Corporate Money articles from April 2000

Corporate Money archives from April 2000

Bonds.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2000... France Telecom launched the largest ever French corporate bond, providing the international bond market with an issuance of real substance. The bond was a floating rate 18-month deal worth just over E5bn, comprising a E4bn tranche and $1bn in...

Equities.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2000... The Microsoft verdict reinforced growing sentiment that TMT stocks are overvalued. In New York, Nasdaq fell 14 per cent on Tuesday - the market has lost 20 per cent since its record high on 10 March. In London tech-MARK has fallen by 21.7 per...

Wickes rejects Focus bid.
April 5, 2000... The consolidation of the highly competitive DIY market has taken a further step forward with the ukp285m hostile cash bid for Wickes Building Supplies by FDIA Finance, part of the Focus Do It All home improvement group. Last year was Wickes'...

Moment of truth looms for e-commerce profitability.
April 5, 2000... By the end of this year most major European retailers will have launched online shopping activities, but no one yet knows the inroads the new retail format will make into traditional retail markets, says a report on e-commerce by Merrill Lynch....

Digests.
April 5, 2000... World Online probe The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is conducting an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the controversial E12.2bn float by internet service provider World Online International. Investors dumped shares last week when it...

Abbey's bank aims to build leasing.
April 5, 2000... Abbey National's ukp1.4bn acquisition, including debt, of Porterbrook, the rolling stock operating company owned by Stagecoach, has cast a spotlight on Abbey National's Wholesale Bank. In 1999, its asset base grew by ukp82bn and it...

Heavy metal has longer shelf life.
April 5, 2000... If you want a steady job in rock music, concentrate on heavy metal. That's the logic behind Sanctuary Group's ukp46m acquisition of Castle Music, a leading independent music company with a back catalogue of over 45,000 tracks, including Iron...

Frank acknowledgement.
April 5, 2000... Frankness is a virtue, andDorlingKindersley's acknowledgement that it made a serious business error because of a "significant over-investment inpromotional and other expenditure and a substantial increase in the company's working capital...

Gartmore goes global.
April 5, 2000... Fresh from its epic battle to acquire NatWest Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland has sold Gartmore, NatWest's highly regarded fund management business, to Nationwide Mutual Insurance, a diversified insurance and financial services group based in...

CMG/Admiral chart course.
April 5, 2000... CMG, the FTSE 100 Anglo-Dutch computer services group, is acquiring IT consultancy Admiral is a recommended all-share offer worth ukp1.15bn. Analysts said the deal was all about scale with Admiral described as being "too big to be small and too...

French coup.
April 5, 2000... A year- long battle to control the destiny of Credit Commercial de France came to a swift conclusion with the announcement that HSBC Holdings that it had agreed to acquire the French bank in an friendly deal for at least E11.08bn. ING, which...

Growing power.
April 5, 2000... Television has more power than the irritating Gardeners' Question Time, which for decades has occupied the 2pm Sunday slot on Radio 4 But TV has accessed a huge alternative market with style and "outdoor room" thinking very much to the fore....

Telephone numbers.
April 5, 2000... The increasingly tense auction for the next generation mobile phone licences claimed more victims this week when SpectrumCo, partly backed by Sir Richard Branson, and Epsilon, a subsidiary of Nomura Securities, withrew from the action, leaving...

Bonds.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... The obsession with new economy tech stocks is leading to a widening in corporate bond yield spreads. In mid-March Morgan Stanley's industrial index stood at 187 basis points, the widest since early 1998. Barclays Capital's sterling corporate...

Equities.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... The five-year-old Alternative Investment Market attracted 46 new firms in the first quarter raising a total of ukp472m, compared to 13 companies raising ukp889m on the main market, according to KPMG. AIM rules allow a quicker flotation process,...

M&A.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... C&N Touristic's ukp1.3bn unsolicited offer for Thompson Travel has been rejected on the basis that it undervalues the company. Pearson TV announced a three-way deal to create a pan-European broadcasting group. Chase Manhattan is beefing up its...

Digests.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... Basel Committee The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has welcomed standards produced by the International Accounting Standards Committee, but has suggested that further work needs to be undertaken on IAS 30 on bank disclosures and...

Secondary market for PFI mooted.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... Morrison Construction Group has become the first company involved in the private finance initiative to combine its investments and inject the portfolio into a joint venture - with Edison Capital, of the US, called Morrison Edison Investments...

