Corporate Money articles from August 2000

Corporate Money archives from August 2000

CAPITAL MARKETS.
August 16, 2000... BONDS Gilts suffered as a result of news about the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC). Short sterling contracts were under pressure after the minutes of last month's MPC meeting were revealed. The minutes showed that MPC...

New breed of angels found.
August 16, 2000... Britain could be about to see a huge surge in business angel funds along the lines of the US. Favourable tax breaks and the emergence of a new breed of high tech investors are pushing the trend, according to Jason Purcell of investment matching...

Appointments.
August 16, 2000... Pannell Kerr Forster (PKF), the eighth largest firm of accountants and business advisors in the UK, has made Jeff Harris, 35, a partner in its corporate finance department. Harris joined PKF in 1987 and spent nine years specialising in audit...

'Big' Barclays gets bigger.
August 16, 2000... Barclays, the self-proclaimed 'big' bank, just got bigger. The UK's fourth largest retail bank is to acquire rival Woolwich for [pounds]5.4bn. The deal is subject to approval from the UK's High Court, Woolwich shareholders and competition and...

Raw set for [pound]500m offering.
August 16, 2000... Raw Communications, an internet financial media operation, is getting ready for an IPO next year which could value the firm at [pounds]500m to [pounds]lbn. Computer manufacturer Intel and venture capitalists 3i have invested [pounds]6.7 in...

Lastminute.com buys Degriftour.
August 16, 2000... UK e-commerce firm Lastminute.com is to acquire French rival Degriftour for [pound]59m in cash and shares. Lastminute is hoping that the purchase of Degriftour will accelerate its push towards profitability. The move also firs well with the...

Telesens takes KSCL for [epsilon]225m.
August 16, 2000... German software company Telesens is to acquire Scotland's KSCL, a provider of billing solutions for mobile and fixed line telephony, for roughly [epsilon]225m -- half in cash and half in shares. The integration of the two companies will be...

AOL/Wal-Mart ShopSmart stake.
August 16, 2000... AOL UK and Wal-Mart Europe, through its UK subsidiary Asda, have taken a 22.5% equity stake in ShopSmart.com, the UK online shopping price comparison service. Under the terms of the deal, Wal-Mart Europe and AOL Europe will cross-market...

Freddie Mac annual bond issue.
August 16, 2000... The US Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) is to make an unprecedented foray into the European bond market with an annual [epsilon]20bn '[epsilon]Reference Note' programme. The programme, which will be inaugurated with a...

Thyssen cancels $1.4bn IPO.
August 16, 2000... German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp has cancelled the planned September IPO of its steel division and is now contemplating an outright sale. The company came to the decision after consulting with Deutsche Bank and Commerz-bank, its lead managers...

Singapore open to lawyers.
August 16, 2000... Singapore has approved seven new joint ventures between local and foreign law firms. The move is seen as an important step towards complete liberalisation of its legal services market and will strengthen the country's position as an...

Erste set to raise [epsilon]300m.
August 16, 2000... Austria's second biggest bank, Erste Bank, is set to raise [epsilon]300m in new equity following its purchase of a controlling share in Ceska Spoitelna, the third largest Czech bank. The issue will refinance the Erste's balance sheet in the...

Telefonica set for bond issue.
August 16, 2000... Spanish telecoms firm Telefonica is set to make a rare issue on the international bond markets. The company has said it intends to issue $5bn worth of global bonds in a multi-tranche deal. The bonds would carry maturities from five to 30 years....

Robertson Stephens expands.
August 16, 2000... Investment bank Robertson Stephens International (RSI) has expanded its global operations with the acquisition of the remaining 50% of its Israeli joint venture Robertson Stephens Evergreen. Terms were not disclosed. RSI's Israel team will stay...

ACQUISITIONS.
August 16, 2000... ACQUISITIONS Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals - week ending 13/08/00 BIDDER TARGET Barclays Woolwich UK listed...

Browallia cash offer for British Mohair Holdings.
August 16, 2000... Dutch corporate finance vehicle Browallia, has announced the terms of the cash offer to acquire West-Yorkshire-based British Mohair Holdings (BMH). Browallia is offering 150p per share for the entire issued of BMH, save for the roughly...

Oxford Molecular to liquidate.
August 16, 2000... Oxford Molecular Group Plc (OMG) has agreed the sale of its software solutions division to Pharmacopeia Inc. The division, which will fetch a maximum cash consideration of $27m, comprises Oxford Molecular Ltd, Chemical Design Holdings Plc and...

MBO at Limelight.
August 16, 2000... The management team of Limelight, the UK manufacturer of home Improvements products, is to buy the company out with help from Phildrew Ventures. Phildrew and the Limelight management have set up a new company, HomeMark, for the purposes of the...

EQUITY & BOND ISSUES.
August 16, 2000... EQUITY & BOND ISSUES UK equity issues, domestic and international bond issues - week ending 13/08/00 BIDDER TERMS BikeNet Nomad:...

