Corporate Money articles from January 2000

Corporate Money archives from January 2000

German tax changes will unlock bank's huge equity holdings.
January 12, 2000... There is a quickening tempo in the parallel universe which is the [pound]80bn Vodafone AirTouch hostile bid for Mannesmann. The Mannesmann defence document is due to be published on Friday, 14 January along with preliminary earnings for 1999....

Dublin buys Xetra platform.
January 12, 2000... The Dublin stock exchange has signalled its intention to join the pan-European alliance by agreeing to purchase Deutsche Borse's Xetra electronic trading technology, which is almost certain to be the system used by the alliance lead by...

Failures up 12%, says D & B.
January 12, 2000... Business failures increased by more than 12 per cent during 1999, the highest level for five years, says Dun & Bradstreet. There were 43,365 failures, or about 830 a week. Failures reached a peak with over 62,000 in 1992, then declined for five...

More merger control laws.
January 12, 2000... Underlining the increasing legal complexity of cross-border mergers and acquisitions, a survey by law firm White & Chase of 99 jurisdictions found that 27 countries and the EU have substantially revised and strengthened competition laws in the...

It's good to talk longer, says Moody's.
January 12, 2000... In the increasingly competitive European telecoms market, minutes of use growth is more important than market share loss, says Moody's Investors Service in a new report on the sector. This points out that the average line usage in Europe is...

Nabisco ponders higher bid for UB in [pound]1.26bn snacks and biscuits war.
January 12, 2000... With a cast of thousands, the battle between rival European and US groups to acquire United Biscuits, the world's fourth largest biscuit manufacturer, was reaching a turning point this week, but it is still too early to tell which way this...

Further growth in tracker pension fund portfolios.
January 12, 2000... The trend towards the indexation of pension fund portfolios is continuing to grow. Three years ago 35 per cent of private equity schemes and 44 per cent of public sector schemes indexed at least part of their portfolio. Last year the figures...

Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals; period ending 31/12/99.
January 12, 2000... Bidder Alldays Food retailer FA: Noble Grossart LF: Eversheds Target Aire Regional Development Company Retail group Acc: Rees Pollock LF: Chris Downton Finance Value ([pound]m): 158.00 ...

BNFL nuclear growth.
January 12, 2000... The nuclear power industry gets a poor press, but someone has to run the business. BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels), which acquired Westinghouse Electric Company last year, is pressing ahead with its aim of becoming a global player in the sector by...

Ennstone builds.
January 12, 2000... The top end of the construction business is in the throws of consolidation, and this week several of Britain's leading firms in the sector issued upbeat trading reports. But there is also activity lower down - witness aggregate group...

3i ups the Tempo.
January 12, 2000... In the face of fierce competition from the likes of PC World, 3i is backing further expansion by the much smaller electrical and computer retailer Tempo. It will buy out the holdings of some of the founding Kraftman family, raising a total of...

Smurfit.
January 12, 2000... Irish-owned aggregates company Jefferson Smurfit has announced the terms of its [pound]18m cash offer for sheets and corrugated board manufacturer Norcor Holdings. The offer, to be made by Warburg Dillon Read, consists of a 65p cash for each...

Pegasus Down Under.
January 12, 2000... UK listed business and accounting software company Pegasus has moved to delist via a recommended offer from Australian group, Solution 6. Both sides have been keen to point to potential synergies achieved from the tie-up. The rationale behind...

Winglaw.
January 12, 2000... Property investment, trading and development company Winglaw Group, which acquired quoted Dwyer Estates in 1997, has in turn been purchased by Warner Estates Holdings (founder and president Sir Henry Warner) for [pound]40m in cash, by the...

Viva Cambridge!
January 12, 2000... Spanish utility company Union Fenosa has announced that its cash offers for the share capial of UK based water group Cambridge Water have hit over 50% in terms of acceptances. Consequently, as set down in Rule 9 of the Takeover Code, Union is...

Equities.
January 19, 2000... The `think big' trend in financial services has been reinforced by Citigroup's acquisition of the investment banking business of Schroders for [pound]1.35bn. Schroders has respected expertise in mergers and acquisitions in the UK and will...

LSE will merge says chief executive.
January 19, 2000... The Electronic Communication Network (ECN) revolution and other changes will see the London Stock Exchange merge within three years, its chief executive Gavin Casey predicts. The LSE is demutualising. Its most likely partners are other...

Funds must change to meet the demanding challenge of the future, says FMA.
January 19, 2000... The long bull market starting in the 1990s has blinded the fund management industry to the business necessity meet the challenge of more demanding customer requirements and new technologies. Change within most funds has been reactive, tactical...

Stakeholder pension decisions `still awaited'.
January 19, 2000... Key decisions are still awaited on stakeholder pensions which could make or break the project, says consultant William M Mercer. Important decisions on concurrent membership of company schemes and stakeholder pensions were awaited as well as...

Salomon to compete globally with [pound]1.35bn purchase of Schroders investment bank.
January 19, 2000... Barings, Morgan Grenfell, Kleinwort Benson - and now Schroders. This week's announcement that Schroders, founded in 1818, is selling its investment banking arm to Salomon Smith Barney, part of Citigroup, the world's largest financial company,...

City rumour machine in overdrive as Knutsford targets Wassall.
January 19, 2000... Knutsford's revelation this week that it is in acquisition discussions with Wassall, a non-descript, but cash-rich conglomerate, took the market by surprise and propelled the City rumour machine into overdrive, particularly as Wassall is said...

