HMV returns to profit as Hilco rescue pays off September 28, 2014 HMV IS set to announce nearly £17m in operating profits during the 11 months after it fell into administration last year. Between 29 January and 28 December 2013 the music and DVD retailer saw sales of £311.2m, with its owner Hilco reporting every one of HMV’s stores is now profitable due to its restructuring programme. [...]
Hikma Pharmaceuticals eyeing $1bn bid for US rival CorePharma September 28, 2014 HIKMA Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures generic pharmaceutical products, is reportedly looking at buying US-based rival CorePharma for up to $1bn (£615m). CorePharma, owned by private equity firm RoundTable Healthcare Partners, was reportedly put up for sale in August and Hikma is now one of a number of bidders for the firm, according to The Sunday Times. [...]
Lake Capital funds boost MHP’s hires with key investment banker September 28, 2014 FOLLOWING the £100m takeover of Engine Group by US private equity firm Lake Capital in July its PR firm MHP Communications will today announce a key hire, supported by financing from Lake Capital. Tim Rowntree, Numis Securities managing director of corporate broking, will join MHP in mid-October as a managing director. In his time at [...]
Google picks apart News Corp attack in open letter September 25, 2014 THE SPAT between Google and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp escalated yesterday as the search giant responded to scathing claims made by the publisher last Thursday that it was a “platform for piracy”. In a blog post sarcastically titled “Dear Rupert”, referring to the billionaire chairman, Google’s comms chief Rachel Whetstone hit back at claims made [...]
Google faces an existential risk in its EU battle – Bottom line September 25, 2014 The European Union’s antitrust case against Microsoft’s abuse of its dominant position to bundle software with Windows began in 1993 and wouldn’t conclude until 2009. The result was that Microsoft had to unbundle software from its platform, share information with rivals and pay a record €1.4bn (£1.1bn) fine. But the lasting impact of the ruling [...]
EU banking watchdog to target banks avoiding new bonus cap September 25, 2014 THE EUROPEAN Union’s banking regulator is planning next month to clamp down on banks whose pay policies are designed to sidestep the EU’s incoming bonus cap. The European Banking Authority (EBA) is poised to take a much stricter stance than British regulators on what can count as fixed pay, the Financial Times said yesterday, citing [...]
Autonomy founder Mike Lynch steps down from Blinkx board September 25, 2014 AUTONOMY founder Mike Lynch, who is currently embroiled in a legal tussle with US tech giant HP over allegations of fraud surrounding its $11bn (£7.3bn) takeover of his firm, yesterday stood down from the board of Blinkx, the online video company spun off from Autonomy. Lynch will step down on 31 December, but has agreed [...]
Vodafone in 5G research deal with Dresden September 25, 2014 VODAFONE has agreed a partnership to develop next generation mobile technologies, based around so-called 5G, with Dresden University of Technology. The partnership will see Dresden join a fleet of universities already working with the operator on research efforts, including University of Surrey, King’s College London and Carnegie Mellon University in the US. “While 5G is [...]
Mitchells & Butlers blames poor weather for August sales slump September 25, 2014 PUBS AND restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers reported a slight 0.6 per cent rise in like-for-like full-year sales yesterday in a trading update, due to mixed performance over the summer. Mitchells & Butlers, whose chains include Harvester and All Bar One, said sales in July were boosted by the World Cup, but that damp weather [...]
CSR soars on extended deadline for US Microchip’s takeover bid September 25, 2014 BRITISH microchip firm Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) has extended the deadline for US company Microchip Technology to make a takeover bid for the group, which reportedly could be up to $3bn (£1.84bn). CSR’s shares jumped 5.01 per cent yesterday after it announced the deadline extension, to close at 765p per share. The silicon chip designer [...]
