Credit Suisse sells Aberdeen July 2, 2012 CREDIT Suisse sold its seven per cent stake in fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management yesterday as part of its efforts to substantially increase its capital. The Swiss bank planned to sell 80.4m shares for 245p to 255p each, raising as much as £205m. A source close to the deal confirmed the shares were snapped up [...]
Poundland’s in the money July 2, 2012 POUNDLAND has continued to prosper in the economic downturn as shoppers flock to the retailer in search of bargains. Europe’s biggest single price discount retailer reported record sales of £780m in the 53 weeks to April – a 21.6 per cent jump – and a 22.2 per cent leap in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation [...]
HarbourVest buys portfolio July 2, 2012 GLOBAL private equity firm HarbourVest Partners said funds under its management will buy Conversus Capital’s investment portfolio for $1.4bn (£900m). Guernsey-based Conversus, a publicly traded portfolio of third-party private equity funds, said it will appoint a liquidator to wind up its operations after the closing of the deal. HarbourVest said the funds, along with HarbourVest [...]
APPLE PAYS $60M TO SETTLE DISPUTE IN CHINA July 2, 2012 APPLE has paid $60m (£38m) to Proview Technology (Shenzhen) to end a dispute over the iPad trademark in China that saw the world’s most valuable technology company engaged in a protracted legal tussle with a near-bankrupt Chinese firm. The lawsuit had hampered some sales and delayed the launch of the new iPad in China.
Knight and the BBA put banker bash on hold July 2, 2012 Angela Knight, the departing chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association, was yesterday forced to cancel the industry body’s summer party amid the continuing furore over the Libor interest rate scandal. News of the scrapped banker bash came via an email from Ben Andersen-Tuffnell to invitees, advising them that the shindig, planned for tomorrow on [...]
Sir Nigel Rudd is an angel July 2, 2012 The problems of Libor fixing haven’t prevented the British Bankers’ Association from working on other issues. Yesterday the industry trade body launched the UK Business Angels Association, which will promote angel investing in the UK, with Sir Nigel Rudd as its new chairman. The new group will have a dedicated team and will be located [...]
Essar Energy to sell its Vietnam interest to Eni July 2, 2012 ESSAR Energy yesterday said it agreed to sell a 50 per cent stake in an offshore gas exploration block in Vietnam to Italian oil major Eni. Under the deal Eni will assume operator status for the block. Further investment is required to establish gas reserves in the block and no gas is being produced at [...]
Dell wins bidding war for Quest Software with $2.4bn cash deal July 2, 2012 DELL said yesterday it will buy enterprise management software maker Quest Software for $2.4bn (£1.5bn) in cash, trumping a $2.17bn bid by private investment firm Insight Venture Partners. Dell sparked a bidding war in June when it offered $25.50 per share for Quest, outbidding Insight’s initial offer in March of $23 per share. Insight later [...]
SOCO SOARS ON FAR EAST FIELD PURCHASE July 2, 2012 SHARES in UK exploration firm Soco International jumped 6.9 per cent yesterday after it announced plans to buy out its minority partner in its main oil subsidiary in Vietnam. Soco will pay $95m (£61m) in cash to buy the 20 per cent in the Vietnam subsidiary that it doesn’t already own from partner Lizeroux Oil [...]
Cranswick acquires Kingston July 2, 2012 Pork supplier Cranswick yesterday said it has acquired cooked and roasted meat producer Kingston Foods. Cranswick said the move would help broaden the company’s customer base. Cranswick said it has acquired the entire issued share capital of Kingston Foods, which had gross assets of £3.7m on 27 January. Tony Turner and Paul Williams will continue [...]
