SABMiller in hostile bid for Foster’s August 17, 2011 SABMILLER yesterday went hostile in its bid for Foster’s after the brewer’s board rejected a £6.1bn offer and flatly refused to enter negotiations. The owner of brands including Peroni and Grolsch has not raised its offer but is directly approaching shareholders to convince them to back a deal. Foster’s immediately rejected SABMiller’s offer in June, [...]
Other Aim-listed companies to consider August 17, 2011 ON THE difference between buying small as opposed to large company stocks, investment guru Jim Slater notably remarked: “Elephants don’t gallop.” While true, the worry for many investors is that instead of lasting 70 years, many Aim-listed companies have a life expectancy closer to that of the mayfly. However, not all Aim companies are born [...]
Heritage Oil boosts Russian output August 16, 2011 Production has more than trebled at one of Heritage Oil’s Russian fields, as results from drilling and testing one well exceeded expectations. The oil and gas company announced that production at the Zapadno Chumpasskoye Field increased from 431 barrels of oil per day (bopd) to the current level of 1,600 bopd. Well 363 is now [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 10, 2011 WEIR GROUP Goldman Sachs has reiterated its “buy” rating for the engineering company, with a 12-month target price of 3,250p. Adding the group to its conviction buy list, the move was sparked by positive announcements on mining capex from the large miners and positive read-across from the mining capex exposed engineers. Goldman views the current [...]
BP sues Renova in latest spat with AAR partners August 9, 2011 OIL giant BP has launched a case with the Stockholm court of arbitration against one of the shareholders in its Anglo-Russian TNK-BP joint venture, echoing the two sides’ tussle over Rosneft earlier in the year. BP filed a claim last week against Renova, part of the Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR) consortium that controls half of TNK-BP, for [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK August 7, 2011 ONE OF the most regular visitors to Boisdale in Belgravia is a Russian gentleman who lives around the corner on Queen Elizabeth Street. So when the local dropped in to the restaurant with three Russian friends, he felt sufficiently at home to order one of the most expensive items on the menu: a plate of [...]
Twitter confirms significant investment from Russian firm August 1, 2011 TWITTER yesterday confirmed it has completed a “significant round of funding” led by Russian technology investor Digital Sky Technologies (DST). The microblogging site said the new funds, in which several other investors were involved, would be used to “aggressively innovate, hire more great people and invest in international expansion”. It is understood DST took a [...]
Chancellor regrets taking on Andy Coulson as spin doctor July 25, 2011 CHANCELLOR George Osborne yesterday said he regrets the appointment of Andy Coulson as the Number 10 communications chief. Former News of the World editor Coulson’s role in the government has come under intense scrutiny since his arrest as part of the phone hacking scandal. Osborne was singled out by former News International boss Rebekah Brooks [...]
Twitter fundraising gives it valuation of over $8bn July 24, 2011 A NEW round of funding is set to value microblogging site Twitter at a staggering $8bn (£4.9bn). It is understood Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies (DST) will take a stake of around $400m, with another $400m being split between other investors. US fund manager T Rowe Price will invest up to $90m in the [...]
Travel Notes July 24, 2011 ROMAN SAVINGS Rome in high summer is no fun if you aren’t doing it properly. You don’t want to slog miles across the city through the crowds; no, you want the Forum on your doorstep. The luxe Palazzo Manfredi, a 17th century palazzo in the heart of the historical centre of Rome, offers a rather [...]