BG Group sells Brazilian firm for over £1bn May 29, 2012 BG Group yesterday confirmed that it has signed binding agreements to offload its majority stake in South American firm Comgás for 3.4bn Brazilian reais (£1.1bn). The deal, originally announced earlier this month, will see its 60.1 per cent stake in the São Paulo-based gas distributor sold to Brazilian energy conglomerate Cosan. “This transaction, when completed, will [...]
Network Rail faces big fines for its track record on train delays May 29, 2012 NETWORK Rail has been threatened with a fine of at least £24m unless it makes more of an effort to cut cancellations and delays on long-distance routes. The Office of Rail Regulation watchdog yesterday demanded that Network Rail speed up its plans to fix “unacceptable” levels of delays, which could put it in breach of [...]
HGS investor tries to block poison pill May 29, 2012 A HUMAN Genome Sciences shareholder has filed a lawsuit against the board and requested a Maryland court to temporarily restrain the company from using a “poison pill” in response to GlaxoSmithKline’s hostile $2.6bn (£1.66bn) takeover offer. Human Genome adopted the stockholder rights plan earlier this month in an attempt to ward off GlaxoSmithKline in what [...]
Galaxy S III hits UK stores with new music app May 29, 2012 SAMSUNG yesterday turned up the heat in its battle with Apple by launching a mobile music service to rival iTunes. Its new Music Hub song service is available on the new Samsung Galaxy S III, which hit UK shelves yesterday. The free Music Hub Store offers a 19m-strong song catalogue from which users can buy music or [...]
Mobile gadget boost for BBC iPlayer views May 29, 2012 THE NUMBER of viewers watching BBC iPlayer on mobile or tablet devices has more than doubled in the last year, according to figures released yesterday by the BBC. In April, 28m iPlayer shows were streamed via a mobile or tablet device – accounting for 15 per cent of total requests – compared to 11m in April 2011, or [...]
Enterprise Inns nears end of its mass disposal May 29, 2012 ENTERPRISE Inns yesterday reported a 25 per cent drop in profits but said it was well underway with its accelerated disposal programme. The pub group posted a £53m profit for the six months to 31 March, compared to £71m for the same period last year, while revenues dropped slightly to £342m from £346m in 2011. Enterprise [...]
Topps Tiles earnings fall but it sees pick-up in recent trading May 29, 2012 TOPPS Tiles, the tiling specialist, reported a surprise bounce-back in like-for-like sales over the past seven weeks as Britons were more willing to get stuck into DIY projects during the wet weather. The company, which also trades as Tiles Clearing House, enjoyed a 4.5 per cent boost in sales in the seven weeks to 19 [...]
Profit of £4m suits sellers of Moss Bros stake May 29, 2012 A TRUST headed by menswear chief Simon Berwin yesterday sold its stake in Moss Bros – the once ailing suit hire firm formerly owned by Sir Philip Green. The investment consortium landed a £4m profit, selling its 28 per cent stake for 43p a share, compared to a purchase price of just below 29p when [...]
OBITUARY: SIR DEREK WANLESS May 29, 2012 SIR Derek Wanless, a former chief executive of Nat West and director of Northern Rock at the time of its collapse, has died aged 67. Wanless, the son of a storeman at a Tyneside cement works, was born on 29 September 1947. His talent as an arithmetician saw him win a scholarship to Newcastle’s Royal Grammar School. [...]
Logica to sell stake in Finnish firm May 29, 2012 Logica yesterday unveiled the sale of its 50 per cent stake in Silta Oy, a leading Finnish provider of payroll outsourcing and financial management, to private equity firm Sentica Partners. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed, but the gross asset value of Silta Oy is estimated at £1.1m.
