Sage is front runner in race for MYOB in a takeover that could cost it $1.4bn August 17, 2011 SAGE is understood to be the front runner in the bid to acquire Australian business software group MYOB. It has placed a final bid for the firm, alongside Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). The winning bid is expected to be as high as $1.4bn (£850m), based on the price of similar deals, according [...]
Lehman shelves Lamco asset management plan August 17, 2011 LEHMAN Brothers will not turn its asset management unit into a long-term business after creditors of the bankrupt investment bank objected. Lamco, or the Legacy Asset Management Co, instead will continue on its path to liquidate Lehman assets over the next few years to pay back creditors, and will no longer look for a partner [...]
Bakers sees revenues hit record levels August 17, 2011 CITY law firm Baker & McKenzie regained its position as the world’s largest law firm by revenues yesterday, reporting a record global income of $2.27bn (£1.37bn), a rise of eight per cent from last year. The growth in revenue was led by strong performances across the firm’s Asia Pacific and Latin America offices, particularly in [...]
Kodak soars as its patents hit £1.8bn August 17, 2011 PHOTOGRAPHIC film-maker Eastman Kodak saw its stock soar by almost a quarter yesterday after its portfolio of digital-imaging patents was valued at up to $3bn (£1.8bn) by MDB Capital Group. In the wake of Google’s $12.5bn patent-led acquisition of Motorola, patents have become hot property. The valuation means Kodak’s patents could be worth five times [...]
Insurers warn on capital adequacy rules August 17, 2011 TOUGH new capital requirements to be imposed on European insurance companies could restrict them from investing in bank debt, a think tank said yesterday. The Institute of International Finance said new Solvency II rules being brought into force in the next two years could prevent them from buying large tranches of long-dated bank bonds despite [...]
BarCap star trader quits August 17, 2011 Todd Edgar’s arrival at BarCap from JP Morgan in 2009, along with his highly-prized team, was seen as a coup for the bank. But just two years later he and the team have decided to quit to set up their own hedge fund. The 39-year-old trader, known for his nerves of steel and Midas touch [...]
Henderson: turmoil will last all year August 17, 2011 GLOBAL political paralysis will hit markets for the rest of this year, the head of Henderson warned yesterday as he hailed the fund manager’s swift integration of its latest acquisition. Andrew Formica, chief executive, said investor confidence had been damaged by the UK riots, the Eurozone crisis and squabbles over raising the US debt ceiling. [...]
Businesses must speak out on blight of 50p tax August 17, 2011 WELL, everyone else has been having their say – what do you think? Is it a morally justified punishment on bankers who got us in this mess? Or a tax that our economy, and raises nothing for the Treasury? The 50p tax debate has been loud enough over the silly season not to get drowned [...]
Integration of Gartmore is going well but risks of market paralysis remain August 17, 2011 HENDERSON’S figures held little surprise, having been flagged for months, but its warning on the effect of the current market carnage hit home yesterday. Henderson hiked its performance fee income, made great progress integrating Gartmore, and cut its costs. But the volatility in equities still has the potential to hold back future performance, it admitted. [...]
UK cuts dent Balfour gains August 17, 2011 BALFOUR Beatty, the UK’s largest construction company, said it expects markets to remain tough for the next two years as government cutbacks in the UK and US continue to weigh down on its operations. The group, whose projects include the refurbishment of London Blackfriars station and the aquatics centre for London’s 2012 Olympic Games, reported [...]
