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 [...]
Hansteen seals warehouse deal July 2, 2012 Property investment company Hansteen Holdings yesterday said it had completed the purchase of a portfolio of six warehouses in Germany from Dexus Funds Management for €26m (£21m). The purchase, which was funded from the firm’s existing cash pile, reflects an initial yield of 13.77 per cent. The properties total 127,000 square metres. Hansteen’s joint chief [...]
Profits surge at Omega Diagnostics July 2, 2012 Allergy testing specialist Omega Diagnostics said yesterday its profit had soared by 36 per cent to £1m in the year to 31 March. Revenue jumped by 41 per cent to £11m. Its allergy testing division grew turnover by almost a third to £4.5m, and its food intolerance kits put on 10 per cent growth to [...]
Linde plans share sale to fund buy July 2, 2012 German industrial gas firm Linde plans to raise up to €1.5bn from selling new shares to help fund its purchase of Lincare Holdings, which will put it ahead of Air Liquide in the medical gas market. Linde has agreed to pay $4.6bn for the Florida-based provider of oxygen and respiratory therapy services to patients in [...]
VOICE OF THE CITY July 2, 2012 CITY professionals have voiced deep scepticism over the possibility of the coalition meeting its borrowing targets, with less than one in seven believing that the government can hit its forecasts. Our Voice of the City panel, run in association with PoliticsHome.com, found that just 13.7 per cent of respondents thought that the current parliament would [...]
