Corporate Money articles from July 2000

Corporate Money archives from July 2000

CAPITAL MARKETS.
July 5, 2000... BONDS As the Bank of England began its two-day interest rate meeting, guts were powering ahead after the PMI and CBI survey results pointed to a slowdown in growth in the UK's retails and service sectors. The BoE is expected to issue a 'no...

Eidos target for Infogrames.
July 5, 2000... Eidos, the UK computer games company, is being targeted by French software group Infogrames Entertainment, according to industry sources and press reports. Neither company was available for comment as Corporate Money went to press. ...

Virgin goes into energy.
July 5, 2000... Sir Richard Branson's multi-product branding exercise is to continue a fresh with the launch of a new joint venture between his Virgin Group and London Electricity. The new unit will be an internet energy company with initial capital of...

Cordiant targets Lighthouse.
July 5, 2000... Global marketing communications firm Cordiant Communications Group (CCG) has joined the ongoing consolidation of the advertising industry with the purchase of Lighthouse Global Network (LGN), an international network of specialist...

LSE worth up to [pound]700m.
July 5, 2000... The latest valuations for the London Stock Exchange (LSE) have estimated it is worth between [pound]500m and [pound]700m. City analysts were certain the LSE's valuation would rise considerably from their estimates of [pound]300m...

MBO for Peter Black?
July 5, 2000... Peter Black Holdings (PBH), the UK supplier of personal care and household products, may become the latest in a spate of management buy-outs (MBOs) in response to sluggish stock market performance. Five directors of PBH - Gordon Black,...

Tradepoint gets SEC boost.
July 5, 2000... The US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a "no-action" letter with regard to the trading of European equities on Tradepoint, the electronic market for equities trading. This will make Tradepoint the first exchange to offer...

Appointments.
July 5, 2000... European private equity firm CVC Capital partners has appointed new directors to its offices in Paris, Frankfurt, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Jean-Marc Crepin, 32, has joined the firm's Paris office as investment director. He was previously with...

France Telecom to float Wanadoo.
July 5, 2000... France Telecom has obtained permission from French regulators to go ahead with the initial IPO of nearly 10% of Wanadoo, its internet unit. The IPO price range of euro17-20 values the unit at between euro17.85bn and euro21bn. Some analysts...

Deutsche Telekom may take Sprint.
July 5, 2000... Deutsche Telekom (DT) may be in the running for US telecoms operator Sprint, according to press reports in recent days. Speculation regarding DT's interest has increased following the decision by regulators to block the $130bn offer for Sprint...

Telefonica bids for Endemol.
July 5, 2000... Spanish telecoms group Telefonica has launched a formal bid for Endemol Entertainment, the Dutch television production company, which values the target at around euro4.8bn. This is a sizeable cut form its initial offer in March of euro5.5bn....

Alcon buys Summit for $893m.
July 5, 2000... Nestle subsidiary Alcon Holdings, a manufacturer ophthalmic products has completed a tender offer for all outstanding shares in Summit Autonomous, a manufacturer of ophthalmic lasers, for around $893m. Alcon agreed to buy Summit's outstanding...

ACQUISITIONS.
July 5, 2000... ACQUISITIONS Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals- week ending 02/07/2000 BIDDER TARGET Analog Devices BCO Technologies...

Pacific Media expands further.
July 5, 2000... AIM-listed Pacific Media, the integrated media and e-commerce firm serving Asia, is to acquire the remaining 70% of shares of TV Media Holdings Pte Ltd which it does not already own. While Asian investment fund H&Q Asia Pacific and the related...

QBE finally wins Limit.
July 5, 2000... Australian insurance group QBE has finally won its drawn out bid to acquire Lloyd's investment trust Limit. The company had seen its first offer rejected in favour of a [pound]357m bid from Lloyd's underwriting agency Wellington. QBE said its...

WSP in US move.
July 5, 2000... WSP, the multidisciplinary property, land and construction consultancy, has acquired the Cantor Seinuk Group (CSG) for $12m. CSG is one of America's leading structural engineers and a "world leader" in the design of tall buildings - the firm...

EQUITY & BOND ISSUES.
July 5, 2000... EQUITY & BOND ISSUES UK equity issues, domestic and international bond issues - week ending 02/07/00 ISSUER ADVISERS Carphone Warehouse Sponsor:...

VTech takes Sensei.
July 5, 2000... Hong Kong -based VTech Holdings has signed an agreement to acquire Sensei, a London-based specialist designer of wireless portable devices, for $10.67m plus 2.67% of VTech shares. Founded in 1998, Sensei has 42 staff including 34 research...

Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms.
July 5, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms by deal value (200 year to date) Law Firm Value [pound]m No. 1 Slaughter & May 75,232.42 48...

Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers.
July 5, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers by deal value (2000 year to date) Financial Adviser Value [pound]m No. 1 Goldman Sachs 116,823.25 26...

Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants.
July 5, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants by deal value (2000 year to date) Accountant Value [pound]m No. 1 KPMG 21,762.32 70 2 PricewaterhouseCoopers ...

Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers.
July 5, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Hoare Govett 57,632.18 25 2 Cazenove & Co ...

Coporate Money Top Placing Brokers.
July 5, 2000... Coporate 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 Collins Stewart ...

Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters.
July 5, 2000... Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters by deal value (2000 year to date) Underwriter Value [pound]m No. 1 ABN AMRO Rothschild 1,100.00 1 2 Investec Bank ...

Corporate Money Top Sponsors.
July 5, 2000... Corporate Money Top Sponsors by market cap (2000 year to date) Sponsor Value [pound]m No. 1 Goldman Sachs 2,266.60 3 2 Credit Suisse First...

Corporate Money Top Stokbrokers.
July 5, 2000... Corporate Money Top Stokbrokers by market cap (2000 year to date) Stockbroker Value [pound]m No. 1 Goldman Sachs 1,913.27 3 2 Morgan Stanley Dean...

Coporate Money Top Flotation Law Firms.
July 5, 2000... Coporate Money Top Flotation Law Firms by market cap (2000 year to date) Law Firm Value [pound]m No. 1 Ashurst Morris Crisp 1,644.47 4 2 Olswang ...

Coporate Money Top Flotation Accountants.
July 5, 2000... Coporate Money Top Flotation Accountants by market cap (2000 year to date) Accountant Value [pound]m No. 1 Arthur Andersen 1,801.53 7 2 KPMG 1,084.60 12 3...

CAPITAL MARKETS.
July 12, 2000... BONDS Wednesday's session was a volatile one, encouraged by UK wage growth data which was better than expected but pulled down again by weak overseas markets, particularly bunds. Worries about interest rates continued to dog the market...

Britvic picks Orchid.
July 12, 2000... UK soft drinks manufacturer Britvic has bought Orchid Drinks. Orchid products non-alcoholic 'tonic drinks such as Purdey's and Aqua Libra. Britvic makes drinks such as Tango and distributes Pepsi products under licence in the UK. Bass which...

Pharmagene to go public.
July 12, 2000... Pharmagene, the human tissue-based functional genomics company, has announced the price range for its IPO on the London Stock Exchange. The offer consists of 14.3 new ordinary shares and an over-allotment of up to 2.1 million shares has been...

Fashion heads buy royal brand.
July 12, 2000... Canadian Laurence Stroll and Chinese citizen Silas Chou, the co-chairman of US fashion group Tommy Hilfiger have bought royal jewellers Asprey & Garrard (A&G) for an undisclosed sum. Both men were acting as private investors and not on behalf...

Tradepoint first pan-Euro market.
July 12, 2000... Tradepoint, the electronic market for equities trading, and SWX, the Swiss stock exchange, have beaten several rival exchanges in the race to create a new pan-European blue-chip exchange based in London. Peter Stevens will continue as chairman....

Hutchinson sells stakes in UK arm.
July 12, 2000... Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong-Kong-based conglomerate, has sold stakes in its UK subsidiary Hutchison 3G UK Holdings (H3G) to Japan's NTT DoCoMo and Dutch telecoms firm KPN Mobile. Under the terms of the agreement, NTT will acquire a 20%...

Centrica's US plans underway.
July 12, 2000... UK-based Centrica, the owner of British Gas, has started its strategy of expanding into gas and electricity in North America by snapping up Canada's leading gas retailer, Direct Energy Marketing (DEM) for C$912m ([pound]406m) including debt....

UBS acquires Paine Webber.
July 12, 2000... Swiss bank UBS has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire US stockbroker Paine Webber for $10.8bn. The offer of $73.50 per PaineWebber share is a 47% premium on the firm's closing share price on July 11, the day prior to the...

Capital tunes in to Beat.
July 12, 2000... Capital Radio plc, the UK's largest commercial radio station, has paid [pound]33.75m for Scottish radio station Beat 106. The company added it was still on the lookout for further acquisitions. To raise cash for its purchase of Beat and to fund...

Deloitte to float CSL.
July 12, 2000... Deloitte & Touche confirmed that it will be floating its CSL outsourcing subsidiary at the beginning of next year in a listing which could value it at up to [pound]200m. John Connolly, senior partner and CEO, commented on the proposed float...

Tech sector sees biggest ever merger.
July 12, 2000... Canadian fibre-optics firm JDS Uniphase has reached a definitive agreement to buy SDL, a San Jose-based manufacturer of lasers and fibre-optic products in the largest merger ever in the technology sector. The total value of the deal is...

