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Mr T turns to Whitbread

May 09 16:44
by Paul Murphy
Comment

What is Robert Tchenguiz up to? One minute everyone is muttering about his solvency and he’s been kicked out of the Sunday Times’ Guess Rich List. The next he turns up on the register of Whitbread (through contracts for difference) with a stake of 3 per cent - encouraging everyone to believe there is somehow a break-up bid in the offering. More…

Further reading

May 09 08:38
by Gwen Robinson
Comment
(1 comment)

Elsewhere on Friday:

What do you get when you cross good, thematic long-term investors and stock pickers with quarterly or annual redemptions? Perverse decision-making and style drift. Or a portfolio manager with an ulcer. More…

Snap news

May 09 08:33
by Paul Murphy
Comment

The latest on Friday,

- Tom Hunter tries to block open offer planned by Dobbies Garden Centres. Statement

- Conditions “challenging” for bid target Minerva. Statement.

- Mexican silver producer Fresnillo prices London IPO at 555p a share, More…

Citi considers $400bn asset sale

May 09 05:43
by Gwen Robinson
Comment
(1 comment)

Citigroup will on Friday identify as much as $400bn in non-core assets that could be sold as part of plans to reduce costs and restore profit growth. At a scheduled meeting with Wall Street analysts, Vikram Pandit, More…

Bosch prepares for acquisitions

May 09 05:38
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Bosch, Europe’s largest private industrial group and the world’s biggest car parts supplier, is embarking on an acquisition spree after two years of relative reticence as the financial crisis makes companies much cheaper. More…

ITW in agreed counterbid for Enodis

May 09 05:38
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Illinois Tool Works launched a counterbid for Enodis on Thursday, disrupting what had appeared to be a done deal with Manitowoc, its US rival. The catering equipment maker recommended an offer of 282p a share from ITW, More…

Carphone and Best Buy hail shake-up

May 09 05:33
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Best Buy of the US and the UK’s Carphone Warehouse on Thursday promised to shake-up the European consumer electronics landscape with a new joint venture. Carphone also underlined its ambition to become the UK’s largest broadband provider, More…

UK’s Gala in Tote talks with racecourses

May 09 05:30
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Gala Coral, the betting, bingo and casino group, has held exploratory talks with representatives of Britain’s leading racecourses over a potential £300m-plus joint-bid for the Tote, the state-owned bookmaker, More…

Minerva has nothing to add

May 08 15:10
by Helen Thomas
Comment

The long-mooted interest in Minerva has been flushed out. Limitless, the real estate arm of Dubai World behind the Palm Jumeirah and World developments in the Emirate, confessed that it was in the “very preliminary stages of considering its options” More…

Non-Standard rumour

May 08 09:19
by Paul Murphy
Comment

It’s not even Friday. From Reuters:

JULIUS BAER UP1.7 PCT ON MARKET TALKS OF INTEREST FROM STANDARD CHARTERED - TRADERS

Yes, a rumour - albeit vague and producing little in the way of price-reaction - on Thursday had London-listed emerging market specialist Standard Chartered looking to acquire a Swiss wealth management firm that traces its history back to the 19th century. More…

Further reading

May 08 08:34
by Helen Thomas
Comment

Elsewhere on Thursday,

- “No-one in the City feels the need to change his underpants. After all, what chance do public sector workers have of ever recognizing a well-informed decision?”

- “Nearly 80% of affluent Americans believe a recession has already hit the US and optimism about the US is at a record low among the well-to-do.” More…

Snap news

May 08 07:50
by Paul Murphy
Comment

The latest on Thursday,

- ITW, otherwise known as Illinois Tool Works, unveils recommended £1.03bn cash bid for Enodis, worth 282p a share. Statement. (Finally!, notes Markets Live pundit Neil Hume.)

-  Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy are establishing a joint venture to sell consumer electronics in Europe. More…

Microsoft sends feelers to Facebook

May 08 05:38
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Microsoft, under pressure to craft a strategy for competing online that doesn’t involve Yahoo, informally approached social-networking website Facebook to gauge its interest in selling itself to Microsoft, More…

Stressed (Sovereign) Wealth Funds

May 07 15:35
by Gwen Robinson
Comment
(2 comments)

Who is Dubai International Capital’s spinmeister? Because it’s a tough job, in our view. The interview published in Wednesday’s FT with Sameer al-Ansari, DIC head, prompts us to consider how DIC and other sovereign wealth funds are dealing with the continuing waves of bad publicity. More…

Brazilian designs on Alitalia “can’t be verified”

May 07 12:26
by Helen Thomas
Comment
(1 comment)

Surprise! It appears that the Brazilian bid for ailing Italian airline Alitalia may not be entirely kosher.

