CVC wins contest for Paroc Group October 22, 2014 PRIVATE equity group CVC Capital Partners yesterday snapped up Finnish insulation group Paroc, in a €700m (£551.5m) deal. CVC beat off a host of other bidders in the hotly contested auction, which was handled by advisers from Lazard. The Helsinki-based business employs around 2,100 people and has nine plants across in Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Poland and [...]
Car auctioneer float comes to a screeching halt October 21, 2014 BRITISH Car Auctions (BCA), owner of the webuyanycar.com, became the latest casualty of weak equity markets yesterday after it was forced to pull its impending stock listing. The private equity-owned group, backed by Clayton Dublier & Rice, blamed “volatility in global equity markets” for pulling down the listing, which aimed to raise £200m. “The board [...]
Afilias IPO: Irish web domain company takes the plunge with new listing October 21, 2014 Afilias, the Dublin-based internet service provider, yesterday defied the stock market gloom to launch a $100m (£62m) listing. The flotation, which is being led by mid-market broker Numis, will see the company list on Aim, the junior stock market next month. The company has the second largest number of domain names in the world and [...]
Coca-Cola losing its fizz after trimming earning expectations October 21, 2014 THE FIZZ went out of Coca-Cola yesterday after it was forced to cut full-year earning forecasts on the back of lower quarterly profits. Shares fell nearly six per cent to their lowest level since the financial crisis after it trimmed forecasts for the rest of this year. The soft drinks maker, which is aiming to [...]
McDonald’s hit by falling sales across globe October 21, 2014 MCDONALDS’ sales weakened across the world last quarter as consumers were put off by the fast-food chain’s spiralling prices. Same-store sales across Europe dipped 1.4 per cent in the third quarter, while in the US they declined 3.3 per cent, amid an increasingly heated battle to attract price-conscious diners. Quarterly profits fell by 30 per [...]
Billionaire Bollore sees shares tank over ad takeover proposal October 20, 2014 FRENCH billionaire Vincent Bollore saw shares in his listed group close down 11.5 per cent last night after unveiling plans to increase his stake in French advertising firm Havas, best known for working with Disney on its ad campaigns. Group Bollore shares lost €43.70 each to tumble to €335.15 a share on the Paris stock [...]
Ackman-backed group in $3.5bn crop spray deal October 20, 2014 AGROCHEMICAL firm Arysta LifeScience was sold by its private equity backer for $3.5bn yesterday to a chemicals company part-owned by activist investor Bill Ackman. Arysta, which boasts more than 3,600 fungicide and herbicide type products, has been acquired by Platform Specialty Products, a group listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Arysta’s former backer, UK-based [...]
Texas oil refinery giant swoops on Rocky Mountains pipeline October 20, 2014 TESORO Logistics made a push into the Rocky Mountains yesterday by clinching a deal to buy QEP Resource’s natural gas pipeline and processing unit in a $2.5bn (£1.5bn) all-cash takeover agreement. The business, which is a subsidiary of listed refinery operator Tesoro, will buy the pipelines and processing unit from QEP’s subsidiary QEP Field Services. [...]
BBA Aviation climbs high after snapping up US airport assets October 20, 2014 FTSE 250 listed BBA Aviation yesterday struck a deal to acquire a passenger terminal, three hangars and a fuel farm based at an airport in the US state of New Hampshire. BBA will pay $16.5m to take on the assets – which are associated with Wiggins Airways based at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport – through is [...]
Medibank Private IPO: Australian ministers aim to raise up to £3bn in healthcare listing October 20, 2014 The Australian government is set to reap a A$5.5bn (£3bn) windfall after unveiling plans to sell its stake in Australia’s largest private health insurer Medibank Private. Ministers, who will sell shares to retail investors in the initial public offering, intend to offload the government’s entire stake in the insurance business. Shares were yesterday priced at [...]