Carlyle buys CommScope October 27, 2010 PRIVATE equity firm Carlyle Group clinched a $2.9bn (£1.8bn) deal to buy communications cable maker CommScope, and analysts see little likelihood of rival bids emerging. Carlyle, which has a checkered history on telecoms deals, is offering $31.50 a share in cash, a premium of 36 per cent to CommScope’s closing price on Friday. CommScope has [...]
Heineken sales slump as downturn hits drinkers October 27, 2010 HEINEKEN yesterday reported third-quarter sales at the bottom of expectations, as poor summer weather, austerity measures, and low consumer confidence hit European and US drinking. The Dutch brewer – whose main brands are Heineken and Amstel – said volumes rose sharply in Africa, Asia and Latin America but were lower overall on a like-for-like basis [...]
Carpetright says 2011 will still be tough October 27, 2010 CARPETRIGHT said yesterday like-for-like sales over the last three months have fallen because of continuing tough market conditions – and warned of a difficult 2011 ahead. Group sales dropped by 5.2 per cent in the twelve weeks to 23 October compared to the previous period, with 0.5 per cent of the downturn attributable to the [...]
BAT volumes dip as slump takes its toll October 27, 2010 BRITISH American Tobacco, the world’s second-largest cigarette maker, posted a bigger than expected three per cent fall in underlying nine-month volumes and said the recession’s impact on smokers showed no sign of abating. The maker of Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarette brands said yesterday that although sales volumes dipped, revenue showed good [...]
Coca-Cola staff plan strike over pay dispute October 27, 2010 COCA-COLA staff are to protest against restructuring plans which they say will lead to lower pay and put jobs at risk. Members of the Unite union at seven plants across the UK are threatening to walk out. Unite says the company is using the economic climate to force through “attacks on jobs and pay”. But [...]
Electrolux beats forecast as it spruces up brand October 27, 2010 ELECTROLUX, the world’s second-biggest home appliances maker, yesterday reported a smaller-than-expected fall in quarterly earnings and said it was confident it could reach its full-year margin goal. But the maker of appliances under brands including Frigidaire, Zanussi and AEG-Electrolux – which has carried out several rounds of cost-cutting and moved to emerging markets – said [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW SERIOUS IS CARPETRIGHT’S FALL? October 27, 2010 KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN Despite clear exposure to an eventual recovery, fears for a ‘double dip’ in the housing market continue to dominate, with the current market consensus opinion denoting an out and out ‘sell’. MATTHEW MCEACHRAN | SINGER CAPITAL MARKETS Typically October is a key month for the group as consumers look to [...]
BBVA suffers fall in profits October 27, 2010 BANCO Bilbao Vizcaya Agentaria (BBVA), Spain’s second-biggest bank, reported a 17.4 per cent drop in third quarter net profit yesterday as provisions for bad loans weighed on results. It said net profits in the three months to 30 September hit €1.14bn (£996m) compared to €1.38bn at the same time last year. During the first nine [...]
Aegon finds a buyer for part of UK business October 27, 2010 DUTCH insurer Aegon has managed to sell part of its third-party pensions administration business to corporate consultant Goddard Perry. Aegon said last month it planned to close the operations as part of its attempt to cut 25 per cent of its UK costs by the end of next year, but will now sell the administration [...]
US ends inquiry into Google October 27, 2010 US regulators looking at Google’s data grab by “Street View” cars have decided to end their inquiry, noting improvements that the search company has made to build consumer privacy into its corporate structure. The Federal Trade Commission said in a letter to Google dated yesterday that it was ending its probe with no penalties. The [...]