DT seeks Sprint alternative.
July 12, 2000... Deutsche Telekom (DT) is ready to offer around $32bn for US-based VoiceStream Wireless Corporation (VWC) in another attempt to penetrate the US market. Recent weeks had seen growing speculation that DT might have been in the running for...

IPO triumph for Turkcell.
July 12, 2000... Turkcell, the Turkish mobile phone operator, has seen its July 11 IPO met with open arms by investors at home and abroad. The initial offering of 11% of its capital had a price of TL44,000 ($0.07) per share giving the company a market...

New euro incubator.
July 12, 2000... Danone, Valoris, and private equity investment firms CVC Capital Partners and GIMV have joined forces to create a new internet incubation fund. The fund, known as Chrysaled, will have initial capital of [epsilon]58m. Daniel Pinto, former...

ACQUSITIONS.
July 12, 2000... ACQUISITIONS Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals - week ending 09/07/00 BIDDER TARGET Access Plus Software Stationary...

Pearson expands training unit.
July 12, 2000... FT Knowledge, the business education and management development arm of Pearson plc, is to acquire The Forum Corporation for $90m in cash. Forum is one of the USA's leading corporate training companies based in Boston. Forum made sales of around...

TNS buys Gallup Argentina.
July 12, 2000... Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), the fourth largest market information group in the world is to strengthen its international network through the acquisition of Instituto Gallup de la Argentina (IGA). The deal, whose terms were not disclosed, is...

WSP continues US push.
July 12, 2000... UK construction consultancy, WSP Group, has continued its move into the US with the purchase of building services engineering company Flack & Kurtz for a maximum of $26.65m. Flack reported a turnover of $34.8m, pre-tax profits of $1.85m and...

EQUITY & BOND ISSUES.
July 12, 2000... EQUITY & BOND ISSUES UK equity issues, domestic and international bond issues - week ending 09/07/00 ISSUER ADVISERS Bidtimes Nominated...

Granada float shines.
July 12, 2000... Granada Media (GM) raised [pound]1.3bn from its flotation on July 11 as shares launched at a price of 515p -- the top end of the issue range -- and then jumped to 555p in early trading. The shares, which were five and a half times...

Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms.
July 12, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms by deal value (2000 year to date) Law Firm Value [pound]m No. 1 Slaughter & May 75,329.22 49...

Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers.
July 12, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers by deal value (2000 year to date) Financial Adviser Value [pound]m No. 1 Goldman Sachs 116,823.25 26 2 Morgan...

Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants.
July 12, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants by deal value (2000 year to date) Accountant Value [pound]m No. 1 KPMG 22,773.82 74 2 PricewaterhouseCoopers ...

Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers.
July 12, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Hoare Govett 57,632.18 25 2 Cazenove & Co ...

Corporate Money Top Placing Brokers.
July 12, 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 Collins Stewart ...

Corporate Money Top Rights Brokers.
July 12, 2000... Corporate Money Top Rights Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Peel Hunt & Co 139.90 4 2 Charterhouse Securities ...

Corporate Money Top Nominated Advisers.
July 12, 2000... Corporate Money Top Nominated Advisers by market cap (2000 year to date) Nominated Adviser Value [pound]m No. 1 J.Henry Schroder & Co 218.47 2 2 Peel Hunt & Co ...

Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters.
July 12, 2000... Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters by deal value (2000 year to date) Underwriter Value [pound]m No. 1 ABN AMRO Rothschild 1,100.00 1 2 Investec Bank ...

Corporate Money Top Rights Underwriters.
July 12, 2000... Corporate Money Top Rights Underwriters by deal value (2000 year to date) Underwriter Value [pound]m No. 1 UBS Warburg 134.36 1 2 HSBC ...

Corporate Money Top Nominated Brokers.
July 12, 2000... Corporate Money Top Nominated Brokers by market cap (2000 year to date) Nominated Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Peel Hunt & Co 234.30 8 2 J.Henry Schroder & Co 218.47...

CAPITAL MARKETS.
July 19, 2000... BONDS Gilts closed a third of a point higher on Wednesday despite worries about what the future holds for domestic interest rates. The UK's nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep rates on hold at 6.0% in...

EIB and Barclays in [pound]250m deal.
July 19, 2000... The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union's long-term financing institution is leading [pound]250m to Barclays Bank to support investment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Barclays said it would use the loan facility to...

London top fund centre.
July 19, 2000... London and the UK continues to be the leading international financial centre for fund management. According to a new report by British Invisibles (BI), the UK's strong position is highlighted by several findings: London has come out top for the...

