BofA Merrill Lynch moves to boost weakened broking unit March 14, 2012 SIMON Mackenzie-Smith, who has been drafted in to reinforce Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s battered UK corporate broking unit, has hired Peter Luck from UBS as he strives to retain the bank’s long list of clients following a raft of executive departures. Luck will be a senior player in the team at Merrill Lynch, which [...]
Ziggo brings a ray of sunshine to IPO market March 12, 2012 ALONG with the sunshine came a hint of optimism about the future of the faltering IPO market yesterday as the Dutch cable group Ziggo revealed there was sufficient demand for its upcoming £550m share issue. Private equity owners Cinven and Warburg Pincus, advised by STJ Advisors, are selling 35m secondary shares with guidance of €16.50 to [...]
Viterra rises on Glencore interest March 12, 2012 Shares in Viterra, the Canadian grain firm being circled by Glencore, jumped more than four per cent yesterday as more possible bidders emerged. The Saskatchewan firm briefly hit a three-and-a-half year high on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It has not spoken publicly since admitting third-party interest on Friday, now known to be from Glencore. Canadian [...]
Glencore eyes £3.5bn grain giant buyout March 11, 2012 COMMODITIES giant Glencore has emerged as the mystery bidder for Canadian grain giant Viterra. The Swiss trading firm, currently putting the final touches to a $90bn (£57bn) merger with mining group Xstrata, has made an approach for Viterra, which on Friday told the market it had been subject to expressions of interest. Glencore is already [...]
Xstrata in $500m deal to expand coking coal March 8, 2012 MINER Xstrata, which has agreed to a merger with trader Glencore, expanded its coking coal operations in Canada’s British Columbia yesterday with the $500m (£316.6m) purchase of assets from oil explorer Talisman Energy. Xstrata has been building its presence in the Peace River coalfield, in northern British Columbia, since acquiring First Coal last August. The [...]
It’s tough at the top: world’s richest fight to keep wealth March 7, 2012 MEXICAN telecoms magnate Carlos Slim Helu has kept his spot as the world’s richest man for the third year running, according to the Forbes list of billionaires out yesterday. But his family fortune slid $5bn to $69bn over the year, closing the gap between him and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who remains in second place [...]
Glencore boss fires shot at deal critics March 5, 2012 GLENCORE chief executive Ivan Glasenberg yesterday said the company’s “naysayers” who were trying to torpedo the proposed $37bn (£23bn) bid for miner Xstrata were failing to appreciate its potential. Glasenberg (pictured) said all sides would benefit from the extra clout the pair would have on world markets. However Standard Life, which has a 2.2 per cent [...]
FTSE slides as miners hit by China’s cut in growth targets March 5, 2012 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 fell yesterday, as weakness in miners and engineers outstripped strength in defensive stocks after China cut its growth forecasts, while mixed economic data in Europe and the United States dimmed the outlook for global growth. London’s blue chip index shed 36.31 points or 0.6 per cent to 5,874.82, although it held within [...]
FTSE pegged back by China growth fears March 5, 2012 Uncertainty over global growth dragged on investor sentiment in early trading along with a a renewed surge in oil prices. Brent crude climbed back up near $124 a barrel as another refiner announced cuts to Iranian imports, feeding fears of a supply crunch as the West presses ahead with sanctions on Tehran. Copper prices, however, [...]
Glencore says Xstrata deal fair as its profits rise March 5, 2012 Commodities trader Glencore, which has agreed to a $37bn takeover of miner Xstrata, said the deal was “fair” for all shareholders at current levels, brushing aside hopes of a hint the offer could be sweetened. It made the comments as it said in its 2011 preliminary results that revenue during its first year as a [...]