Hammerson in exclusive talks to buy British malls worth £400m December 16, 2010 PROPERTY firm Hammerson has entered exclusive talks to buy six shopping centres worth around £400m from Kuwaiti property company St Martins, a source familiar with the deal said yesterday. Retail-focused Hammerson is the preferred bidder for malls including Centrale in Croydon and West 45 in Hammersmith, as well as several retail parks that includes Riverside [...]
Misys hands back £670m December 16, 2010 Misys, the software giant that provides financial software to the world’s biggest banks, yesterday returned £670m to its shareholders. Around 170m ordinary shares were tendered and will be repurchased for cancellation at a cost of £525m. A further £145m will be handed back by way of a pro rata return of capital to its shareholders. [...]
Middle East investor pumps $500m into Carlyle Group December 16, 2010 US private equity firm Carlyle Group has deepened its ties with a major Abu Dhabi investor in a move that could see it grow its investments in the Middle East. State-owned investor Mubadala Development has paid $500m (£318m) for an unspecified mixture of debt and equity in Carlyle, adding to its 7.5 per cent stake [...]
Pimco to invest 10pc in equities December 16, 2010 PIMCO Total Return Fund, the world’s biggest bond fund at $256bn and managed by Bill Gross, said yesterday it may start investing up to 10 per cent of its assets in “equity-related” securities, such as convertibles and preferred stock. The change in the fund’s strategy comes as many strategists suggest the bull market in bonds could [...]
N&P admits it is in bid talks December 16, 2010 MUTUALLY owned lender Norwich & Peterborough (N&P) Building Society yesterday said it was keeping its options open after receiving approaches about a possible merger or capital injection. The 152-year old lender, which has around 1,000 employees, said it had received “a number of expressions of interest,” but did not disclose who they came from.
THE MEN GOING PAUNCH TO PAUNCH IN 2010 FAT BANKERS COMPETITION December 16, 2010 WITH another eight days to go before the turkey is even dished out, some of us may have already had our share of mince pies and bucks fizz. But not everyone has been so indulgent. Two bankers in particular have successfully resisted the temptations of the festive season and are on track to shed almost [...]
Segro finance chief now CEO December 16, 2010 Segro, one of Europe’s biggest industrial landlords, said yesterday it had appointed David Sleath as its new chief executive effective from April. Sleath, the group’s finance director since January 2006, will replace Ian Coull, who will leave the board after the annual general meeting on 28 April, the company said yesterday. Segro said in October [...]
RPC Group to buy rival firm Superfos December 16, 2010 PLASTIC packaging maker RPC Group said yesterday it planned to buy its Danish rival Superfos for €240m (£204.7m) in a deal likely to boost its market share and expand its operations into new countries. RPC said it would fund the acquisition through a rights issue and debt in the form of a new €130m term [...]
UK watchdog fines former trader £750k December 16, 2010 THE FSA yesterday banned and fined a former trader £750,000 for deliberately mismarking his trading positions, in the third-highest fine the City watchdog has ever imposed on an individual. Between July 2006 and June 2008, Nabeel Naqui, ex-managing director at Toronto Dominion Bank, persistently mismarked his trading book to overvalue his performance, Naqui, the former [...]
You’ll have to diversify to survive 2011 December 16, 2010 SELL-SIDE strategists have been exuding optimism in recent days. The vast majority are expecting an upbeat 2011 where equities – both developed and emerging – continue to make gains. Yet for the wealth management industry, which is there to help clients grow and preserve their wealth, it is more difficult to be quite so bullish [...]
