Suntory time for Jim Beam as Japanese taste for whisky grows January 13, 2014 What with Amec's £1.9bn move for Foster Wheeler and Goldcorp's $2.6bn offer for rival Osisko, today was already shaping up to be the biggest merger Monday in some time. But Japanese investment firm Suntory Holdings just blew everyone out of the water by making a $16bn (£9.74bn) bid for Beam – the NYSE-listed maker of Jim [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 10 January 2014 January 9, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Taxman hardens stance on disputes The UK taxman has toughened its stance on disputes with big business in response to public pressure over alleged “sweetheart” deals, companies say. Three-quarters of such groups surveyed by Clifford Chance, a law firm, said HM Revenue & Customs had “generally become more aggressive in recent years”. Santander [...]
Deal-makers are hoping that UK M&A returns to form January 6, 2014 AS WE head into the New Year the City will be cautiously optimistic about likely activity in the corporate finance markets in 2014. Last year saw a major revival in the new issues or initial public offering (IPO) market, which had been virtually dead in 2012. UK IPO revenue totals were 274 per cent up [...]
Standard Chartered would do better being more upfront December 16, 2013 BEFORE and during the financial crisis, which rocked so many banks to their foundations, Standard Chartered could seemingly do nothing wrong. While their rivals dodged in and around write-downs, rescue rights issues and increased impairment charges, the stock of both chief executive Peter Sands and his ebullient finance director Richard Meddings rose sky-high. So highly [...]
Hilton soars on New York debut boosting Blackstone’s profit December 12, 2013 PRIVATE equity giant Blackstone yesterday generated the second biggest paper profit from a buyout float ever, after shares in hotel chain Hilton Worldwide soared nearly 10 per cent on their debut. Hilton, which started trading on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, rallied to a peak of $21.94 after being priced at $20 a share [...]
Hilton Hotels float raises $2.3bn giving Blackstone huge profits December 11, 2013 INVESTORS checked into Hilton Hotel last night after the private equity-backed chain priced its initial public offering (IPO) near the top end of the range. The company, which was backed by Blackstone in 2007, priced its shares at $20 a piece – raising about $2.34bn after selling 117.6m shares to investors. The IPO is the [...]
Apax Partners picks co-leaders after chief quits December 5, 2013 APAX, the private equity firm behind fashion chain New Look, yesterday handed the keys of the company to two rising stars, part of a new breed of young executives leading buyout houses across Europe. Andrew Sillitoe, 41, and Mitch Truwit, 44, have been named co-chief executive officers, taking over from Apax co-founder Martin Halusa who [...]
New York Report: Wall St falls for fourth trading session in a row December 4, 2013 THE Dow and the S&P 500 finished lower for the fourth consecutive session yesterday after investors found few reasons to make big moves, with uncertainty remaining over when the Federal Reserve will start to slow its stimulus. Stocks fell for much of the session, but edged closer to break-even levels in the last hour of [...]
Hilton hotel and Aramark price New York floats December 2, 2013 THE US new issues market showed no signs of slowing down yesterday after two American hospitality giants with substantial UK operations priced their forthcoming market floats. Hotel operator Hilton Worldwide and catering company Aramark, both backed by private equity firms, announced plans to raise up to $2.37bn (£1.44bn) and $833.8m respectively in initial public offerings [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 02 December 2013 December 1, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Mass demonstrations shake Kiev Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine’s president, was under escalating pressure on Sunday night as hundreds of thousands of protesters poured onto the streets of Kiev demanding the overthrow of his government, after it sought to strengthen relations with Russia at the expense of the EU. With the number of protesters estimated [...]