$1bn Facebook backer eyes Twitter stake January 9, 2011 DIGITAL Sky Technologies, the Russian firm with a $1bn (£644bn) stake in Facebook, is considering buying shares in micro-blogging site Twitter. In its recent financing round, Twitter was valued at $3.7bn, despite advertising revenues said to be around $100m last year. If DST went ahead with the move, it would mean that that the company [...]
Sailing on the high seas with pirates, yachts and brokers galore January 9, 2011 WHAT do you do when you’ve done the rounds at a clutch of investment banks and stockbroking firms? Well, write a novel about the thrilling world of super-yachts, pirates and international finance, of course. And that’s exactly how Adam Wilson, non-exec chairman of Atlantic Coal, former managing director of Hichens Harrison and founder of Teather [...]
Breakthrough series sets up England hero for bumper windfall January 9, 2011 ENGLAND hero Alastair Cook’s record-breaking Ashes displays have hugely boosted his earning potential, with sports marketing experts predicting “the sky is the limit” for a man dubbed the “sponsor’s dream”. The Essex opener arrived in Australia desperately struggling for form and fighting to keep his place in the team, but plundered three centuries and a [...]
LinkedIn eyes public listing plan for 2011 January 6, 2011 LINKEDIN, the social networking site for professionals, plans to go public in 2011 and has selected its financial underwriters, according to sources familiar with the situation. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and JPMorgan are among the book runners. Bankers made their pitches to the privately-held company in November. “An IPO is just one of many [...]
ENRC advised by PwC on UK tax move January 6, 2011 ENRC, the mining group partly-owned by the Kazakh government and listed on the FTSE, has been advised that by relocating to Switzerland it could save itself £20m a year in tax. According to SkyNews, the group was given the advice by its auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers several months ago but the matter has not been considered at [...]
Dallaglio pride at Abu Dhabi switch January 5, 2011 WASPS legend Lawrence Dallaglio has hailed “history in the making” after the club confirmed a groundbreaking move to play this month’s LV= Cup match with Harlequins in Abu Dhabi. The fixture on Sunday 30 January is the first competitive domestic game between English sides to be played overseas, and will be staged at a purpose-built [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 5, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES HEDGE FUNDS BET ON REVIVAL OF FORTUNES After one of their most disappointing years, hedge fund managers are hoping for a better 2011 with less macro economic volatility and more corporate events to bet on, such as takeovers. As of the end of November, the average hedge fund had returned just over 7 [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 4, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BOND SURGE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC AS COMPANIES VIE FOR FUNDS Companies have embarked on an early-year rush to issue debt in an effort to beat rivals and secure financing before any rise in borrowing costs.The surge in bond issuance on both sides of the Atlantic on Tuesday came as equity [...]
Facebook value jumps to $50bn January 3, 2011 GOLDMAN Sachs has given social networking site Facebook an unprecedented vote of confidence by investing $450m (£291m) in the company at an astounding valuation of $50bn. The amount represents a fivefold increase from a valuation just two years ago of $10bn. In addition to Goldman’s investment, the Russian firm Digital Sky Technologies, which invested $200m for two [...]
Market for private tech firms soars January 3, 2011 A GROWING and largely unregulated market in privately owned shares has sprung up as technology firms continue to rise in value exponentially. Investors are clamouring to own a stake in the next major internet firm before they are publically traded, driving the biggest surge in demand for privately-owned tech companies since the dotcom boom. Facebook [...]