Low’s on a high after fixing double energy deals October 17, 2011 NOT that many bankers have experienced the satisfaction of closing an M&A deal this year, as markets have proved volatile. Yet Jeremy Low of RBC Capital Markets found himself on the advisory side of two completed deals in less than a week recently when he advised Dominion Petroleum on its £118m sale to Ophir Energy [...]
Louis Dreyfus IPO not likely soon October 17, 2011 Commodities firm Louis Dreyfus is not envisaging a listing of its trading unit in the short term but is still considering options to raise capital, leaning towards a private investor, sources familiar with the situation said yesterday. “There is no rush; the company has been private for 150 years so there is no specific timing [...]
Union warning to Air France-KLM October 17, 2011 Air France-KLM received a warning shot of labour disruption yesterday as its board prepared to sign off on an unexpectedly broad management shake-up. The warning by the CFDT, one of France’s largest unions, stopped short of a firm strike threat but put the airline’s expected new management on notice it could face turbulence over recent [...]
Philips TV plans in doubt October 17, 2011 Philips Electronics has all but abandoned hope of selling its TV business by the end of the year, leaving a question mark over how quickly it can divest its loss-making problem child. Chief executive Frans van Houten said: “The global TV market has deteriorated, and obviously the sooner we complete this the better, but we [...]
Olympus dives after firing boss October 17, 2011 SHARES in Japanese camera-maker Olympus plunged by a quarter yesterday as the fallout from the ousting of its chief executive sent investors running for cover, and threatened to escalate into a legal battle. Michael Woodford was sacked just two weeks after the company promoted the Briton from his role as president with glowing reports on [...]
$4bn EMI price tag too bullish October 17, 2011 THE price tag of up to $4bn (£2.54bn) some analysts had slapped on EMI was “completely unrealistic,” according to people close to the matter. It is understood bids for the embattled music giant, which is home to acts including Lily Allen (pictured), came in at the very bottom of the $3bn to $4bn price range [...]
Microsoft flashes cash to promote WP7 October 17, 2011 MICROSOFT will hand £28m to Nokia and Samsung to spend marketing handsets running the latest version of its Windows Phone mobile software. The move is Microsoft’s latest attempt by to force its way into the smartphone market, with Windows Phone 7 (WP7) languishing in an industry increasingly dominated by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. It [...]
RIM offers compensation October 17, 2011 BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) will offer millions of customers $100 (£63) worth of apps as compensation for last week’s outages. RIM’s reputation has been tarnished by the failure, which brought down data services from Chile to South Africa. Users will now have free access to premium apps until the end of the year – [...]
More time for takeover talks October 17, 2011 THE Takeover Panel made the first extensions to its new “put up or shut up” deadline imposed on buyers of UK companies yesterday, granting several potential bidders more time to put their proposals together. Entertainment rights company Coolabi, the home of children’s TV favourite cat Bagpuss, is one of four firms that have been granted [...]
H&M sales hit by warm September October 17, 2011 SALES at Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) the world’s second-largest fashion retailer, fell seven per cent on a like for like basis in September as unusually warm weather across Europe dented demand for autumn clothes. Last year total sales in September, the first month in H&M’s fiscal fourth quarter, rose 16 per cent at the group, [...]
