BC Partners wins fight to buy Con Hem for £1.6bn July 21, 2011 PRIVATE equity firm BC Partners is set to buy Swedish cable company Com Hem, in a deal that will value the firm at about 17bn crowns (£1.6bn), one of the largest buyouts in Europe this year, people familiar with the situation said. BC Partners beat rival Cinven to acquire the business, owned by Carlyle Group [...]
AT&T profit beats forecasts July 21, 2011 AT&T’s second-quarter profit and revenue beat Wall Street estimates as it added more subscribers than expected, despite the loss of exclusive rights to sell Apple’s iPhone. The number two US mobile provider, which is seeking approval to buy T-Mobile USA for $39bn, added 331,000 net subscribers in the quarter, compared with the average analyst expectation [...]
Colt earnings fall on voice revenue July 21, 2011 European telecoms provider Colt Group saw core earnings dip slightly in the first half as a drop in voice revenue offset higher data and managed services sales. The group, which mainly serves businesses, reported core earnings of €157.2m (£139m), down 0.6 per cent, on 3.5 per cent lower revenue of €766.2 for the six months [...]
OFCOM CROWNS T-MOBILE TOP OF THE POLLS July 21, 2011 T-MOBILE yesterday topped a poll of customer satisfaction with their network operators, with a 72 per cent approval rating, according to watchdog Ofcom (led by Ed Richards, pictured). O2 finished a close second, with Orange, Virgin Media and Vodafone all within three per centage points. BT was voted the top landline provider. Orange topped the [...]
Thomas Cook given nod for Co-op merger July 21, 2011 PLANS by Thomas Cook and the Co-Operative Group to merge their high street travel agent businesses have been given preliminary approval by the Competition Commission. The commission said it did not expect the deal to have a major impact on customers buying package holidays. If the merger gets the final go ahead it will create [...]
SABMiller beer volumes up July 21, 2011 BREWER SABMiller reported a rise in first-quarter beer volumes, led by continued growth in emerging markets, but kept the market guessing whether it will sweeten its bid for Australia’s Foster. The world’s second-largest brewer and maker of Miller Lite, Peroni and Pilsner Urquell said yesterday that underlying beer and soft drink volumes grew five per [...]
Mitchells & Butlers suffers as its sales growth slows in economic uncertainty July 21, 2011 PUBS and restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers said yesterday sales growth had slowed in the last two months and that the outlook was rocky because of the economic climate. M&B, whose chains include Toby Carvery and All Bar One, said underlying like-for-like sales were up 2.8 percent in the nine weeks to 16 July. Underlying [...]
B&Q decline takes toll on Kingfisher July 21, 2011 SALES at Kingfisher’s B&Q have slumped, with the company warning of “challenging” trading conditions. Like-for-like sales at B&Q, which has 330 stores, fell 6.7 per cent in the 11 weeks to 16 July. Kingfisher’s UK sales overall dropped by 5.5 per cent, with a good performance by trade supplier Screwfix offsetting some of the poor [...]
Halfords sales decline as fuel costs hit motorists July 21, 2011 CAR parts and bicycles retailer Halfords said the soaring cost of fuel has forced cash-strapped motorists to reduce mileage and scrimp on expenditure on their beloved cars. Motorists’ average mileage was down one to two per cent, the company said, while petrol has risen 15 per cent year-on-year. “When you are seeing the scale of [...]
Britvic blames cold for slump July 21, 2011 BRITVIC volumes in the UK in the last four weeks fell 8.2 per cent, while Irish volumes were down 13.2 per cent. Total revenue in its business across the globe rose 12 per cent to £324.9m. However, excluding Britvic’s French business, acquired last May, revenue declined two per cent due to weakness in Ireland. The [...]
