BP denies plan to sell TNK-BP June 7, 2011 BP yesterday insisted that it had no plans to sell down its half share in Russia’s third-largest oil producer TNK-BP, denying comments from sources close to its partners that it threatened such a move. The oil giant said its focus in Russia was on developing its TNK-BP venture, and denied it was preparing to reduce [...]
Lamprell sees improving market for its oil services June 7, 2011 OIL rig services group Lamprell has said that its performance so far this year has matched management expectations, following a strong performance in 2010 boosted by high oil prices. The company, which builds mobile jack-up rigs, said it had also seen a turnaround in the new-build market since the spill at BP’s Macondo oil rig in [...]
Japan vows to overhaul nuclear safety reporting June 7, 2011 THE Japanese government said yesterday that it will set up an independent nuclear regulatory agency, breaking the widely criticised ties between the Japanese utility industry and officials overseeing its safety. In a report that will be presented to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the government calls for overhauls in how Japan operates its nuclear plants. [...]
Smiths News buys Dawson Holdings to increase presence in books market June 7, 2011 NEWSPAPER and magazine distributor Smiths News yesterday announced it will buy leading academic book supplier Dawson Holdings for £20m in a cash deal to expand its book business. The deal comes two years after Smiths News entered into the books business through the acquisition of Bertrams, and it now aims to expand the scope of [...]
Actelion shakes up board in a bid to appease Elliott June 7, 2011 ACTELION, Europe’s largest biotech company, changed its management structure and appointed a chief operating officer yesterday in a move that answered demands from its activist investor Elliott Advisors. Actelion promoted its head of business strategy and operations Otto Schwarz to COO, allowing chief executive Jean-Paul Clozel to focus more on strategic matters. The company saw [...]
Pennon buys Storm Recycling June 7, 2011 Waste and sewerage group Pennon has bought Storm Recycling for £1.7m, in a bid to expand its waste management services. Storm specialises in the recycling of cardboard and plastics, and runs a depot in Cheshire that handles around 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes of recycling a year. The acquisition was made by Pennon’s subsidiary Viridor Waste [...]
Profits and sales drop at Findel June 7, 2011 Home shopping and education supplies group Findel reported a fall in profits yesterday. The dynamic multi channel retailer saw a 2.6 per cent drop in sales to £532.6m from £547m in the year to 1 April. Findel was hit by the discovery of accounting irregularities at the education supplies division followed by an emergency debt [...]
St-Gobain plans to list Verallia June 7, 2011 France’s Saint-Gobain plans to brave tough conditions in the European market for initial public offerings and list its glass packaging unit in order to focus on home and construction products. The glassmaker said it would sell 40 per cent of Verallia to investors, raising up to €958m (£855m). It could raise the amount to 46 [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 7, 2011 KPMG David O’Hara has been appointed as a principal investment consultant to lead KPMG’s newly established Scottish advisory team. O’Hara, who will be based in Glasgow, joins from Hymans Robertson, where he provided investment advice to a range of private and public UK pension schemes. DOLPHIN CAPITAL INVESTORS The emerging markets resorts investor has appointed [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 7, 2011 HSBC Goldman Sachs rates the bank “buy” with a target price of 920p. The broker has raised its earnings forecasts for 2011-13 by up to seven per cent, arguing the market underestimates HSBC’s shift to growth markets. WEIR GROUP JP Morgan rates the engineer “overweight” and has raised its target price to 2150p. The broker [...]
