more than $2bn (£1.3bn). CPF will gain access to markets in China and Vietnam with this deal. According to a statement, the Bangkok-listed company will buy 18.8bn CPP [...]
Ontario Teachers shelves sale November 27, 2011 The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has shelved plans to sell its 80 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd, the “trophy asset” owner of Toronto’s big-league hockey and basketball teams. Teachers, one of Canada’s largest pension fund administrators, began looking into a sale in March.
Online sales to hit £350k each second November 27, 2011 E-TILLS ARE RINGING FOR CYBER MONDAY UK CONSUMERS are expected to kickstart the busiest online shopping day of the year today, with Christmas shoppers predicted to spend more than £350,000 each second on their Visa cards, the company said. The day has been coined Cyber Monday in the US and Visa Europe expects 4.8m purchases [...]
