Corporate Money articles from August 1999

Corporate Money archives from August 1999

Bonds.
August 11, 1999... Lloyds TSB Group issued a $500m bond alongside a fungible [pound]75m note, in a quiet couple of weeks on the debt markets. UK gilts finished Tuesday with small gains following light trading. Corporate issuers had steered clear of the volatile...

Equities.
August 11, 1999... Shock-waves were sent flying through the IT sector, following the freefall of internet stocks on Wall Street last week. The situation looks set to prompt a re-think on the part of smaller internet companies which had been planning to come to...

M&A.
August 11, 1999... M&A activity spiralled over the past two weeks, with larger deals dominating the make-up. In all 75 deals were announced, worth a whopping total of almost [pound]50bn. Cable & WirelessO twin deal involving its data and consumer businesses stand...

Warning over IT sector.
August 11, 1999... The outlook for the IT sector in the remaining two quarters of 1999 is for poor performances, missed estimates and stock specific profit warnings, says GranvilleOs Megabuyte Report. As proved by AdmiralOs negative AGM statement, resulting in...

Cartel regime decision.
August 11, 1999... Director General of Fair Trading John Bridgeman this week gave an indication of the size of fines that the OFT will impose on companies found guilty of anti-competitive behaviour after next March. He published a consultation draft on guidance...

DTI launches merger policy shake-up.
August 11, 1999... Trade and industry secretary Stephen Byers said this week that UK merger and acquisition decisions should be largely taken out of the political arena. The Government is proposing in a consultation document that a new competition-based test...

Benckiser merger executives 'clean up' at Reckitt & Colman.
August 11, 1999... The recommended merger between Reckitt & Colman and Benckiser to form Reckitt Benckiser, aBritish-Dutch operation which will be the worldOs third largest household cleaning products company, has created no end of cleaning and headache similes...

MBO exits now Omore problematicO.
August 11, 1999... Venture capitalists need to give more attention to flotation exit planning for the public to private buy-out market to continue to flourish, says the Centre for Management Buy-Out Research at the University of Nottingham Business School. ...

BAT buys in Canada.(British American Tobacco takes stake in Imasco)
August 11, 1999... Tobacco giant British American Tobacco has agreed to purchase the 58% of Imasco, a diversified holding company, which it does not already own for a consideration of [pound]7.3bn. Following the deal the company intends to dispose of Canada-based...

BT buys Cellnet.
August 11, 1999... British Telecommunications has bought the 40% of mobile phone operator Cellnet which it does not already own from Securicor for [pound]3.15bn. Cellnet is the UKOs second largest mobile telecoms company with over five million customers, giving...

Eidos buys in Spain.
August 11, 1999... Computer games group Eidos consolidated its position in the Spanish market last week, with the [pound]14.5m acquisition of Madrid-based Pyro and Proein. The two companies are leading Spanish computer games publishers, boasting such titles as...

PearsonOs FT move.
August 11, 1999... The Financial Times Group, a division of media company Pearson, has agreed to acquire Thomson Securities Management for a consideration of almost [pound]93m. FT was keen to consolidate its position as the leading provider of securities pricing...

Firth acquisition.
August 11, 1999... Specialist metals group Firth Rixson has acquired Aurora, an Australian-owned company with similar activities for [pound]80m. The deal is to be funded in part by a 3-for-one rights issue to raise [pound]34.7m. Aurora has separate forging,...

Mentmore.
August 11, 1999... Storage company Mentmore Abbey has agreed merger terms with industrial property group Birkby, securing a deal which will capitalise the enlarged company at almost [pound]230m. The companies looked to merger to create a support services group...

OceanOs US deal.
August 11, 1999... Logistics company Ocean Group has expanded its North American operations via the [pound]142m acquisition of Tennessee-based freight brokerage Mark VII. It is the companyOs third deal in the US in the past ten months, and by far its largest. And...

Shire in major deal.(Shire Pharmaceutical announces acquisition of US-based Roberts Pharmaceutical)
August 11, 1999... Shire Pharmaceutical announced its [pound]650m acquisition of US-based Roberts Pharmaceutical to a sceptical reception from analysts. True, the companies have much in common. Both buy late-stage development drugs or even existing market...

The eXchange lists.
August 11, 1999... The market loves a niche operator. And when that company is in the IT sector, investors will clamour to get a piece of the action. That is why the IPO of eXchange Holdings was so greatly anticipated. The company offers an internet-based service...

IT investment.
August 11, 1999... AIM admitted two OinternetO companies with a difference over the past two weeks. Both Netvest.com and StartIT.com are specialist investment vehicles designed to fund expansion in the risky area of start-up and early stage internet companies....

BarclaysO PIC issue.
August 11, 1999... Barlcays Property Investment, a subsidiary of Barclays Bank, has launched a [pound]150m three-tranche floating rate note. The bond is linked to the income return of the Investment Property Databank annual index, paying a quarterly income return...

Granada 15-yr issue.
August 11, 1999... Media group Granada was keen to tap into investor demand for its 15-year [pound]250m fixed rate issue. Many investors have been keeping track of GrandaOs credit, and feel that the Baa1/BBB+ tag attached to it is a touch on the harsh side. This...

