Pearl courts bondholders January 5, 2010 PEARL, the insurance group founded by pizza entrepreneur Hugh Osmond, has tabled a deal it hopes will resolve a dispute it has been embroiled in with its bondholders. The firm suspended interest payments on £500m of bonds last year, sparking protests from the bondholders. The clash is an obstacle to the company’s hopes to achieve [...]
HUGH’S NEW HORIZON December 20, 2009 PIZZAEXPRESS and Punch Taverns founder Hugh Osmond has moved a step closer to floating his latest investment venture Horizon, with the appointment of bankers Credit Suisse and Numis to advise on going public. Horizon, which is understood to have raised £500m from investors, will debut on the market in the first half of January, according [...]
Hugh Osmond looks to buy firms in debt December 13, 2009 HUGH Osmond, the entrepreneur who built up Pizza Express and Punch Taverns, is amassing a £1bn war chest to begin a spending spree on distressed companies. Sun Capital, Osmond’s private equity firm, is already in the process of raising capital for the venture, and is understood to be preparing for a stock market listing early [...]
Insurer Pearl offers better bonds deal October 21, 2009 PEARL, the life insurance group that is planning a stock market flotation sometime next year, has resurrected discussions with the disgruntled holders of £500m of its bonds. Earlier this year, Pearl, then led by serial entrepreneur Hugh Osmond, suspended interest payments on the bonds, sparking protests from the holders, including representatives from Rathbone, F&C, Axa [...]
Aviva in Delta Lloyd listing next month October 5, 2009 INSURER Aviva yesterday said it was on track to sell off a chunk of its Dutch unit next month, raising hopes the firm will go on the hunt for buyout targets. Aviva said it will sell off part of the Delta Lloyd unit in November by listing the company on the Euronext stock exchange in [...]
Sandler joins Pearl as chair September 24, 2009 PEARL, the insurer founded by pubs-to-pizza entrepreneur Hugh Osmond, has confirmed Northern Rock head Ron Sandler is joining as chairman. The group has taken on Sandler ahead of its planned secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange in the fourth quarter. Sandler was put in charge of failed mortgage lender Northern Rock after it became [...]
CITY ON THE CUSP OF APPOINTING NICK ANSTEE AS NEXT LORD MAYOR September 23, 2009 UNDER a week to go until the appointment of the man who will replace Lord Mayor Ian Luder at the helm of the City of London. The new boss won’t officially take up residence in his swanky Mansion House digs until his official inauguration in November, though the election – if you can call it [...]
Meet the deal-maker extraordinaire who hopes the crisis will end in 2010 July 26, 2009 It is hard to escape the feeling that Slaughter and May’s Nigel Boardman is ever so slightly bored. Given that he is London’s top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lawyer, and that we are still in the midst of a bitter recession which has led to a dramatic reduction in deal-making, this is not exactly surprising. [...]
Friends Prov set to reject Cowdery bid July 12, 2009 FRIENDS Provident, the life insurer that recently offloaded its stake in asset manager F&C, is likely to reject a second merger approach from Clive Cowdery’s investment vehicle Resolution. The board is expected to issue a statement today stating an offer from Resolution made to its chairman Sir Adrian Montague does not offer a high enough [...]
Pearl faces bondholder battle July 1, 2009 Bondholders in British insurer Pearl Group said last night they would not back a proposed re-listing of the group because of concerns over treatment of the bonds. Pearl, Hugh Osmond’s closed life funds investment vehicle, has said it would float on the London Stock Exchange providing the group with £510m of new capital.