Kraft activist shareholder is ungagged October 26, 2009 ACTIVIST investor Nelson Peltz has had a two-year gagging order lifted by Kraft, sparking talk that the US food giant will now come under pressure to secure a takeover deal with Cadbury. Peltz’s Trian Fund Management group had struck a two-year “standstill” agreement with the US group in November 2007, under which he promised not [...]
Revenues at Deloitte drop in the slump October 26, 2009 PROFESSIONAL services group Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu saw its full-year global revenues drop five per cent to $26.1bn (£16bn) yesterday, as accountants worldwide feel the pinch from a dearth in major mergers and acquisitions. Deloitte’s chief executive Jim Quigley said the performance of the group, one of the big four accountancy firms, was satisfactory given the [...]
Land Secs calls an end to cut-price rents October 26, 2009 LAND Securities, Britain’s biggest property developer, said yesterday it would stop offering cut-price commercial rental deals amid signs that the market is picking up. Land Securities chief executive Francis Salway said: “There are instances of retailers still asking for concessions, and it can be in our interests to show flexibility. However, we do not believe [...]
Goldshield management set to win takeover fight October 26, 2009 DRUG supplier Goldshield’s independent directors have lent their weight to a £178m takeover bid by the company’s management after effectively saying that a rival bidder must massively increase its offer to win. Since September, Goldshield has been the subject of a bidding war between its executive management and AIT, a consortium that includes the owners [...]
Ponzi suspect launches defence October 26, 2009 TOM PETTERS, the businessman from Minnesota that was accused of one of the biggest ever Ponzi schemes prior to Bernie Madoff will launch his defence at a fraud trial this week. Petters, a 52-year-old ex-appliance wholesaler, who had been celebrated for his rags-to-riches life story, will go on trial having been arrested last October. He [...]
Verizon posts $3bn in profits October 26, 2009 US TELECOMS firm Verizon Communications saw third-quarter profit fall a less-than-expected nine per cent to $2.89bn (£1.77bn) yesterday as wireless subscriber gains offset slower-than-anticipated growth in its television service. While Verizon Wireless added a net 1.2m mobile customers, beating Wall Street forecasts of 1m new customers, it is still losing market share to AT&T, the [...]
DEFENCE SUPERWOMAN October 26, 2009 LINDAHUDSON became one of the most powerful names in British business yesterday, after she was appointed chief operating officer at defence company BAE Systems, and chief executive and president of its US unit. She takes the chair after the June departure of Walt Havenstein.
Yell extends debt talk deadline again October 26, 2009 STRUGGLING directories publisher Yell will today announce plans for a second extension to its deadline for lenders to agree to its refinancing plans, which include a rights issue of at least £500m. The Yellow Pages owner had until last night to secure approval from 95 per cent of its lenders. But the logistics of speaking [...]
INGto carve up banking and insurance October 26, 2009 ING has staked its future on becoming a smaller, European-focused bank as it revealed plans yesterday to break up its empire, sell all insurance businesses and raise €7.5bn (£6.9bn) to pay down debts to the Dutch government. In a move that has ramifications for bailed-out British banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland, ING was [...]
Secret French bank merger deal denied October 26, 2009 FRENCH bank Credit Agricole said it had no plans for talks on a merger with rival Société Générale and insurer Groupama, after reports that Agricole was studying such a deal. “Credit Agricole says it has not engaged Société Générale and Groupama in any talks and has no intention of doing so,” an Agricole spokeswoman said. [...]
