Russian billionaire readies an offer for Warner Music May 2, 2011 RUSSIAN billionaire Len Blavatnik is said to be on the verge of making a binding offer for Warner music, the record label behind Madonna and Oasis, in a deal valued at more than $3bn (£1.8bn). He will lead a consortium of bidders including the Gores brothers, the US billionaire financiers, to buy the company in [...]
BP asset sale hits profits as output slides April 27, 2011 OIL giant BP revealed a two per cent dip in profits in the first-quarter of this year, as its fire sale to cover the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill ate into production levels. The energy firm made replacement cost profits of $5.5bn (£3.3bn) in the three months to 31 March, from $5.6bn [...]
Mail.ru shareholders to sell stock April 27, 2011 Russian internet investment company Mail.ru said shareholders have launched a sale of a 6.65 per cent stake, five months after its London listing. Mail.ru’s shares were down almost nine per cent yesterday, diving below the sale price which was set at $32.50 (£20). Shares in the Facebook investor were sold in the London listing in [...]
BP’s Russian partner offers hope of a deal April 26, 2011 OIL giant BP yesterday responded positively to suggestions that it might be able to negotiate its way out of an impasse in Russia with its partners TNK. According to an interview with the BBC, one of the AAR oligarchs involved in the TNK joint venture with BP said yesterday that a sale of TNK’s 50 [...]
Russian heli firm’s London IPO takes off April 26, 2011 KREMLIN-backed firm Russian Helicopters has set the price range for its $500m (£304m) joint Moscow and London share offering. The helicopter manufacturer, dominant amongst Russian counterparts, priced its shares and global depository receipts (GDRs) at between $19 and $25 per unit. The deal values the company at between $1.8bn and $2.4bn. Russian Helicopters will sell [...]
TNK-BP oligarch: ‘we could sell stake to BP’ April 26, 2011 A resolution to BP’s ongoing dispute with its Russian partner TNK-BP may be in sight after one of the tycoons in the joint venture said he and others would be willing to sell their stake to BP. Viktor Vekselberg, one of the oligarchs making up the AAR consortium that owns half of the TNK-BP venture, [...]
HSBC axes its Russian retail banking unit April 25, 2011 HSBC has become the latest international lender to pull the plug on its retail operations in Russia, as foreign banks struggle to crack the dominance of the country’s state-backed giants. The London-based bank’s exit follows that of Barclays, which quit its Russian retail banking operation last month. Barclay’s boss Bob Diamond said at the time [...]
Mamut set to table Waterstone’s bid April 25, 2011 RUSSIAN oligarch Alexander Mamut will make a formal bid for struggling high street book chain Waterstone’s as early as this week. The Moscow-based billionaire will mount a cut-price £35m bid for the retailer, which is being sold off by its embattled owner HMV. The bookseller had been valued at between £50m and £75m, yet Mamut [...]
Oligarch’s friendship with chain founder April 25, 2011 BILLIONAIRE bibliophile Alexander Mamut has a long-standing friendship with Tim Waterstone, the founder of the book chain that bears his name. Although it is not yet clear whether they will mount a joint bid for the retailer, the pair have joined forces behind a bookseller in the past. The oligarch and the Englishman formed the [...]
Russian oil group Rosneft launches a share buyback April 20, 2011 RUSSIA’S top crude producer, Rosneft, announced a share buyback programme yesterday as the company continues to negotiate its $16bn (£10bn) share swap deal with BP. Rosneft said it will start with $100m to $200m worth of shares buyback in coming months, sending its share price up 1.7 per cent. The company also said that its [...]