We questioned the purported interest from Brazilian company Multi-Long, fronted by one Michael Breslow on Tuesday. More…

Further reading

May 07 08:21
by Helen Thomas
Comment

Elsewhere on Wednesday,

- Do contracts matter any more?

- You say tomato….Saudi’s “investment company”, “not a sovereign fund”

- “It isn’t unrealistic to think the Saudis oil export revenue could approach $400 billion a year if oil stays above $120.” More…

Pink Picks

May 07 07:54
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Comment and analysis from the FT

Martin Wolf: Seven habits finance regulators must acquire
Financial regulation needs to be radically reconsidered, unless, as Paul Volker – the “giant among contemporary central bankers” - points out, More…

Australia’s QBE extends deadline for IAG

May 07 05:37
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

QBE has extended the deadline for its A$8.1bn ($7.6bn) takeover proposal for Insurance Australia Group by nearly two weeks as it attempts to force the board of its smaller domestic rival to the negotiating table. More…

Angry Yahoo investors face deadline

May 07 05:35
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Yahoo shareholders angry at the failure last weekend of takeover talks with Microsoft have only until late next week to mount a campaign to force the internet company to reconsider, following a manoeuvre by Yahoo to put the matter behind it. More…

MTN hits high on Bharti talks

May 07 05:33
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Shares in MTN, a leading mobile phone operator in emerging markets, hit fresh highs Tuesday after India’s Bharti Airtel confirmed it was in talks which could lead to it buying a controlling stake in the Johannesburg-listed company. More…

Aberdeen acquires UK property fund

May 07 05:32
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Aberdeen Asset Management is buying a UK property fund manager despite the current weak state of the sector to fill a gap in its range of investment offers. Martin Gilbert, chief executive, said he was “cautious but not pessimistic” about the property market after values have been falling since the credit squeeze began. More…

Shinhan to buy Russian bank

May 07 05:31
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Shinhan Bank, South Korea’s second largest lender, said Tuesday it had signed a preliminary agreement to buy Financial Standard Commercial Bank of Russia for an undisclosed sum, to gain a foothold in Russia’s retail banking market. More…

Is the Alitalia bidder for real?

May 06 11:19
by Paul Murphy
Comment
(1 comment)

Surely not. It can’t be. No way!

Michael Breslow, the reported chief executive of an alleged Brazilian company called Multi-Long Corp, cannot be the latest incarnation of our famous Gold Fields bid hoaxer, More…

FT Alphaville wins a Webby

May 06 08:53
by Helen Thomas
Comment
(64 comments)

A massive thank you to all who voted - and left such kind comments. FT Alphaville has been honoured at the Webby Awards, taking both the judges’ panel and the People’s Voice awards in the business blog category. More…

Further reading

May 06 08:49
by Paul Murphy
Comment

Elsewhere on Tuesday,

-  Microhoo! postponed..

- … but don’t expect a a knee-jerk Yahoostock buyback

-  Bloggers dissect the Microsoft-Yahoo nondeal

-  Borrowing from retirement plans is surging. More…

Snap news

May 06 07:58
by Helen Thomas
Comment

The latest on Tuesday:

- UBS confirms Blackrock sale and reports a first quarter loss of SFr11.5bn, along with job losses of 2,600 this year in its investment bank - statement

- “More recently, conditions in the housing market have deteriorated sharply.” More…

Barratt reportedly rejects Apollo approach

May 06 07:40
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Speculation continues to dog troubled UK housebuilders - not least, Barratt Developments which has on been approached by US buyout group Apollo with an offer to buy a substantial stake, according to The Times. More…

Countrywide hit by analyst note on BofA

May 06 05:39
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Shares in Countrywide Financial plunged more than 13% Monday after an analyst said Bank of America should walk away from its agreed $4bn deal to acquire the troubled US mortgage lender. Paul Miller of Friedman, More…

Yahoo chief defends strategy

May 06 05:38
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

Yahoo might have been prepared to accept a lower price from Microsoft rather than see takeover talks between the two companies collapse, Jerry Yang, its co-founder and chief executive, indicated Monday. More…

Accor warns buy-out firms

May 06 05:36
by Gwen Robinson
Comment

French hotel company Accor on Monday warned it will act to prevent a takeover after private-equity firms Eurazeo and Colony Capital said they plan to increase their combined stake in the company to 30%, More…