WPP snaps up Dutch outfit June 17, 2014 WPP yesterday said it was taking over Dutch marketing strategy consultant EffectiveBrands for an undisclosed sum. The deal, made through WPP’s media research arm Millward Brown, would see EffectiveBrands combine its client list of Pernod Ricard, Barclays, Unilever and PepsiCo with the WPP firm to create a new unit called Millward Brown Vermeer. EffectiveBrands made [...]
Daisy Group is on the hunt for more deals with new warchest June 17, 2014 DAISY Group, the Aim-listed telecoms provider, is targeting further acquisitions and has renegotiated its £200m borrowing facilities to fund new deals. Yesterday the firm reported its operating loss had widened 6.5 per cent to £17.9m during the year to 31 March, due to the increased costs associated with its recent purchases. “We’re highlighting that we [...]
City Moves for 18 June 2014 | Who’s switching jobs June 17, 2014 Edison Investment Research Peter Lynch has been appointed UK oil and gas analyst at the investment intelligence firm. He joins from Tell Investments. Lynch has also previously held positions at Citigroup, where he was a sell-side analyst, Merrill Lynch, and Arthur Andersen. Utilyx The energy consultancy has appointed George Pitt as finance director. He joins [...]
Morgan Stanley emails exposed in bid battle June 16, 2014 THE dark arts of investment banking were brutally exposed yesterday as Allergan, the US healthcare group fighting off a $53bn (£31.2bn) hostile bid from a rival Valeant Pharmaceuticals, released emails designed to embarrass Morgan Stanley, the US investment bank that is now advising its unwanted suitor. The emails show that just a few weeks ago, [...]
Wizz Air grounds London float June 16, 2014 HUNGARIAN low cost airline Wizz Air yesterday ditched plans to float in London due to turbulence in the airline industry, the second company to this year to shelve a market listing. The firm blamed “market volatility” in the airline sector for pulling the initial public offering of shares, which would have raised €200m (£160m) to [...]
Mitchells & Butlers pulls off £266m Orchid deal June 16, 2014 HARVESTER and All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers yesterday announced it has acquired rival pub operator Orchid Group for £266m in cash, in a deal that the firm expects will lead to a double digit boost to earnings. Orchid’s 173 pubs will join Mitchells & Butlers’ existing estate of 1,592 managed pubs and 52 [...]
The world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund is set to reshape the FTSE 100 June 16, 2014 Times are changing for one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the $175bn behemoth which invests money on behalf of the Qatari state, is expected to dampen its more ambitious dealmaking. It will instead adopt an increasingly "conservative" approach, according to a research note published today by political strategists [...]
Banks appointed as BSkyB mulls plans to buy Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland June 16, 2014 BSkyB has appointed banks as it weighs plans to create a pan-European satellite TV operator by buying up Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland. Morgan Stanley and Barclays, who already act as advisers to BSkyB, have been retained for the proposed transaction, according to Reuters. The BSkyB proposal is said to be an £8bn deal that [...]
City Moves for 16 June 2014 | Who’s switching jobs June 16, 2014 Wilmington Pedro Ros has been appointed chief executive officer, as incumbent Charles Brady prepares to retire from the business-to-business information firm. Ros joins from Creston, where he is head of strategic insight. He was previously chief executive and chairman of WPP-owned TNS. UBS Global Asset Management Martina Kay has been appointed global head of human [...]
Caixabank could bid to buy Barclays’ Spanish business June 12, 2014 SPANISH lender Caixabank is considering snapping up Barclays’ assets in Spain, as the British bank winds down much of its presence in western Europe. The continental businesses are a drag on Barclays’ returns and it wants to sell or close them to focus on more profitable areas. But it had not expected to sell them so soon [...]