Rising commodity prices have further to go February 6, 2011 FOR two weeks our headlines and television sets have been dominated by Egypt. Prior to the scenes in Tahrir Square, all eyes were on Tunisia; contagion is spreading across the Middle East. So what role did rising food costs play in pushing the region to the brink? And how can citizens be expected to understand [...]
Morrisons plans Davies range February 6, 2011 Morrisons plans to launch a fashion range in partnership with designer George Davies, founder of Next. Advanced talks between Morrisons and Davies are expected to conclude this month, clearing the way for a range to be launched as early as the autumn. Davies created rival retailer Asda’s successful George clothing range.
LM Funerals could fetch £100m February 6, 2011 Private Equity backed LM Funerals, one of the UK’s largest funeral operators, is being sold by London-based owners Sovereign Capital for £50-100m. LM, which was purchased by Sovereign in 2003, is said to be attracting interest from rival private equity firms LGV, ECI and LDC. LM bought five funeral directors in 2010, giving it 65 [...]
Miners could hoard record 2010 profits February 6, 2011 THE world’s biggest miners could keep dividends in check despite being forecast to double their billion-dollar 2009 profits, fund managers warned yesterday. Companies such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Anglo American are set to report record 2010 results in the next two weeks on the back of a commodity price boom fuelled by [...]
Rexam may sell beverages arm February 6, 2011 BRITISH can maker Rexam has appointed Barclays Capital to sell its beverage and specialties arm in a deal that could be worth £200m. Final bids for the business, which makes lids for drink and food containers, are expected this week. A Rexam spokesman said that the company was considering options for the unit. Shares in [...]
Train firms eye West Coast line February 6, 2011 FOUR European state-backed train firms have expressed interest in replacing Virgin Trains as the operator of the London-to-Glasgow West Coast rail franchise. Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, Italy’s Trenitalia, Holland’s Abellio and Spain’s Renfe are said to be among firms considering a bid to operate the lease. The franchise is up for grabs from next year in [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 6, 2011 Pinsent Masons The law firm has appointed Barry Vitou (pictured) to its dispute resolution team. He joins the firm from the London office of US firm Winston & Strawn, where he headed its regulatory and tech practice. He will be working with Danvers Baillieu, a senior associate advising on online and tech business issues. Vitou [...]
Genzyme boss set for $300m share payout February 6, 2011 GENZYME chairman and chief executive Henri Termeer stands to pocket around $300m (£186m) if Sanofi Aventis’ $19.4bn cash bid gets the green light, as looked increasingly likely last night. If priced at $74-per-share, the takeover deal would mean that the Genzyme board’s combined stake in the company would be worth more than $1.4bn, with the biggest [...]
Pair can solve each other’s issues February 6, 2011 PFIZER’S decision to close its British research facility, leading to the loss of around 2,000 British jobs, was last week held up as an example of the government’s failing industrial policy. But it was also a sign that the pharma industry is in ill-health. Sanofi’s decision to snap up US-based Genzyme tells a similar story. [...]
Firms fight for shrinking public purse February 6, 2011 THE squeeze on government spending has led to a dramatic rise in companies’ complaints to the Treasury’s procurement advisory unit and a surge in Freedom of Information (FoI) requests, research showed today. Companies unhappy with the outcome of government tenders are lodging a growing number of complaints challenging its decisions. Firms are also increasingly using [...]
