RAG set to scrap Evonik float again as market turmoil bites June 17, 2012 THE OWNERS of German chemical company Evonik are set to scrap plans for what could have been Europe’s biggest initial public offering in more than a year, four people familiar with the matter said yesterday. A string of share flotations across the globe have been blown off course by the volatility of financial markets in [...]
Crunch time as Vodafone faces the CWW vote June 17, 2012 THE WAIT is over. Vodafone will today find out whether its 38p per share offer for Cable & Wireless Worldwide is attractive enough to win over the telco’s stakeholders. The deal will this morning be put to CWW’s shareholders, two months after Vodafone unveiled the £1.04bn offer that would make it the UK’s second largest [...]
Everything Everywhere faces a takeover bid from its ex-chief June 17, 2012 EVERYTHING Everywhere is the target of a private equity takeover bid fronted by its former chief executive Tom Alexander. Private equity firms KKR and Apax are understood to have put forward a collective £3bn to buy the British telecoms company – a hybrid of Orange and T-Mobile, the UK brands of France Telecom and Deutsche [...]
Facebook agrees to pay a $10m settlement after users file suit June 17, 2012 FACEBOOK has agreed to pay $10m (£6.4m) to charity to settle a lawsuit that accused the site of violating users’ rights to control the use of their own names, photographs and likenesses, according to court documents made public over the weekend. The lawsuit, brought by five Facebook members, alleged the social networking site violated California [...]
Luke Johnson sinks his teeth into new deal June 17, 2012 LUKE Johnson, the entrepreneur behind Italian restaurants Strada and Pizza Express, is set to buy struggling dental care chain James Hull. A source close to the deal told City A.M. that Johnson, chair of private equity firm Risk Capital Partners, is in advanced talks with the high-end dentistry firm over a takeover. The recession has [...]
Microsoft remains coy ahead of expected launch of new tablet June 17, 2012 MICROSOFT is widely expected to unveil a tablet device today after inviting media to a “major” announcement. The tech giant refused to give further details, except to say: “you will not want to miss it.” The secretive invitation is possibly an attempt to emulate Apple-style excitement around the launch of a new product. Sources close [...]
Stuart Rose takes the chair of discount fashion store Blue Inc June 17, 2012 SIR STUART ROSE has become chairman of the fast-growing discount fashion chain Blue Inc, taking up his first major corporate role since leaving retailer Marks & Spencer 18 months ago. Rose takes the role after investing a small amount of his own money in Blue Inc last year, following a larger investment from the billionaire [...]
A Paris adventure for City cycling teams June 17, 2012 SO MUCH for a relaxing weekend. That was the last thing on offer for the team of 17 Nomura employees who set off last Thursday to spend three days cycling 450km from London to Paris to raise money for the Rainbow Trust. Leaving Nomura’s London headquarters at One Angel Lane, the intrepid cyclists were warmly [...]
Jump in demand and pay for accountants June 17, 2012 DEMAND for finance and accountancy workers increased last month, a recruitment industry study shows today, starting to reverse the downward trend of the past year. The sector also received a boost as the majority of accountants received pay rises in the last year, a separate study showed, with many also receiving a bonus. Vacancies in [...]
SME growth stopped by new credit crunch June 17, 2012 INCREASING numbers of small businesses are being refused credit by banks, a new industry study showed today, damaging prospects for economic growth and jobs. Although over 50 per cent of small firms want to grow their firms over the next year, 41 per cent of those who applied for credit were turned down in the [...]
