MEET THE ADVISERS April 12, 2011 BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH BANK of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) is joint global coordinator and joint bookrunner on the IPO of Russian Helicopters, alongside BNP Paribas and VTB Capital. Leading the team is Riccardo Orcel, BofAML head of CEEMEA corporate & investment banking. Riccardo is the brother of Andrea Orcel, BoAML’s head of emerging [...]
Global growth fears weigh on FTSE April 12, 2011 Worries over global growth and Japan’s continuing nuclear crisis have combined to cause an almost 100-point plunge on the FTSE today. The FTSE 100 lost 89 points in the day’s trading to close 1.5 per cent down at 5,964.47 after the International Monetary Fund downgraded the US’ growth forecast to 2.8 per cent and the [...]
BP deal in doubt as Rosneft chair leaves April 12, 2011 BP’s $16bn (£9.8bn) share swap deal with Rosneft looks shaky following the departure of the Russian oil giant’s chairman, Igor Sechin. Sechin, also deputy prime minister of Russia, has followed orders from Russian president Dmitry Medvedev that ministers should resign from their positions leading state-owned companies to separate business and politics. BP is also under [...]
BP partners cause chaos April 11, 2011 THE CHAIRMAN of Rosneft stepped down yesterday, creating further uncertainty for BP and its plans for a £10bn share swap and exploration deal with the Russian state-owned oil giant. Igor Sechin, who is also Russia’s deputy prime minister, announced his resignation at a shareholder meeting yesterday as part of a country-wide removal of politicians from [...]
Arsenal agrees £731m Kroenke takeover April 11, 2011 Premier League club Arsenal said it had agreed to be taken over by American billionaire Stan Kroenke in a deal which would value the club at £731m. Kroenke, who already owns close to 30 per cent of the North London club, said he had offered Arsenal shareholders 11,750 pounds per share and had already secured [...]
KROENKE CLOSES IN April 11, 2011 IT’S ALMOST four years to the day that American businessman Stan Kroenke first took a financial interest in Arsenal, but only now are the club’s supporters fully aware of his intentions with confirmation of a takeover bid set to be announced today. Kroenke, 63, first became involved with the north London club back in 2007 [...]
Hayward role at TNK-BP in doubt April 10, 2011 Embattled former BP boss Tony Hayward’s place on the board of the firm’s Russian joint venture TNK-BP is in doubt , with the board understood to be considering his position. If he is ousted from the role it would cut his last tie to the company he headed up for three years. He was criticised [...]
Tough week ahead for BP April 10, 2011 BP chief executive Bob Dudley is facing a particularly gruelling week, with a deadline for the firm’s £10bn share swap with Rosneft due on Thursday, the same day as the oil giant’s first annual shareholder meeting since last April’s Gulf of Mexico spill. BP management are expected to come under fire at the firm’s AGM, [...]
BP-Rosneft deal blocked again April 8, 2011 A $16bn (£10bn) share exchange between BP and state-owned Russian counterpart Rosneft has been blocked again. An arbitration panel upheld an injunction on the deal, but gave BP more time to hammer out a solution. Russian shareholders of TNK-BP – an earlier joint venture of the UK firm – have argued that the Rosneft tie-up [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 7, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES MADOFF SEEKS TO SPREAD BLAME FOR FRAUD Bernard Madoff sought to spread blame for his $65bn Ponzi scheme to banks, regulators and some of his oldest business associates in a rambling jailhouse interview with the FT. The disgraced financier offered little evidence for his claims and admitted he had lied to investors and [...]