FSA takes over listing 1 May.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... The power of the Financial Services Authority takes another step forward on 1 May when it assumes responsibility as UK Listing Authority from the London Stock Exchange. The FSA will then be responsible for drawing up and enforcing the rules...

Finding value in obscure firms.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... When George Soros invests in a company, alarm bell rings in the City and so it proved this week when it emerged that Soros Real Estate Partners is to take a 20 per cent stake in Safestore, an obscure AIM- quoted self-storage company with...

Tesco backs e-commerce as sales top ukp20bn.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... Tesco, the UK's leading supermarket chain, says its internet home shopping arm is likely to see sales more than double to around ukp300m, compared to sales of ukp125m for the year ended 26 February. The internet arm is already the largest in...

German shops law.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... Vodafone's successful bid for Mannesmann is likely to increase moves to deregulate the law on mergers and takeovers in Germany. The restrictive laws governing retailing, which date from 1932, are under attack from the power of the internet....

Media mergers reach new peak.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... The wave of European media mergers has reach a new peak with the ukp12bn three-way merger of Pearson TV, Belgium's Audiofina and privately-owned German media giant Bertelsmann. The move will create Europe's largest free-to-air television...

Mobile phone auction tops ukp17bn.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... The government's third generation mobile phone auction reached another milestone on Tuesday when the total of the leading bids topped ukp17bn for the five new licences on offer. Vodafone AirTouch bid ukp4.55bn for Licence B which has the...

Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals; week ending 09/04/00.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... Bidder Abbey National Treasury Services Banking group Acc: Quasar Associates LF: Slaughter & May Target Porterbrook Train leasing company Vendor: Stagecoach Holdings FA: Credit Suisse First Boston ...

Chase buys Flemings.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... The recommended offer by Chase Manhattan and Robert Fleming Holdings surprised analysts by putting a value of ukp4.88bn on the City firm - higher than forecast last month when news of the merger talks became public. The offer comprises...

Demerging.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... KPMG published a shock report last year which concluded that 83 per cent of mergers created no value for shareholders a year after the deal and more than half had actually destroyed value. Now an article by Trevor Webster in the London Evening...

Blue Circle.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... Blue Circle Industries, fighting a hostile ukp3.4bn takeover bid by Lafarge, is to return ukp800m or about 100p a share to shareholders. It unveiled the latest stage in its defence this week in an effort to knock out the French cement maker....

Rexam bids ukp1.3bn.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... Global consumer packaging group Rexam has made a recommended cash offer for American National Can Group. The offer values ANC's share capital at ukp619m together with net debt of ukp615m, giving a total enterprise value of ukp1.3bn. The offer...

Thomson Travel.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... Thomson Travel, the UK's largest holiday and leisure travel group, has refused to open merger talks with C & N Touristic, the German tourism company backed by Lufthansa and KarstadtQuelle, which has offered, but not formally bid, ukp1.3bn in...

M&S digital venture.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... Marks & Spencer Ventures has taken a 20 per cent stake worth about ukp40m in digital media and communications firm Talkcast making it Talkcast's largest shareholder. Other shareholders include Durlacher and Autonomy. The deal will enable M&S to...

Bookham soars.(Brief Article)
April 17, 2000... Despite the "correction" afflicting some high-tech shares, Bookham Technology shares soared by 146 per cent on the first day of trading. Bookham, founded by Andrew Rickman, climbed from ukp10 to ukp24.62, valuing the company at ukp2.9bn....

M&A.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Debt-burdened Hyder bowed to the inevitable and accepted a ukp402m friendly takeover by Nomura. Lafarge faces decision time as it considers a last minute increased offer for Blue Circle. A bidding war for Orange looms following an EC...

Corporate information.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Firms should take immediate steps to reduce the risks and seize the opportunities of the planned Freedom of Information Act, according to a guide produced by international law firm Lovells and the Constitution Unit at University College,...

Business confident.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Nearly half of Britain's businesses are expecting to employ more staff in the next three months, and employment prospects are at their best for 11 years, according to the latest quarterly survey of business confidence from Dun & Bradstreet. Of...

Global funds.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... A record 54 out of 185 pension fund managers were involved in mergers and acquisitions last year, according to William M Mercer's European Pension Fund Managers' Guide. Global expansion is increasing the number of M&A staff employed: the...

