Private equity buys Securitas for £2bn June 23, 2011 A team of private equity firms, Bain and Hellman & Friedman, have agreed to buy Swedish alarms firm Securitas Direct from Swedish rival EQT, the firms said yesterday. The deal values the business at about 20 billion Swedish Kronor (£1.94bn) according to people close to the deal. The pair beat a rival bid from power [...]
BHP Billiton admits rising costs June 23, 2011 BHP Billiton said yesterday that its Worsley bauxite and aluminium project in Australia will cost $135m (£84.4m) more than previously expected, and that first production has been put back a year to the first quarter of 2012. BHP said the $3bn venture is “one of the most complex brownfield projects undertaken”, which has slowed down [...]
Apple gets go-ahead for Nortel auction bid June 23, 2011 US antitrust regulators gave Apple approval to buy certain assets of bankrupt telecom maker Nortel Networks yesterday. Apple joins Google and Ericsson in the fight to snap up 6,000 technology patents and patent applications in an auction starting on Monday. Google has already made a $900m offer.
Schuh sells out to US retailer Genesco June 23, 2011 Shares in footwear chain Schuh hit a lifetime high yesterday after US retailer Genesco made a $162m bid for the company. Schuh has 58 stores in the UK and Ireland, plus 16 concessions and an online shop. Schuh’s workers will be eligible for pay-outs worth a total of £37m as part of the acquisition.
HMV shareholders vote for Waterstone’s sell-off June 23, 2011 SHAREHOLDERS in HMV, the embattled music retailer, have voted in favour of the sale of Waterstone’s for £53m. The vote was 99.5 per cent in favour of the disposal based on proxy votes received in advance of an extraordinary general meeting yesterday. The final count, expected today, will confirm the sale of the book chain [...]
Ocado hit by broker downgrade June 23, 2011 Shares in online shopping service Ocado tumbled by more than six per cent after JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded its rating for the shares and J Sainsbury hired the group’s head of retail Jon Rudoe to run its online operation. JPMorgan downgraded its rating on the online retailer to “neutral” from “outperform”. But the broker added: “We [...]
Stonegate in merger agreement June 23, 2011 Stonegate Pub Company has merged with Town&City Pub Company, its private equity backers TDR said yesterday. The new group operates 560 pubs with revenues near £500m and employs over 10,000 people. The merger with Yates’s and Slug & Lettuce operator Town&City creates the largest privately held managed pub operator in the UK after Stonegate bought [...]
Dixons hit by £224m loss as FD jumps ship June 23, 2011 DIXONS reported a £224m loss yesterday due to tough trading, as its finance chief jumped ship. The electricals retailer said its turnaround plan, which includes £50m savings a year, was on track but that the economic downturn was lasting longer than expected. It also revealed that finance director Nicholas Cadbury would be leaving the firm [...]
Home Retail Group looks to bid for Habitat stores June 23, 2011 HOME Retail Group, the owner of the Argos and Homebase retail chains, is in talks to buy Habitat. The luxury furnishings company is now owned by restructuring specialist Hilco. It has 71 stores worldwide, including 35 in the UK, 26 in France, five in Spain and five in Germany, employing 2,100 staff. It is understood [...]
Euro growth in slowdown June 23, 2011 PRIVATE sector activity slowed in Europe and China this month just as the outlook for the US has darkened, according to data yesterday, which suggests a global slowdown is becoming more entrenched. The Eurozone’s private sector grew only modestly — and without the support of Germany and France, it would have shrunk — while China’s [...]
