Suitors circle cash-strapped firm AssetCo June 13, 2011 STRUGGLING fire engine provider AssetCo confirmed it was talking to more than one potential buyer for the company yesterday. The struggling firm said it was discussing its sale with a number of parties and talks were at “a developed stage” but said there was no certainty of an offer being made. City A.M. understands that [...]
LSE rival Maple goes hostile in the fight for TMX Group June 13, 2011 THE RIVAL bidder for the London Stock Exchange’s merger target, Toronto bourse operator TMX Group, has taken its approach for the Canadian group hostile. The Maple consortium of Canadian banks and pension funds has put its C$3.7bn (£2.4bn) offer directly to TMX’s shareholders. Maple is offering to buy 70 per cent of TMX for C$48 [...]
Partners at commodities hedge fund Clive Capital share £104m June 13, 2011 THE three partners of Clive Capital, the world’s largest commodities hedge fund, were paid a total remuneration of £104.4m in the 2010 financial year, company records showed yesterday. According to records filed at Companies House the partner with the largest share of the profits received £83.9m, although the person was not named. In the year [...]
Facebook is worth $100bn but users slip June 13, 2011 FACEBOOK last month shed users across a number of its mature markets, sparking fears its meteoric growth is beginning to peak. Last month it lost 6m users in the US to fall below 150m and lost a further 100,000 in the UK. Canada, Russia and Norway also registered a similar fall, according to data gathered [...]
Hugh Osmond snaps up power firm APR in deal worth £527m June 13, 2011 HUGH Osmond, the entrepreneur behind Pizza Express and Punch Taverns, is to buy US temporary power provider APR energy in an $855m (£527m) deal. Horizon Acquisition, a cash shell that Osmond floated on the alternative investment market in February 2010, announced yesterday that it will pay $395m cash and $495m in shares for a 59 [...]
US clothing firm agrees to spend $2bn on bootmaker Timberland June 13, 2011 US CLOTHING firm VF Corp has agreed to buy Timberland, the bootmaker, for $2bn (£1.2bn). VF Corp, which owns the North Face clothing brand and chain, is making the acquisition to boost sales of its outdoor gear. The deal values Timberland at $43 a share, a 43 per cent premium to its closing price of $29.99 [...]
London’s not alone in feeling the heat on IPOs June 13, 2011 IT isn’t just London that’s having a sticky time with its new issues market. On Friday in Madrid Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica cancelled the planned IPO of its Atento call centre unit. The decision to pull the deal came after much prevaricating, including a lowering of the price range by close to 10 per cent [...]
Electrolux to lift Europe prices June 13, 2011 World number two home appliances maker Electrolux will raise prices in Europe from October to cover surging raw materials costs, even as it faces competitive pressures. The firm, alongside appliance maker Whirlpool, has already raised prices in North America after the cost of metals, chemicals and plastics soared. It said material costs are up by [...]
PerkinElmer snaps up Dexela June 13, 2011 Albion Ventures and the London Technology Fund have sold London-based X-ray imaging specialist Dexela to US healthcare company PerkinElmer. Dexela, which was formed in 2005, is a developer of technologies for fast, low-dose X-ray imaging. Albion invested a total of £2.6m in Dexela while Albion and the LTF led a syndicate that invested over £3m. [...]
Revenues and profits rise for DLA Piper June 13, 2011 CITY law firm DLA Piper has posted a one per cent rise in global revenue for 2010, as cost cuts helped profits rise 5.9 per cent to £503m. Turnover at DLA, which is in the top five UK law firms by revenues, was £1.27bn to year end including its US operation, which is administered separately [...]