FSA climbdown?(Government Activity)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... The government has signalled possible change to the mammoth Financial Services and Markets Bill by agreeing that the FSA should comply with the spirit of the code on corporate governance. The code, introduced in the wake of the Maxwell affair...

Linklaters leaps online.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Linklaters & Alliance, one of the City's top five law firms, predicts that about 50 per cent of its services will be capable of being exploited on the internet. The firm aims to "commoditise" services currently seen as complex, to enable its...

BT in biggest shakeup since 1984.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... In its biggest overhaul since privatisation in 1984, British Telecommunications is to split its sprawling business into six divisions and focus attention on its internet and mobile phone assets. The move is a response to shareholders dismayed...

Ofgem on electricity metering.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) has published a consultation paper on Public Electricity Suppliers (PESs) selling their metering businesses. PESs are obliged to make these services available to other suppliers in their areas....

A13 road finance.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... KPMG Corporate Finance advised the Highways Agency on the ukp200m financing of improvements to the A13, a major UK road running east from the City of London to the M25. KPMG's Mike Harlow said it was the first PFI road project to incorporate an...

Carpetbaggers gather on Net.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Chelsea Building Society, the UK's eighth largest with assets of about ukp5bn, has dismissed a merger proposal from Totalise, an ISP less than a year old. Chelsea said the offer was "absurd" and motivated by "blatant opportunism". Totalise has...

Nomura looks to defend Hyder's credit rating despite ukp1.9bn debt.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Nomura's principal finance group faces an uphill battle as it begins the task of rescuing Hyder, Wales' debt-laden water and electricity supplier, following its friendly ukp402m takeover. Nomura's private equity arm is offering cash of 260p a...

Charities tap into property market.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Savills Fund Management and Carr Sheppards Crosthwaite are launching the Charities Property Fund, the first common investment fund to invest directly in UK property. As a charity, the fund is exempt from stamp duty, which last month's budget...

Digests.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... World Online fallout Last month's controversial E12.2bn (ukp7.4bn) floatation in Amsterdam of World Online, an internet service provider, has led to the resignation of chairman Nina Brink. Shortly after the launch it emerged that she had...

Biotech back in favour.(Abreast of the Market)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... After almost two years in decline, the European biotech sector is moving into an environment of rapid evolutionary change, according to business adviser Ernst & Young in its eighth annual review of the sector. There is now a "maturing product...

Blue Circle battle nears its climax.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... The battle for Blue Circle was reaching a defining moment on Wednesday when hostile bidder Lafarge raised its bid by 7.1 per cent to 450p a share and announced that it had bought 20 per cent of Blue Circle stock on the open market at that...

Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals; week ending 16/04/00.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Bidder AFA Systems Treasury & risk management software FA: Credit Lyonnais Securities Acc: KPMG LF: Eversheds Target Data Analysis Risk Technology Derivatives software house LF: Macfarlanes Finance...

Incepta's US buy.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Communications and marketing company Incepta, owner of City PR agency Citigate Dewe Rogerson, has acquired US financial PR house Sard Verbinnen for $150m (ukp90m) in cash and shares. The acquisition is Incepta's largest yet, and was accompanied...

Border TV carve up.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... The consolidation of the ITV network gained momentum as Granada agreed to buy the television assets of Border Television, one of only three remaining independent ITV companies, from Capital Radio in a deal worth ukp50.5m. The carve-up of Border...

Revised offer.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Shares in asset manager Farlake Group soared 177p (35.3 per cent) to 680p on Monday, making it by far the best performer in the market. This followed the surprise announcement by stockbroker Talisman House that it was making a revised offer...

Collins Stewart MBO.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Stockbroker Collins Stewart has engineered a management buy-out led by Andy Stewart and Terry Smith from investment bank Singer & Friedlander, following innovative financing by the advisers involved. Bank of Scotland provided most of the...

ukp6m "pre-IPO".(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Shore Capital Group, an investment banking boutique and technology specialist, has raised ukp6m in new equity as a "pre-IPO" to finance further growth. It values the company at ukp101m. Existing shareholders took up 35 per cent of the placing,...

Byers steps in.(Government Activity)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Meanwhile, trade and industry secretary Stephen Byers has requested that the European Commission refer the unusual joint bid for United Biscuits to the UK competition commission for consideration under the merger provisions of the Fair Trading...

