London set for surge of IPO activity September 28, 2009 THE CITY is gearing up for a return of initial public offering (IPO) activity as a torrent of companies prepare to take the plunge into shareholder ownership, according to Thomson Reuters data. Underscoring the dramatic recovery being staged on equity markets, five IPOs – where firms listed on stock markets – are now on the [...]
Opera ups stakes in browser probe September 28, 2009 Norwegian web browser maker Opera urged European Union regulators not to rush to close their antitrust case against Microsoft before ensuring a level playing field among browsers. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has said she is keen to reach a settlement to the decade-long dispute with Microsoft before her term ends this year. But Opera said [...]
Swiss Re raises 38m from sale of run off unit, amid ongoing fight for capital September 28, 2009 SWISS REINSURANCE GROUP, the firm behind the construction of City skyscraper the Gherkin, has sold off its run-off management unit in a deal valued at up to £38m. The firm has sold its PRO unit to UK-based run-off firm consolidator Tawa, as it fights to offset losses made from investments turning sour in the credit [...]
Pawnbroker’sprofit surges on gold price September 28, 2009 PAWNBROKER Albemarle & Bond (A&B) yesterday announced a 50 per cent rise in its full-year pre-tax profit helped by a strong gold price, and said trading remained strong. The company also said in a separate statement that its founder, Philip Murphy, will retire from his role as non-executive director at the group’s next annual meeting. [...]
Restructurings to continue… September 28, 2009 THE push to cut debts will drive a high number of corporate restructurings in the next year, as banks grow more willing to take writedowns and as businesses run out of cash, a senior restructuring adviser said. Simon Davies of Blackstone Group yesterday told the Reuters Restructuring Summit that the paralysis in restructuring brought on [...]
Industry faces battle to find new professionals September 28, 2009 THERE are too few turnaround specialists in the world to cope with a surge in the numbers of companies that need restructuring after the credit crisis, an insolvency expert told the Reuters Restructuring Summit. “There are 408 practitioners in 11 of the United States’ trading partners, five of them have seven between them,” said Nick [...]
US chemical deal gets go ahead signal September 28, 2009 Dow Chemical, the American chemicals group, yesterday said it had received official approval from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its $1.68bn (£1.05bn) sale of its Morton Salt unit to Germany’s K+S to go ahead, clearing the way for the deal to reach completion stage. The companies expect the transaction to close within the [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 28, 2009 HSBC Private BankThe bank has appointed Chris Allen, currently head of real estates at HSBC Alternative Investments Limited (HAIL), as managing director and head of the HAIL division. Prior to joining HSBC in 2007, Allen spent ten years at real estate services company Colliers International, latterly as an executive director in its investment division, before [...]
Assets pass 4bn point at Neptune September 28, 2009 NEPTUNE Investment Management, the boutique founded by star fund manager Robin Geffen, has defied the downturn and passed the landmark of £4bn of assets under management. The company, which Geffen launched in 2002 with just £25m in investments, said it had been growing its assets apace despite the financial crisis. Much of the stellar asset [...]
BA shorthaul is threatened by the downturn September 28, 2009 FLAG carrier British Airways (BA) may be forced to slash some of its short-haul flights to restore earnings, an industry expert has said. “This is an airline that really has to bite the bullet on short-haul, looking long and hard at what it’s costing and whether they can ever get a decent margin out of [...]
