FSA report on RBS to blame bad regulation June 23, 2011 THE FSA’s report on the collapse of RBS will show that “the regulation was woefully inadequate” in the run-up to the financial crisis, FSA chair Lord Turner said yesterday. “If RBS had been subject to Basel III from 2007 onwards, it would have been a completely different situation,” he said. He added that the FSA’s report would [...]
UBI shares fall ahead of €1bn rights issue June 23, 2011 SHARES in Italian lender Unione di Banche Italiane (UBI) slumped perilously close to the subscription price for its €1bn (£885m) rights issue, threatening to leave underwriters on the deal with millions of euros of unpurchased stock. The regional bank’s share price closed down 5.1 per cent on the Borsa Italiana yesterday at €3.82 per unit, [...]
Aviva sells off RAC to Carlyle for £1bn cash June 23, 2011 AVIVA is to sell its RAC roadside rescue business to private equity firm The Carlyle Group for £1bn, as the British group continues scaling back from non-core areas to focus on its insurance operations. The auction process was fiercely fought, with Carlyle battling rivals Clayton Dubilier & Rice and BC Partners to be the first [...]
Laggard of sector deserves second look June 23, 2011 AND so the great tidying-up exercise continues. Fresh from selling part of its stake in Dutch unit Delta Lloyd for £381m, Aviva has offloaded its roadside rescue business RAC for £1bn. Analysts said it had done well to sell the unit on a price to earnings multiple of 17 times, considering its own stock trades [...]
TOP CHEFS LINE UP FOR SOLDIERS’ BANQUET June 23, 2011 DO TOO many cooks spoil the broth? Not in the case of the second Square Mile Salute City banquet in aid of wounded soldiers, backed by media partner City A.M., when 12 of the world’s most acclaimed chefs will join forces to cook a gourmet menu at Guildhall. Following the success of last year’s fundraising [...]
Ladbrokes bids for rival June 23, 2011 BOOKMAKER Ladbrokes yesterday confirmed it has made an approach for Sportingbet, sending shares in its smaller rival up 13 per cent. Ladbrokes has been looking for a way to expand its presence in the online gaming market for some time, with talks with 888.com falling through earlier this year. The betting giant stressed the talks [...]
Coucher defends payout June 23, 2011 Ex-Network Rail boss Ian Coucher has defended the £1m payout he received from the company on leaving, after it was revealed in Network Rail’s accounts that he took a year’s pay in lieu of notice and a settlement related to the company’s long-term incentive plan. Coucher said the payment reflected the fact he had wanted [...]
Private equity buys Securitas for £2bn June 23, 2011 A team of private equity firms, Bain and Hellman & Friedman, have agreed to buy Swedish alarms firm Securitas Direct from Swedish rival EQT, the firms said yesterday. The deal values the business at about 20 billion Swedish Kronor (£1.94bn) according to people close to the deal. The pair beat a rival bid from power [...]
BHP Billiton admits rising costs June 23, 2011 BHP Billiton said yesterday that its Worsley bauxite and aluminium project in Australia will cost $135m (£84.4m) more than previously expected, and that first production has been put back a year to the first quarter of 2012. BHP said the $3bn venture is “one of the most complex brownfield projects undertaken”, which has slowed down [...]
Apple gets go-ahead for Nortel auction bid June 23, 2011 US antitrust regulators gave Apple approval to buy certain assets of bankrupt telecom maker Nortel Networks yesterday. Apple joins Google and Ericsson in the fight to snap up 6,000 technology patents and patent applications in an auction starting on Monday. Google has already made a $900m offer.