Kvaerner turns on Aker.
August 16, 2000... Kvaerner, the Anglo-Norwegian construction and engineering firm, has launched an all-share offer for oil field services company Aker Maritime -- the latest twist in a power struggle which began months ago. Kvaerner is offering 0.79 new ordinary...

Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms.
August 16, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms by deal value (2000 year to date) Law Firm Value [pound]m No. 1 Slaughter & May 92,218.42 59...

Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers.
August 16, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers by deal value (2000 year to date) Financial Adviser Value [pound]m No. 1 Goldman Sachs 126,442.85 30...

Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants.
August 16, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants by deal value (2000 year to date) Accountant Value [pound]m No. 1 PricewaterhouseCoopers 28,706.83 88 2 KPMG ...

Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers.
August 16, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Cazenove & Co 58,350.95 36 2 Hoare Govett 57,805.18...

Corporate Money Top Placing Brokers.
August 16, 2000... Corporate Money Top Placing Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 ABN AMRO Rothschild 1,100.00 1 2 Hoare Govett ...

Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters.
August 16, 2000... Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters by deal value (2000 year to date) Underwriter Value [pound]m No. 1 ABN AMRO Rothschild 1,368.70 2 2 Investec Bank ...

Corporate Money Top Sponsors.
August 16, 2000... Corporate Money Top Sponsors by market cap (2000 year to date) Sponsor Value [pound]m No. 1 Lazard 7,500.00 2 2 Goldman Sachs ...

Corporate Money Top Stockbrokers.
August 16, 2000... Corporate Money Top Stockbrokers by market cap (2000 year to date) Stockbroker Value [pound]m No. 1 Credit Suisse First Boston 4,981.68 4 2 Hoare Govett ...

Corporate Money Top Flotation Law Firms.
August 16, 2000... Corporate Money Top Flotation Law Firms by market cap (2000 year to date) Law Firm Value [pound]m No. 1 Lovells 7,500.00 1 1...

Corporate Money Top Flotation Accountants.
August 16, 2000... Corporate Money Top Flotation Accountants by market cap (2000 year to date) Accountant Value [pound]m No. 1 KPMG 8,714.70 14 2 Arthur Andersen ...

CAPITAL MARKETS.
August 30, 2000... BONDS UK gilts were in negative territory at their close on Wednesday, but had still managed to end off their lows thanks to sterling's poor performance against the dollar. The pound had managed to drop to a seven-year low against the...

Trintech acquires Checkline.
August 30, 2000... Trintech, the Irish supplier of secure electronic payments systems, is to acquire Checkline, a privately owned UK company, for roughly $44m ([pound]29.5m). Checkline provides secure payment solutions for transaction processing, e-commerce and...

VC confidence down.
August 30, 2000... UK venture capitalists are increasingly pessimistic about their ability to raise funds over the next six months due mostly to waning confidence in the economy. According to the 'Private Equity Confidence Survey' conducted by Deloitte & Touche...

Alcoa buys Luxfer unit.
August 30, 2000... Alcoa, the world's largest manufacturer of aluninium, is to acquire the aluminium plate, sheet and soft-alloy extrusion production and distribution businesses of Luxfer's wholly-owned subsidiary, British Aluminium, for [pound]182m. The deal is...

BT pays [epsilon]15.75bn for Viag.
August 30, 2000... British Telecommunications (BT) has reached an agreement which will allow it to take control of Viag Inrerkom, the German mobile phone operator. The acquisition of a controlling stake in Viag, the smallest of Germany's four mobile operators, is...

OM bid for LSE may spark war.
August 30, 2000... OM Group, the Swedish technology group which already owns the Stockholm exchange, has launched a hostile bid for the London Stock Exchange (LSE) ahead of its proposed merger with Frankfurt's Deutsche Borse to create iX, a new international...

Billiton on buying spree.
August 30, 2000... UK-based mining and metals distribution company Billiton has spent nearly $3bn in just over five days on two purchases. Last week the company reached an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Rio Algom, a Canadian mining company, for...

GlobalNet buys Telescan.
August 30, 2000... Anglo-US online financial information provider GlobalNetFinancial (GNF) has signed a definitive agreement to merge with US-based corporate website developer Telescan. The new company is worth $322m based on the combined market capitalisations...

Standard bid for Chase HK unit.
August 30, 2000... UK-based international bank Standard Chartered is set to be the winner of a bidding war for Chase Manhattan's retail business in Hong Kong. Standard Chartered beat off competition from two Singapore banks - DBS Group, Southeast Asia's largest...

Appointments.
August 30, 2000... Fuji Bank Ltd has appointed Trevor Brannan to its structured finance team. Brannan was previously a director of the private equity and acquisition finance team at Credit Agricole Indosuez and a director of the Royal Bank of Scotland's leveraged...