Luxembourg wants swift end to tax on funds.
January 19, 2000... Campaign against subscription The subscription tax is putting Luxembourg in an unfavourable position compared to its competitors and should be abolished in stages, the Grand Duchy's fund managers' association believes. The statistics...

Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals; week ending 16/01/2000.
January 19, 2000... M&A Bidder Aegis Group Media communications and market research group PR: Financial Dynamics (Charles Palmer & Tim Spratt) Target Motoresearch market research company specialising in international automotive...

Africa Online.
January 19, 2000... Internet business is growing south of the Sahara. Africa Online, part of African Lakes Corporation, has acquired Nairobi-based Net 2000, which has about 3,400 subscribers, for [pound]2.01m. Africa Online has 20,000 registered subscribers. Chris...

Internet chips cashed in.
January 19, 2000... Internet and multi-media company Pangaea, which made a pre tax profit of [pound]571,670 on a turnover of [pound]1.254m in the year to the end of last September, has been acquired by quoted Compel Group, a leading IT management company. The...

Luxurious retirement.
January 19, 2000... Continuing its strategy of widening its product range, John Laing Homes has made a recommended cash offer of 4.7p a share for Beechcroft, which builds luxury retirement homes in central southern England.The offer values Beechcroft, which has...

Rebus builds payroll.
January 19, 2000... If you've ever wondered who processes payrolls for the small to medium sized enterprises, Rebus Group's acquisition of Moorepay for [pound]41.1m will explain the business in some detail. Rebus, which had a turnover of [pound]104m in the year to...

UK equity issues; week ending 16/01/2000.
January 19, 2000... Company Brewin Dolphin Holdings Financial services institution Sector: Speciality & Other Finance Market: Official List Type: Placing Terms Amount ([pound]m): 11.40 No of shares (m): 1,560,000 Advisers...

Qxl heads north again.
January 19, 2000... QXL.com, the pan-European online auctioneer, has acquired the largest Danish online consumer to consumer auction site, Jubii Auktion, which is stated to have no audited accounts and no material net assets. But the consideration is 510,000 QXL...

Domestic and international bond issues; week ending 16/01/2000.
January 19, 2000... Company Bank of Scotland Treasury Services UK listed banking group Market: Euro Currency: E Amount (m): 168.0 Terms Coupon: see details Maturity: Jan 2002 Price: 100.04 Yield: see details ...

Issues bond with EU progress.
January 19, 2000... European Union integration is providing the bond scene with a forward impetus. Greece has issued its first 20-year bond amid rising expectations that the government plans to revalue the drachma against the euro in early February. The...

Bonds.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2000... Two big deals, which could transform the M&A scene in Europe for years to come, will be settled in the coming weeks. Both sides are claiming strong support in Vodafone AirTouch's Euro151bn bid for Mannesmann. And the deadline is near for the...

Pensions stake wrong claim.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2000... Government plans to reform pensions will drive people into other forms of savings and wealth creation, according to a report based on a survey of 150 organisations conducted by actuarial consultants Towers Perrin. Almost three-quarters of those...

A&O launch global `virtual dealing' operation.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2000... Allen & Overy is launching a "virtual dealing" room under the sub-brand name of `new change' which it believes will prove a trailblazer for the way international law firms do e-business. David Morley, managing partner, banking, said: "This...

Small comfort in fund management.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2000... The lesser-known and smaller fund managers in the UK have again shown up their better-known counterparts by turning in better performances. The latest rankings compiled by Combined Actuarial Performance Service put Orbitex at the top and...

Index and Net developments lead bonds into new `demand era'.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2000... Barclays Capital has launched a benchmark sterling bond index just as the Internet revolution and the UK government's healthy finances begin to transform the corporate bond market beyond recognition. The new sterling bond index is designed...

Net helps M&A climb to highest peaks.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2000... The Internet is fuelling Europe's mergers and acquisitions boom with the recent spate of takeovers, alliances and business investment likely to accelerate still further. Investment bank Broadview International says in a report that...

All systems go.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2000... The merger of F I Group and Druid Group, two highly dynamic firms, will launch a new UK-based force in international business consulting which will value the enlarged group at [pound]2.4bn. The merger will combine Druid's core cababilities in...

Safety in numbers.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2000... The long stock exchange boom has created more millionaires than at any time in history - a fact which helps to explain part of the rationale behind the [pound]546m recommended cash offer by Old Mutual for Gerrard Group. Gerrard includes Greig...

Building up.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2000... Travis Perkins, one of the UK's leading suppliers of timber and building materials, is likely to spend less than [pound]25m to acquire three businesses in the sector. The purchases will be paid out of the company's existing resources in a...

London Pride.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2000... Fuller, Smith & Turner, famous for its "London Pride" beer, for being independent and for its brewery by the Thames at Chiswick, has sold its its retail wine shops business, known as Fuller's Quality Wine Shops, for [pound]7.5m to Unwins, a...

Telewest capacity.(Brief Article)
January 26, 2000... Telewest Communications, which last week announced that it will build a high-capacity fibre optic network linking Liverpool and London via two separate routes, has sold the equivalent of [pound]550m ($904m) of sterling and dollar notes in New...

Falling sensation.
January 26, 2000... Falling government deficits are likely to influence the European bond markets for years to come. JP Morgan predicts that the gross global government bond issuance will fall to $1.38trillion, the lowest since 1994. It says: "Shrinking...