Nestl considers a Swiss exit if executive salary is capped September 13, 2009 NESTLÉ, the world’s biggest food company, has warned that it could pull out of its home base in Switzerland if the government’s proposal to cap top salaries is approved. Group chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe yesterday said: “It would be the beginning of an end,” and said that if the move succeeded: “We must ask ourselves whether [...]
Deloitte cleared after report into Phoenix Four over Rover collapse September 13, 2009 DELOITTE, the accountants for failed carmaker MG Rover, got the all clear from the 850-word independent report on the collapse of the company, it emerged yesterday, despite charging the business £30.7m in fees over five years. The news clears the auditor and tax advising firm after years of speculation that it could be reprimanded, having [...]
Cadbury boss blasts Kraft’s sour proposal September 13, 2009 CADBURY ramped up its defence at the weekend against a takeover from Kraft after its chairman Roger Carr blasted the bid as “unattractive.” In an open letter to Kraft’s chief executive Irene Rosenfeld, Carr reaffirmed the Dairy Milk maker’s rejection of the £10.2bn bid, which he believed “fundamentally undervalues Cadbury.” And in a further slight, [...]
SWEETPICKINGS The ADVISERS September 13, 2009 Fittingly for one of the largest M&A deals to be proposed so far this year, Kraft and Cadbury have appointed an army of advisers to stand behind them in their respective quests – a move which could cost the two firms upwards of $90m (£54m) in fees. Cadbury is taking advice from Goldman Sachs, UBS [...]
J&J tries to cut Elan deal price September 13, 2009 US health-care firm Johnson & Johnson is in talks to cut the price of a $1.5 bn (£900m) deal with Irish drugmaker Elan Corp, Reuters news agency reported last night..J&J agreed in July to pay $1 bn for an 18.4 per cent stake in Elan and $500 mn for a majority stake in its pipeline [...]
Rio Tinto sales gains approval September 13, 2009 Global miner Rio Tinto has received approval from the Brazilian National Defence Council for the proposed sale of its Corumba iron ore mine to Brazil’s Vale SA, Rio Tinto has announced.. Rio Tinto had announced the $750 mn (£450mn) sale of Corumba last January as part of a $1.6 bn deal to sell a range [...]
Indian auction gets go-ahead September 13, 2009 India’s auction of third-generation telecommunications services will go ahead in early December, more than a year after it was originally planned, its government said yesterday.
London retail sales drop by 5.9 per cent September 13, 2009 LONDON retail sales fell in August, the British Retail Consortium revealed today. Last month’s sales were 5.9 per cent lower on a like-for-like basis than a year ago, when sales were up by 8.6 per cent on the previous year. The figures, which show the lowest sales growth for four years, come ahead of department [...]
US ignites tyre tax row with Chinese September 13, 2009 TENSIONS between the US and China escalated last night, with Beijing slamming Washington for what it called its “rampant protectionism” over a decision to impose extra duty on Chinese-made tyres. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu criticised the US decision, saying it sent a dangerous protectionist signal before a G20 summit. The commerce ministry also [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland mulls a revival of Williams &Glyn’s brand September 13, 2009 STATE-SUPPORTED Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is considering relaunching the Williams &Glyn’s high-street banking name, with an eye to putting a swathe of its retail bank branches up for sale, it has emerged. The bank could rebrand hundreds of branches to the old name, which was dropped after RBSbought the NatWest chain of high-street banks, [...]
