Sberbank mulls Denizbank bid April 12, 2012 Russia’s top lender Sberbank is taking another look at Denizbank, put up for sale by stricken Belgian lender Dexia. Last year, Sberbank dropped out of the race for Denizbank, now worth $6bn, as it focused on integrating its acquisitions of Russian brokerage Troika Dialog. But now that talks with Qatar National Bank (QNB) over the [...]
Oligarch hits Glencore and Rusal with suit April 10, 2012 GLENCORE was dragged into a worsening dispute between two Russian oligarchs yesterday, as aluminium producer Rusal announced that its former chairman is to take legal action against the company and the commodities trader over a $47bn supply contract. Viktor Vekselberg quit as Rusal’s chairman three weeks ago and has since notified Glencore and his former [...]
£190m IPO for Russian miner April 10, 2012 PLATINUM miner and producer Russian Platinum is considering going public to raise around $300m (£189m), according to reports from Moscow. The company may hire Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, a source told Reuters. Russian Platinum, formed in 2011 from producer Amur’s platinum assets, produced 3.7 tonnes of platinum last year. A company spokesperson declined to [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 10, 2012 PETROFAC Liberum has cut its rating on the engineering group from “buy” to “hold” but leaves its target price on the stock unchanged at 1822p. As the shares are now within five per cent of the target, and ahead of new contract awards, the broker says Petrofac looks fair value. PETROPAVLOVSK Nomura remains positive on [...]
Miners and banks dent FTSE April 4, 2012 The FTSE 100 was dragged back by weaker mining stocks after minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s March meeting revealed that it is not planning any more monetary stimulus. Federal Reserve policymakers have backed away from the need to pump more money into the system as the US economy gradually improves, minutes of the central [...]
London 2012 poster boy Smith’s secret weapon in gold mission April 2, 2012 TAKING risks comes as second nature to Louis Smith, a sportsman who aligns natural athleticism with brute strength to perform gravity defying routines in pursuit of glory, but the London 2012 poster boy is willing to gamble on four years’ worth of gruelling preparation to complete his medal collection this summer. At the last Olympic [...]
Jefferies Hoare Govett wins Sirius Minerals April 2, 2012 HOARE Govett, the former RBS broker sold to US investment bank Jefferies, has won a new mandate with Sirius Minerals, the firm looking for potash in Yorkshire. The renamed Jefferies Hoare Govett has been picked as joint broker alongside Macquarie and Liberum. Chris Fraser, managing director and chief executive of Sirius, said: “With its US [...]
Petroplus gets first offers for German plant April 2, 2012 SEVERAL interested parties have submitted offers for insolvent refiner Petroplus’ Ingolstadt plant in Germany, a spokesman for the refinery’s administrator said yesterday. “We’ve received non-binding offers and are now organising plant visits,” said the spokesman for administrator Jaffe Rechtsanwaelte Insolvenzverwalter. “We hope to be able to conclude negotiations in the second quarter,” he added. The [...]
Honeymooning for one in the Maldives April 1, 2012 GOING on holiday alone is one thing. Going on holiday alone to the world’s foremost couples’ destination is rather another. I wasn’t off to backpack around the villages of the Himalayas or go down and out in Bangkok and Hanoi, bumping into new people and places every five minutes. No: I set off on a [...]
Miner Polyus prepares for premium London listing March 30, 2012 Russian miner Polyus Gold is likely go ahead with a share sale worth $700m (£436m) to $1bn in late April, paving the way for a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange, according to Reuters sources. The company had originally planned to redomicile from its Jersey home to London in early March but has instead [...]