Australia first country to place mega order for Merck’s new Covid pill October 6, 2021 Australia will buy 300,000 courses of Merck & Co’s experimental antiviral pill, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said earlier today. The announcement comes as Victoria logged the highest number of daily COVID-19 infections of any state in the country since the pandemic began. The new experimental Covid-19 pill reduced stays in hospital and deaths by half, [...]
Starbucks joins Deliveroo for app orders October 5, 2021 Coffee chain Starbucks and delivery app Deliveroo have joined forces. More than 400 of the chain’s stores are available to order on the Deliveroo app from today, with more stores being added throughout the month. Londoners can now order coffees alongside sandwiches and other menu items. Other areas involved include Birmingham and Manchester. Standard delivery [...]
Supermarket sweep: Sainsbury’s and Tesco singled out as next takeover targets October 4, 2021 Sainsbury’s and Tesco have been singled out as the next targets for buyout firms after the Morrisons deal. US investment company Fortress – which was beaten to the Morrisons takeover by private equity Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) at auction – has indicated it is interested in other UK acquisitions. Joshua Pack, financier at Fortress, [...]
Supermarket sweep: Sainsbury’s and Tesco singled out as next takeover targets – CityAM : CityAM October 4, 2021 Sainsbury’s and Tesco have been singled out as the next targets for buyout firms after the Morrisons deal. US investment company Fortress – which was beaten to the Morrisons takeover by private equity Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) at auction – has indicated it is interested in other UK acquisitions. Joshua Pack, financier at Fortress, [...]
Morrisons’ chairman calls Christmas supply concerns ‘slightly overblown’ October 4, 2021 Morrisons’ chairman has downplayed concerns over the supermarket supply chain this Christmas. Andy Higginson said he was “not worried” about the challenges arising from a shortage of goods drivers and reports forecasting empty shelves this autumn, the BBC reported. The supermarket boss said problems in the supply chain were “well publicised” and “slightly overblown”. “Supply [...]
Concoction of risks weighs on London markets October 4, 2021 A concoction of risks threatening to scupper the global economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis weighed on London markets this morning. The capital’s premier index edged down 0.12 per cent to 7,018.60 points during the first couple of hours of trading today. Ongoing supply issues, severe shortages, accelerating inflation and the growing likelihood of central [...]
Shortages saga: A third of UK mid-size firms forced to slim down offerings October 4, 2021 With the UK’s supply chains riddled with labour shortages and continued Covid-19-related hang-ups, a third of mid-size firms have been forced to reduce their offering. More than 34 per cent of businesses already trimmed their product lines and services by mid-September – before the fuel crisis had gripped the nation, according to accountancy firm BDO. [...]
‘PE to PE’ deals soar as firms rush to offload $2.3 trillion post-pandemic dry powder October 4, 2021 Private equity to private equity deals, whereby groups sell UK companies to each other, have jumped by 44 per cent in the past year, as firms rush to please investors and deploy capital accumulated during the coronavirus crisis. The number of so-called “PE to PE” deals increased by 44 per cent to 85 in the [...]
Supermarkets bleed sales thanks to food shortages October 3, 2021 The country’s largest supermarkets have lost out on more than £2bn sales this year so far thanks to food shortages. Leading retailers – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – lost out on sales during the first nine months of the year, according to data shared with trade magazine The Grocer. The sector has been hit [...]
CD&R wins takeover battle for Morrisons at auction with £7bn bid October 3, 2021 US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has beaten the Fortress Investment consortium at auction for Morrisons with a bid of £7bn for the supermarket. Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) bid 287 pence per share – 2 pence per share above their existing offer and just a penny above the 286 pence offered by [...]