Lloyds yankee issue.
August 11, 1999... LloydOs TSB continued to finance its acquisition of Scottish Widows via the debt markets, with two further issues this week. Following recent issues, the group noticed that there was demand for a five-year dollar floating rate note. Having met...

Aluminium companiesO menage-a-trois.
August 11, 1999... Completing a merger is never a simple perfunctory task. Completing a cross-border merger adds significant problems to the matter in terms of taxation and legal issues. Attempting a three-way, three-nation merger is extraordinarily difficult....

Bonds.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... UK gilts closed slightly lower in light trading on Tuesday, with weaker than expected UK trade results having little impact. The market instead focused on interest rate developments across the Atlantic. On the corporate front, issuance from UK...

Equities.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... The US Federal Reserve decision to increase interest rates by 1/4% on Tuesday was anticipated, but the ensuing profit-taking failed to register a serious negative impact. The Dow-Jones Industrial Average closed down 16.5 points, leading to a...

M&A.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... Mergers and acquisitions maintained its recent high level of activity over the past fortnight, with 64 transactions announced with a total value which just broke the [pound]10bn mark. Private equity deals showed a marked increase, with twice as...

Pension funds key to "green" investment.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... Pension funds hold the key to the gradual introduction of green variables to investment decisions in the UK, says a report by the influential Forum for the Future. It describes the investment and accounting community as being "blind to...

Web research gains on brochures.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... The internet has become a valued source of information for researching the private equity market, says ECI Ventures, but 47% of respondents in its survey still prefer to read a brochure rather than access a web-site. Based on a survey in July...

Soccer investment ruling.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... The Court of Arbitration in Sport, based in Lausanne, has prohibited football clubs with common controlling owners from competing against each other in European competitions. ENIC, the publically quoted company with interests in several...

ASB draft on deferred tax.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... The Accounting Standards Board has published an exposure draft of a new accounting standard for deferred tax. The proposed standard would replace SSAP 15, which dates from 1978. The new standard, FRED 19, replaces the partial provision method...

Barclays launches charities fund.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... The charity sector is big business for fund managers, and Barclays Global Investors is redoubling its efforts to capture a larger share of the market. It has launched a new common investment fund, called ChariTrak, which provides "tax-exempt...

UK firms learning to run USA's massive school bus business.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... The kids are on holiday, the family car is in the garage or parked outside, and the roads are relatively clear at peak morning and evening drive times. (The school run contributes 18 per cent to to peak traffic density). But in the USA they do...

SQCs need "quality dialogue" with fund managers.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... It's been a relatively good week for smaller quoted companies. At least the DTI and the CBI are taking a belated interest in their struggle to remain liquid in the face of fund managers' obsession with size. The DTI's recent report on SQCs...

French bank war ends without clear winner.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... The six-month battle in the French banking sector reached a `conclusion' this week, with each of the three protagonists displeased with the outcome. BNP has failed outright in its three-way takeover attempt, in an effort to create world's...

Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals; fortnight ending 22/8/99.
August 25, 1999... Bidder Aegon UK UK subsidiary of Dutch insurance company FA: Dresdner Kleinwort Benson LF: Lovell White Durrant Target Guardian Royal Exchange UK Pensions and unit trusts company Vendor: Sun Life &...

GRE UK goes Dutch.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... Sun Life & Provincial Holdings, the UK subsidiary of French insurance group Axa, has disposed of the UK life business of its recent acquisition Guardian Royal Exchange to Dutch company Aegon for [pound]759m. The company noted that the...

BT deals in Canada.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... BT and AT&T completed their joint venture purchase of a 33.3% stake in Canadian mobile telecoms operator Rogers Cantel last week. The holding is to be operated by a jointly owned newco, Wireless Co. In addition, BT is to acquire a 30% stake of...

Results hamper CCB.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... The much-vaunted merger of Hellenic Bottling and Coca-Cola Beverages was finally announced this week, with poor sales reducing the benefits for the latter company's shareholders. Hellenic had indicated a price of 150p in cash per CCB share as...

CVC buys into fibres.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... Private equity specialists CVC Capital Partners has completed the buy-out of Accordis, the fibres business of Dutch company Akzo Nobel. The deal, valued at [pound]550m, removes a serious headache for Akzo. Accordis was created as a combination...

Dicom in US deal.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... Listed distribution company Dicom Group has provided equity funding of an acquisition vehicle created to buy NASDAQ-quoted software company Kofax Image Products in a deal worth [pound]43.5m. The vehicle, Imaging Components Corporatio, which is...

Meyer bids for rival.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... Builders merchant Meyer International has agreed a [pound]269m bid to take over smaller rival Graham Group. The deals looks set to make Meyer, which trades under the Jewson name, the largest builders merchant in the UK. Meyer chief executive...

NTL continues to buy.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... Following its acquisiton of the Cable & Wireless residential assets for [pound]8.2bn, NASDAQ-listed telecommunications group NTL has made an [pound]81m recommended offer for Workplace Technologies. WPT offers NTL the chance to improve its...

Bramhall reverses.(Brief Article)
August 25, 1999... AIM-listed shell company Bramhall Group, which is owned by Manchester businessman Michael Edelson, is reversing into internet group Magic Moments. Given the recent relatively frosty reception to internet companies, the company's decision to...