Credit Suisse set to acquire DLJ.
August 30, 2000... Swiss financial services group Credit Suisse is set to acquire New York-based investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) for roughly $11.5bn in cash and shares. Shares in DLJ soared on Tuesday to a 52-week high of $81 on the New...

Kvanerner sells construction arm.
August 30, 2000... Kvaerner, the Anglo-Norwegian industrial engineering has entered into a definitive agreement to sell all of its building and civil engineering activities -- including its 50% stake in Hong Kong-based Gammon Construction, to Sweden's Skanska....

Global partnership forms new fund.
August 30, 2000... A global partnership of technology and finance companies has formed a $300m venture capital fund targeting mobile internet development. The new fund, Ericsson Venture Partners (EVP) is backed by Ericsson, investor, Industrivarden and...

Commerzbank and Generali talks.
August 30, 2000... Germany's Commerzbank and Italian insurance giant Generali have confirmed they are in talks to strengthen their existing alliance. Generali is looking to strengthen the level of commercial co-operation and is looking at increasing it 5% stake...

Pernod-Ricard hires advisers.
August 30, 2000... Pernod-Ricard has hired JP Morgan and Societe Generale as its financial advisers for its joint bid with Diageo for Seagram's $7bn drinks unit. Diageo and Pernod said recently that they planned to make a joint bid for the drinks business which...

TXU Europe sell Cantabrico stake.
August 30, 2000... And, the company is also ready to sell its 19.2% stake in Spanish electricity firm Hidroelectrica del Cantabrico if it can get a price of [epsilon]24 per share. The company stands to make a profit of [epsilon]76m from its Cantabrico holdings if...

ACQUISITIONS.
August 30, 2000... ACQUISITIONS Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals-week ending 20/08/00 BIDDER TARGET British Viag Interkom...

Anglian acquires Morrison.
August 30, 2000... Anglian Water has made an agreed, recommended offer of [pound]262.5m to acquire Edinburgh-based Morrison. Anglian Water is offering 385p in cash per Morrison share. Shareholders will also be entitled to elect for a partial share alternative or...

Emap disposes of 25 niche titles.
August 30, 2000... UK-based international publisher Emap has agreed to dispose of 25 business magazines and directories focusing on the construction, media and automotive industries, to Bertelsmann for a cash consideration of [pound]14.3m. The deal, which is...

C3D-Rhone in hostile bid for Go-Ahead.
August 30, 2000... Caisse des Depots-Developpement (C3D) and Rhone Capital have made a hostile cash offer of 650p per share for Go-Ahead, the UK quoted transport company. The offer values Go-Ahead at roughly [pound]326m. There is a loan note alternative limited...

GPG to acquire Staveley.
August 30, 2000... Strategic investment holding company Guinness Peat Group (GPG) has made an unsolicited bid to acquire the remaining share capital of facilities management company Staveley Industries other than the roughly 34 million -- 29% -- it owns already....

EQUITY ISSUES.
August 30, 2000... EQUITY ISSUES UK equity issues - week ending 27/08/00 BIDDER TERMS Dechra Pharamaceuticals Sponsor: Charterhouse Provider of Securities...

Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms.
August 30, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms by deal value (2000 year to date) Law Firm Value [pound]m No. 1 Slaughter & May 92,305.28 61...

Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants.
August 30, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants by deal value (2000 year to date) Accountant Value [pound]m No. 1 PricewaterhouseCoopers 29,086.54 95 2 KPMG ...

Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers.
August 30, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers by deal value (2000 year to date) Financial Adviser Value [pound]m No. 1 Goldman Sachs 126,442.85 30...

Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers.
August 30, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Cazenove & Co 58,666.41 39 2 Hoare Govett ...

Corporate Money Top Placing Brokers.
August 30, 2000... Corporate Money Top Placing Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 ABN AMRO Rothschild 1,100.00 1 2 Hoare Govett ...

Corporate Money Top Rights Brokers.
August 30, 2000... Corporate Money Top Rights Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Cazenove & Co 878.32 2 2 Goldman Sachs 850.00 1 3 Peel Hunt &...

Corporate Money Top Nominated Advisers.
August 30, 2000... Corporate Money Top Nominated Advisers by market cap (2000 year to date) Nominated Adviser Value [pound]m No. 1 Peel Hunt & Co 233.30 9 2 J. Henry Schroder...

Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters.
August 30, 2000... Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters by deal value (2000 year to date) Underwriter Value [pound]m No. 1 ABN AMRO Rothschild 1,368.70 2 2 Investec Bank ...

Corporate Money Top Rights Underwriters.
August 30, 2000... Corporate Money Top Rights Underwriters by deal value (2000 year to date) Underwriter Value [pound]m No. 1 Cazenove & Co 850.00 1 2 Goldman Sachs 850.00 1 3 UBS Warburg...

Corporate Money Top Nominated Brokers.
August 30, 2000... Corporate Money Top Nominated Brokers by market cap (2000 year to date) Nominated Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Peel Hunt & Co 264.30 10 2 J. Henry Schroder &...