When it makes sense for the Top Dog to pitch July 18, 2011 FEW need reminding how treacherous current conditions in Europe’s equity markets are. Russia’s Valinor recently became the 25th pulled listing in Europe, Middle East and Africa so far this year and a 15 per cent downwards repricing of the Spanish bank Bankia yesterday underlined the fragility of investor appetite for new issues. So it is [...]
Vallares eyes Russian deals worth £8bn July 17, 2011 TONY Hayward, the former chief executive of BP, is considering a bid for two major Russian oil producers in a deal that could be worth around £8bn. Vallares, Hayward’s investment vehicle, has held early stage talks with Bashneft, one of Russia’s biggest oil producers, as well as Russneft, a smaller rival, City A.M understands. Both [...]
Russia’s Mechel mulls £2.5bn London float July 17, 2011 MECHEL looks set to be the next blue-chip Russian firm to list on the London Stock Exchange. The group – one of Russia’s biggest steel miners – is understood to be in the early stages of planning a flotation of around a quarter of its mining subsidiary to raise up to £2.5bn. The deal could [...]
BAT eyes Bulgarian bid July 17, 2011 BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (BAT) is in ongoing talks to buy Bulgaria’s state-owned tobacco company, in a deal worth in the region of £100m. The world’s second largest cigarette producer, whose brands include Dunhill and Lucky Strikes, is one of three companies that have so far submitted tender offers for Bulgartabac holding, which was put up [...]
MAN GROUP ROLLS OUT THE BARREL FOR NEW HQ July 14, 2011 IT HAS only been three months since George Osborne spent the morning at Nomura to declare the Japanese bank’s new offices officially open. But the chancellor was yesterday back in the Lower Thames Street area for the unveiling of Man Group’s new global HQ at Riverbank House, next-door to Nomura at 2 Swan Lane. “I’m [...]
Indian firms top global sales growth table July 14, 2011 Indian companies’ sales growth has soared past the rest of the world in the past five years, posting annual average rises of 27 per cent compared to just five per cent for firms in developed countries, an Ernst and Young survey found. Indian sales growth was also far higher than the average of 16 per [...]
BP plans North Sea field July 13, 2011 OIL major BP yesterday said it planned to launch a £3bn development of a North Sea field, despite the government’s decision to raid the profits of firms’ operating in the waters. As part of one of the biggest investments in the North Sea in the last 10 years, BP said it would install a new floating [...]
China’s economy looks to be on shaky ground July 11, 2011 INFLATION in China hasn’t been tamed. Statistics released at the weekend suggest annual inflation for June is running at 6.4 per cent, up from 5.5 per cent in May; while food inflation for June shot up 2.7 per cent on the month to 14.4 per cent. Tomorrow, China will release its GDP statistics, which are [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 10, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES VIRGIN SEEKS US ROLE Virgin Trains is vying to play a role in the privatisation of the US rail industry in a move that could see it become the operator of the lucrative 457-mile route from Washington to Boston. Virgin, which already runs the profitable West Coast railway line between London and Glasgow [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 6, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES SPOTIFY SIGNS DEAL WITH VIRGIN Spotify and Virgin Media on Wednesday announced a deal that could help the music streaming service boost numbers of paying customers and reach a wider audience. By the end of the year, Virgin Media’s 4m UK customers will be able to access Spotify’s catalogue of 13m songs through [...]