Lamprell uses rights issue to acquire peer May 19, 2011 BRITISH oil services firm Lamprell has agreed to buy Gulf-based peer Maritime Industrial Services (MIS) in a deal worth £208m. The Isle of Man-based firm will use a rights issue, debt and cash to acquire the Norwegian-owned rig maker. The fully underwritten issue will offer new shares of the company at 232p per unit to [...]
Phadia nets Cinven £2.5bn May 19, 2011 BUY-OUT group Cinven has sold Phadia, a maker of allergy and auto-immune tests, to Thermo Fisher Scientific for €2.47bn (£2.18bn), it announced yesterday. Cinven paid €1.29bn for Sweden-based Phadia in January 2007, and has expanded the firm’s US and Asian market shares. The deal, set to close in the fourth-quarter, is expected to increase Thermo’s [...]
Care home firm reveals profit slump May 19, 2011 EMBATTLED care homes operator Southern Cross yesterday said it hopes to turn its fortunes around, despite revealing a £311m half-year loss. The UK’s largest care homes provider has been squeezed by a fall in the number of patients placed by local authorities and a real terms cut in fees, due to public sector austerity. Revenues [...]
Goldman tops list for global M&A May 19, 2011 GOLDMAN Sachs is the top bank for global mergers and acquisitions (M&A), having advised on deals worth $297.5bn (£183.8bn) so far this year. The Wall Street giant pips rival JP Morgan to the top of a list of global banks, according to data provider Dealogic. JP Morgan has advised on deals worth $281bn so far [...]
Clydesdale takes PPI hit May 19, 2011 NATIONAL Australia Bank’s UK unit Clydesdale Bank has said it will make an additional provision of £100m to cover compensation for people sold insurance they could never claim or did not know they were buying. The mis-selling of debt repayment insurance policies could cost Britain’s banking industry some £8bn. “The provision reflects an assessment of [...]
THE STRUGGLE FACING SOUTHERN CROSS May 19, 2011 Q. WHY IS SOUTHERN CROSS IN SO MUCH TROUBLE? A. Cuts to local authority budgets are hitting private sector firms that deliver public sector services hard. Southern Cross is faced with a real terms cut in fees from councils across the country, while authorities are also reluctant to place as many pensioners into full-time care. [...]
OUT OF AFRICA FOR CITY LEADERS AT MAYOR’S MANSION HOUSE GALA May 19, 2011 ZULU dancers and an African gospel choir raised the roof at Mansion House last night at the Africa Gala hosted by Lord Mayor Michael Bear. “Welcome to my humble home,” said the Mayor as he welcomed 250 guests from firms including UBS, Shell, HSBC and Laing O’Rourke to the black-tie benefit, held in aid of [...]
Landlords reap rewards as rents hit a record high May 19, 2011 LONDON rental prices have shot up by almost eight per cent over the last year, hitting their second-highest level on record and boosting landlords’ total annual returns above five per cent. The average monthly rent in London is now £988 – just £4 below its all-time high of £992 in November last year. Prices have [...]
CITY VIEWS: HAVE YOU NOTICED RENT PRICES RISING? May 19, 2011 DANIEL BERRY | ATARAXIA GROUP “I’ve bought a property but I’m still aware that rent has risen across the capital. It’s increasingly difficult to get a mortgage these days with banks less likely to lend money.” RICHARD BAXTER | HISCOX SYNDICATES “Yes, I think rent prices are increasing, but despite rising prices for property in [...]
Japanese firm spends €9.6bn on Nycomed May 19, 2011 JAPAN’S largest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical is buying privately held Nycomed for €9.6bn (£7.3bn), it announced yesterday, boosting its presence in emerging markets and adding a newly approved lung-disease drug to its portfolio. The agreed deal is the biggest overseas purchase by a Japanese company since Japan Tobacco paid $19bn (£11.7bn) for Britain’s Gallaher, and is [...]
