Acromas to buy Allied Healthcare July 31, 2011 Acromas, co-owned by Charterhouse, CVC and Permira, has agreed to buy Nasdaq-listed Allied Healthcare for $175m (£107m), six months after its £124m acquisition of Nestor Healthcare. The deal will bolster Acromas’ healthcare portfolio, and stoke rumours that the owner of the AA and Saga is plotting a listing. Last week Acromas’ chief executive Andrew Goodsell [...]
Pressure for Premier Foods listing July 31, 2011 Premier Foods’ chief executive-elect Mike Clake is under pressure to consider a £300m rights issue to repair the UK’s largest food producer’s balance sheet, according to a weekend report. The Observer reported a big investor saying a rights issue should be under consideration as Premier is paying millions in interest despite recent disposals. According to [...]
GMT buys Meeting Zone video firm July 31, 2011 GMT Communications Partners, a private equity firm, has acquired the video-conferencing company, Meeting Zone, for about £38.5m from Nova Capital Management and the founders, Tim Duffy and Steve Gandy.
Man tops list of 50 biggest hedge funds July 31, 2011 MAN Investments is Europe’s leading hedge fund, topping the list of an industry that has has bounced back as a whole in 2011. Man’s hedge fund arm had assets under management (AUM) of $34.1bn (£20.9bn) as of 11 June, according to the Europe50 survey by The Hedge Fund Journal. Man’s figures were boosted by the [...]
Telecity eyes Irish rival as demand lifts July 31, 2011 DATA centre provider Telecity is in early-stage talks to buy an Irish rival as it seeks to expand its capacity. A deal for Dublin-based Data Electronics, which operates two data centres in the Irish capital, could set Telecity back around £100m. Talks are understood to be at a very preliminary stage, with no guarantee a [...]
Europe the biggest risk in trans-Atlantic gloom July 31, 2011 THE financial markets don’t know which way to look. On both sides of the Atlantic we have a debt disaster that would be a recipe for short fingernails. But despite today’s headlines, it is Europe that presents the far greater risk to the global economy. While what is happening in Washington has now descended into [...]
WINEHOUSE DEATH SPARKS ALBUM SALES July 31, 2011 AMY Winehouse’s critically acclaimed second album, Back to Black, shot back to the top of the UK album chart yesterday, a week after the troubled singer died at the age of 27. Winehouse, famous for her distinctive soul songs and beehive hairdo, struggled with drinking and drug problems throughout much of her career. The cause [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 31, 2011 Age UK Enterprises The commercial services arm of Charity Age UK has hired Ashley Smalley as strategy director, working alongside Gordon Morris, managing director of AGE UK Enterprises. Smalley will be responsible for meeting the division’s growth targets for profit and customer numbers. His previous roles include head of strategy at Aviva Europe, head of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 31, 2011 ROCKHOPPER EXPLORATION Goldman Sachs reiterates its conviction “buy” rating on the AIM listed oil and gas exploration company with a target price of 728p. The broker believes the current share price significantly underestimates volumes at Sea Lion, seeing a 50 per cent upside to its valuation. Goldman Sachs says significant exploration potential is also being [...]
Growth concerns and debt talks set to lower opening July 31, 2011 IT’S difficult to see any way but down for shares this morning. There’s always the potential for the US debt impasse to be overcome and an agreement on the debt ceiling to be reached any minute, but without that there is just too much uncertainty around. GFT quotes two-way prices on stock indices around the [...]
