Britvic and AG Barr gear up for £1.4bn deal September 5, 2012 TANGO soft drink maker Britvic yesterday revealed it had been approached by AG Barr, maker of Scottish staple Irn-Bru, in a plucky bid to merge the two beverage firms. AG Barr, which is much smaller than Britvic with revenues of £237m versus £1.3bn, said yesterday there was a “compelling industrial logic” for the plan. The [...]
FTSE loses 1.5pc with investors not holding breath over ECB’s summit September 4, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday reflecting investor uncertainty over whether this week’s key European Central Bank (ECB) meeting will deliver the goods on a hoped for bond-buying scheme designed to ease the euro debt crisis. The FTSE 100 closed down 86.40 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 5,672.01, ending back below the 5,700 level [...]
Canaccord boss leaves months after merger September 3, 2012 MARK Brown is leaving his position as chief executive of Canaccord Genuity in the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific, just months after putting together the merger with Collins Stewart Hawkpoint, the firm he formerly led, City A.M. has learned. The Canadian bank Canaccord will today announce a replacement for Brown, whose early departure was not [...]
Nomura’s City credibility takes a knock as Vereker moves aside September 3, 2012 WILLIAM Vereker, one of the City’s best known dealmakers, is stepping down as joint head of investment banking at the Japanese bank Nomura, it emerged yesterday. Vereker, who is one of the advisers to Xstrata on its proposed but faltering mega merger with Glencore, will become vice-chairman and focus on client relationships, an internal memo [...]
A week to save Glenstrata deal September 2, 2012 GLENCORE’S merger with Xstrata looks set to collapse this week after seven months of wrangling – unless the firms can reach a compromise with Qatar and other large shareholders over the terms of the deal. Xstrata investors are expected to vote against the £45bn tie-in at a meeting in the Swiss town of Zug on Friday [...]
Qatar to block Glenstrata mega-merger August 30, 2012 THE Qatari sovereign wealth fund, the second-largest shareholder in Xstrata behind Glencore, said yesterday it will block the mega-merger between the two commodity giants. Qatar has been fighting for an improved ratio on the 2.8 shares for every one existing Xstrata share offered by Glencore in February. It said in June that a ratio of [...]
Investor body and Norway lean on Xstrata August 29, 2012 SHAREHOLDER body Pirc yesterday came out against Xstrata’s merger with commodities giant Glencore, adding to pressure exerted by Norway as it upped its stake in the mining group. Pirc said investors should vote down the deal, due to concerns over transparency and governance. Xstrata shareholders will vote on the merger on 7 September. Meanwhile the [...]
Sovereign wealth funds holding the keys to a successful merger August 29, 2012 THE Qataris have had their say, several times over. Now the Norwegians are baring their teeth. With less than two weeks to go until the crunch vote and after yesterday’s drop, Glencore’s shares are already trading at just 2.5 times the value of those of its target – well below the 2.8 times ratio that [...]
Miners weighed down by copper price slip as quiet FTSE ends lower August 29, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue chip shares fell yesterday in very light trade as uncertainty over the outlook for the global economy and the next moves by central banks prompted many investors to stick to the sidelines. Miners were the standout fallers, off 2.2 per cent, weighed down by a drop in the copper price. Global growth worries [...]
FTSE 100 lower on worries over global economy August 29, 2012 The UK’s blue chip index opened lower this morning, with concerns over the health of the global economy and falling metal prices dragging shares down. Russian oil and gas company Ruspetro led the fallers, shedding 8.41 per cent in early trading as investors reacted negatively to news that it swung to a loss in the [...]