Car sales rise on scrappage August 6, 2009 NEW car sales went up for the first time in 15 months in July, as business secretary Lord Mandelson’s “cash for bangers” scheme trickled down to dealers, helping drive up sales by 2.4 per cent year-on-year. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 157,149 new cars were registered in the UK last month, [...]
Jaguar hits 673.4m in losses as it inches towards loan deal July 26, 2009 CARMAKER Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) saw its UK operations tumble to a dramatic loss of £673.4m last year, down from a net profit of £641.5m in 2007. Accounts filed at Companies House show that total recognised losses – which includes money lost on pension schemes – hit almost £1.2bn for 2008. The news of how [...]
Berlin and US at loggerheads over GM July 16, 2009 GENERAL MOTORS (GM) and Berlin were at loggerheads yesterday, as the debate over who should buy the US company’s European arm, made up of Opel in Germany and Vauxhall in the UK. Germany said yesterday it may renege on its offer of state aid if the US company, which came out of bankruptcy last week, [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 14, 2009 Piper JaffrayThe international middle market investment bank announced the appointment of Martin Brennan as associate for its technology banking team, which is led by Eric Sanschagrin. Brennan was previously senior associate at FirstCapital, a boutique telecoms, media and technology investment bank. He advised on nine technology Venture Capital and Private Equity financings and six M&A [...]
RHJ fights for GM Opel deal July 12, 2009 RHJ INTERNATIONAL is stepping up its bid to broker a deal with General Motors for a controlling stake in Opel after talks between the US carmaker and Magna International stalled. The Brussels-listed industrial holding company, linked to US buy-out firm Ripplewood, is set to present GM with a better offer early this week. In May, [...]
RHJ steps up its Opel offer June 29, 2009 GENERAL Motors is rekindling talks with bidders for its European Opel unit and is thought to be close to signing a memorandum of understanding with RHJ, suggesting talks with lead bidder Magna have stalled. Canadian group Magna is understood to remain the preferred bidder – after signing a memorandum to buy 55 per cent of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 24, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES CHIP MAKER MOVES TO QUASH BID SPECULATIONImagination Technologies has reiterated that it expects to remain independent, despite market speculation to the contrary and heavy share buying in the chip designer. Intense buying on the London Stock Exchange saw more than 12m shares change hands and 9.7m sold at 150p a share, amid speculation [...]
Peugeot says it will post a big 2009 loss June 23, 2009 PEUGEOT Citroen said it expected to lose as much as €2bn (£1.7bn) in 2009 as it launched a convertible bond to raise €575m yesterday – but its European sales will fall less sharply than feared. Peugeot Citroen said that while the European car market was still down compared with 2008, the company’s “best current estimate” [...]
GM sells Saab to a Swedish supercar firm June 16, 2009 TROUBLED carmaker General Motors (GM) said yesterday it had reached a tentative agreement to sell its loss-making Saab division to Swedish supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg. The deal will be part-funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB), which is supplying a $600m (£367m) loan, guaranteed by the Swedish government. “Closing this deal represents the best chance for Saab [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 16, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES NATIONAL EXPRESS IN DEBT TALKSNational Express is in talks with bankers to renegotiate terms on part of its £1.2bn debt amid fears that the bus and rail operator will breach loan conditions in December. The group is expected to pass a key test of whether it is meeting the terms of its debt [...]