Travis starts work on BSS May 31, 2010 BUILDERS’ merchant Travis Perkins yesterday began four weeks of due diligence on BSS, the plumbing and heating supplies firm, as prospects of a counter-bid began to fade. Travis Perkins made a £533m play for BSS on Friday in a move that would see it overtake Wolseley as Britain’s biggest building products distributor. Some of BSS’ [...]
Ultrapar eyes Shell assets May 31, 2010 BRAZILIAN oil company Ultrapar is set to submit an offer for Royal Dutch Shell’s European liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) arm alongside a string of private equity bidders. The Brazilian fuel and natural gas company is expected to submit a bid for the assets today, it is understood. Other possible bidders are thought to include private [...]
Investors do support AIA deal, says Pru May 25, 2010 PRUDENTIAL chairman Harvey McGrath yesterday attempted to smooth balm on investor fears by insisting the majority of shareholders support the $35.5bn (£24.7bn) acquisition of AIA, after the group’s new Asian shares dived on their debut and reports suggested AIA’s boss believes the deal is “unworkable”. “The response is constructive,” McGrath said after the dual listing [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU AGREE THAT THE GOVERNMENT’S PRORITY SHOULD BE REDUCING THE DEFICIT? May 25, 2010 GABRIELLE MCADAMS | WILLIS “I agree with the majority of the cuts so far and I agree that dealing with the deficit should be one of the top priorities, but the government shouldn’t jeopardise things like health and transport.” ZADE ALRIFAI | AXA “The government’s priority should be the economy but cutting the deficit at [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 25, 2010 Electra Private Equity Electra has appointed Colette Bowe as chairman after three years on the board. Bowe, an economist, began her career at the Department of Trade and Industry and then became chief executive of the Personal Investment Authority and chairman of European asset management at Robert Fleming. She is currently a board member at [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 9, 2010 KPMG The accountancy firm has appointed Alastair McLeish as UK head of tax and pensions, effective from 1 July. McLeish joined KPMG’s Birmingham office in 1994 and was subsequently appointed in 2003 as head of the pensions advisory group, which he has built up since to encompass over 350 staff and 20 partners. Former UK [...]
France’s Axa disappoints investors with sales at low end of expectations May 6, 2010 France’s AXA disappointed investors yesterday, unveiling first-quarter revenue growth that failed to match the upswing at a raft of US, Swiss and German rivals. Insurers on both sides of the Atlantic have seen investment income shoot up in the first quarter on the back of buoyant financial markets, and many have also boosted sales of [...]
FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS May 4, 2010 EXPENSIVE AND ATTRACTIVE TRUSTS Stockbroking firm Killik & Co yesterday listed three listed investment trusts that it finds expensive and three that look attractive from a discount perspective. The expensive trusts are Better Capital, Polar Capital Technology and 3i Infrastructure while Utilico Emerging Markets, Acorn Income Fund and BlackRock New Energy are attractive. In terms [...]
FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS April 27, 2010 FUND MANAGERS BREAK DOWN THE WALLS Convergence between traditional asset managers and hedge fund managers is still an emerging trend although it has accelerated following the crisis, according to a new study called Breaking Down the Walls conducted jointly by Bank of New York Mellon and Greenwich Associates. It found that 52 per cent of [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 26, 2010 PricewaterhouseCoopers Bridget Jackson has joined the accountancy firm as director of corporate sustainability, leading the firm’s internal environmental, community and corporate sustainability strategy. Jackson has over twenty years of experience in international business and strategy consulting. She joins from management consulting firm Accenture. She will report directly to managing partner Richard Collier-Keywood. Resolution The investment [...]