Wickes part 2.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... The battle for Wickes continues with FDIA (Focus Do It All) trying to undermine Wickes' defence while dangling its offer price premium of 56 per cent. Focus notes that Wickes faces increasing competition in its heavy-end market, both from...

UK equity issues, domestic and international bond issues; week ending 16/04/00.(International Pages)(Brief Article)
April 19, 2000... Bidder Harrier Group Counsultancy led integrated software and hardware solutions provider Market: AIM Type: Placing/open offer Target Underwriter: Peel Hunt Nominated adviser: Peel Hunt Nominated...

Bonds.
April 19, 2000... Analysts comment that the most likely way for utility companies to boost flagging share prices is by increasing the amount of debt financing or by securitising their strong cash flows. But increased debt could well lead to downgrading in long...

Equities.
April 19, 2000... Following one of the bloodiest-ever trading sessions on Wall Street last Friday, the FTSE 100 closed down 183.5 at 5994.6 on Monday, its lowest level this year. Nasdaq later rebounded as bargain hunters returned. Lastminute.com fell to 152p,...

Bonds.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... A range of economic data is expected to indicate increasing inflationary pressure. European bond prices have been lower because of speculation about higher interest rates following the European Central Bank meeting this week. The market...

M&A.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... The unusual recommended joint bid for United Biscuits produced a new surprise with the rumour that Hick, Muse Tate & Furst has sold its 22.5 per cent stake to the consortium for 265p a share, the price agreed by United Biscuits. This follows...

Winds of change buffet LSE.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... The London Stock Exchange, long criticised for a lack of urgency, looks set for a shake up in the next few months. Don Cruickshank, the chancellor's special investigator of high street banks, has been chosen as its new chairman, and he...

Surpluses create bond drought.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... Because of government surpluses, net issuance of government bonds will be negative, for the first time in recent history, says JP Morgan's European Fixed Income Research.The study, on the five year supply outlook in the Euro area, concludes...

Sterling strength hits profits.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... The profitability of British companies fell sharply in the second half of 1999 as the continuing strength of the pound more than offset productivity gains made by companies fighting to maintain international competitiveness, according to...

Clubs mull effect of 24-hour drinks.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... Northern Leisure and Luminar are taking their time before announcing details of their proposed merger to create a ukp600m nightclub and themed restaurant group. Talks about the deal, in effect, a reverse takeover of Northern Leisure by Luminar,...

B2B - biggest shock for decades.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... The new-found ability of companies to do business with one another over the internet represents a mini-revolution is business practice. Internet business-to-business (B2B) will improve productivity and increase economic growth across Europe...

BoS launches new fund business.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... Bouncing back from its failure to take over NatWest in the epic batttle with Royal Bank of Scotland, the Bank of Scotland is to set up what it describes as an independent fund management business, serving the UK and European corporate mid...

Scoot targets Loot.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... In the latest example of online companies buying "bricks and mortar" competitors,Scoot.com, the internet services directory, is in discussions to buy Loot, the classified advertising magazine is a deal worth up to ukp200m. Scoot is understood...

Vertical links.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... Just2clicks.com (J2C), which recently floated on AIM, says it is "totally focused on deriving transactional revenues from B2B e-commerce" and that it is the UK's largest quoted operator for "business-to-business (B2B) vertical trading...

Dairy Rivals.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... The race to acquire Unigate's milk and cheese business is boiling over, with two rival bids on offer. Dairy Crest tabled their initial offer in February, to the tune of ukp102.1m in cash alongside the assumption of ukp100m Unigate debt. The...

Capital Radio Victory.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... Capital Radio, one of the UK's largest commercial radio groups has just got larger, with the successful acquisition of Border Television, the commercial radio and ITV company. Capital's bid valued Border at ukp151.2m, beating Scottish Radio...

Ashtead's glitter aim.(Brief Article)
April 26, 2000... Ashtead's ukp320m acquisition of Rentokil Initial's US plant hire business, sees the bidder double in size as well as now deriving two-thirds of the company's sales from the faster growing US market. The acquired plant hire business will be...

Digests.
April 26, 2000... Takeovers Directive closeNew EU rules on takeovers will follow the agreement between the UK and Spain over the authority of Gibraltar. Among the measures blocked by Spain during the dispute with the UK, is the 13th company law directive, known...