Buyers eye Thomas Cook stake June 9, 2009 SHARES in holiday operator Thomas Cook yesterday jumped by 10 per cent to 235p despite the collapse of its majority shareholder Arcandor, on the back of bidder speculation. City A.M. understands that Germany’s leading tour operator Rewe is one of several potential bidders interested in snapping up Arcandor’s 52.8 per cent stake. It expressed an [...]
Horlick outed as Bramdean secret bidder June 9, 2009 BRAMDEAN Alternatives fund manager Nicola Horlick yesterday dropped a bombshell on the City by revealing she was behind the bid approach announced in the middle of her public row with major shareholder Vincent Tchenguiz. Bramdean Alternatives confirmed yesterday that the approach, initially made on 17 March but announced on 30 April, came from Petersfield Asset [...]
City chaos as strikes go ahead June 9, 2009 LONDON was thrown into chaos last night as London Underground (LU) staff staged a 48-hour walk-out. Last-ditch talks between RMT union officials and LU bosses fell apart just before the 7pm strike start-time, as the union accused transport chiefs of “pulling the rug from under a workable agreement” by bringing in lawyers. Transport for London [...]
TEN US BANKS TO REPAY TARP FUNDS June 9, 2009 THE US Treasury yesterday gave the green light to 10 Wall Street banks to begin repaying $68bn (£41.7bn) in state funding they received as part of the Obama administration’s Troubled Asset Relief Programme (Tarp). The banks finally received permission to begin paying back the funds, which are held by the US Treasury in the form [...]
SUMMER SALES June 9, 2009 First Kaka, now Ronaldo for RealREAD MADRID president Florentino Perez began his pursuit for Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo last night insisting he would do “everything possible” to land the Portuguese star. Perez is building a new team of ‘galacticos’ after securing the £59m transfer of Kaka on Monday night, and is now set to test [...]
McMahon group plans Newcastle bid June 9, 2009 SINGAPORE-based investment company the Profitable Group has emerged as a leading contender to buy Newcastle United from beleaguered owner Mike Ashley. The company, whose board includes former Liverpool and England midfielder Steve McMahon, is said to want to retain Alan Shearer as manager. The Profitable Group has previously been linked with buying the Magpies, who [...]
Fans offered refunds over Tube strike June 9, 2009 ENGLAND face the prospect of playing in front of a half-empty Wembley tonight after fans were offered refunds because of the Tube strike. Industrial action on the London Underground will severely restrict supporters’ travel options, while road and rail networks are expected to be swollen by extra passengers. The Football Association said no additional transport [...]
Capello: Early goal will open floodgates June 9, 2009 ENGLAND head coach Fabio Capello has urged his side to keep the notoriously expectant Wembley crowd off their backs by scoring an early goal against Andorra tonight. That has proved beyond England in their last two meetings with the minnows; a goalless first half famously provoked a barracking from frustrated supporters in Barcelona in 2007. [...]
Weststar eyes vanmaker LDV June 9, 2009 Malaysian group Weststar emerged as a potential buyer for the assets of failed vanmaker LDV yesterday, one of three contenders for the acquisition. The news comes after most of LDV’s 850 staff were made redundant earlier this week. Weststar was forced to walk away from a takeover deal last month when it failed to secure [...]
Volvo withdraws redundancies June 9, 2009 Volvo withdrew redundancy notices previously handed out to 335 of its workers yesterday, after a deal with unions agreed hours and wages. The redundancies were expected at a plant in Sweden. The deal with the IF Metal union meant working hours would be cut by 10 per cent in addition to the existing two stoppage [...]