Diageo refocuses on drink.
July 19, 2000... UK-based drinks manufacturer Diageo has announced a series of moves to re-align its business. The company has sold its food division, Pillsbury, to US rival General Mills and is also in the process of merging its Guinness and UBV drinks units...

CGNU and RBS in [pound]600m link-up.
July 19, 2000... Insurance group CGNU is to pay Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) [pound]600m for a 50% stake in its bancassurance business which currently comprises Royal Scottish Assurance (RSA) and National Westminster Life Assurance (NWLA). The deal values the...

BSkyB in Open deal.
July 19, 2000... British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), the satellite TV group, has taken control of Open in a deal which values the interactive TV service at [pound]1.2bn. BSkyB paid [pound]394m in shares for the combined 35% shareholding previously owned by...

European MBOs surge past UK.
July 19, 2000... The value of management buy-out (MBO) deals in continental Europe has risen by 59% to [epsilon]31.4bn in 1999 -- nearly three times the 1996 level -- to overtake the UK in total buy-our market value, according to research undertaken by the...

Appointments.
July 19, 2000... Merrill Lynch has appointed Constantine Gonticas as director of investment banking Gonticas, 33, will take responsibility for the bank's M&A activities in emerging Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Gonticas will report to Dan Dickinson and...

C&W snaps up five more.
July 19, 2000... UK telecome company Cable & Wireless (C&W) has bought another five internet firms internet firms in Europe for $100m. This latest series of deals makes C&W the third biggest internet services company in Europe and increases the number of...

Vodafone takes Airtel.
July 19, 2000... Mobile telecoms giant Vodafone AirTouch has gained control of Spanish mobile operator Airtel Movil. Vodafone now owns 65.2 / of Airtel following its acquisition of 43.5% of the sharebolding in the company from several Spanish banks including...

VNU grabs Miller Freeman USA.
July 19, 2000... Dutch publishing group VNU is to acquire Miller Freeman USA from United News & Media (UNM) for $650m in cash. The price is equal to approximately 11 times current year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisarion (EBITDA) and...

Wanadoo IPO success.
July 19, 2000... Wanadoo, France Telecom's internet division has seen its IPO meet with heavy demand from investors. Shares in the company, which began trading on Wednesday, July 19, rose to [epsilon]21 from the launch price of [epsilon]19 within minutes of the...

Chello cancels IPO.
July 19, 2000... Dutch internet service provider (ISP) Chello is cancelling its planed IPO and has instead decided to launch a joint venture with US ISP Excite@Home's international operations to create the largest broadband company outside of North America with...

ACQUISITIONS.
July 19, 2000... ACQUISITIONS Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals - week ending 16/07/00 BIDDER TARGET Airtours Frosch Touristik...

Orange sets up cyber fund.
July 19, 2000... Orange, the UK's number three mobile telecoms group, has announced a batch of deals which it hopes will vitalise its next generation of services. The company has invested [pound]300m in a new cyber investment fund to be known as Orange Ventures...

MBO at Quantel.
July 19, 2000... Quantel designs and manufactures image processing equipment for the television broadcasting and post-production industries. In the six months to March 31, 2000, the company posted operating losses of [pound]13m. The sale of Quantel is the...

Hemscott.net in reverse takeover.
July 19, 2000... Hemscott.net, the online financial news and information provider created by publisher Hemmington Scott last year, is to be listed on the Alternative Investment Market (MM) following completion of a reverse takeover by Bridgend Group. Bridgend,...

Unilever sells bakery.
July 19, 2000... Unilever has reached an agreement in principle to sell its European Bakery Supplies Business (EBSB) to CSM, the Dutch food products and ingredients company for a debt free price of [epsilon]700m ([pound]439.6m) in cash. The transaction is...

Shell sells R&V business.
July 19, 2000... Royal Dutch/Shell has reached an agreement in principle to sell its global Resins and Versatics (R&V) business to an affiliate of New York-based private investment firm Apollo Management. The purchase price was not disclosed. The R&V business...

EQUITY ISSUES.
July 19, 2000... EQUITY ISSUES UK equity issues - week ending 16/07/00 ISSUER ADVISERS Alterian Sponsor: Investec Data analysis software Henderson Crosthwaite...

B&B to float.
July 19, 2000... Members of UK building society Bradford & Bingley (B&B) have voted for it to be floated on the London Stock Exchange. There had been a record turnout of members -- 70% of eligible savers and 53.5% of borrowers -- who overwhelmingly voted in...

Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms.
July 19, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms by deal value (2000 year to date) Law Firm Value [pound]m No. 1 Slaughter & May 75,437.22 50...

Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants.
July 19, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants by deal value (2000year to date) Accountant Value [pound]m No. 1 KPMG 23,028.02 77 2 PricewaterhouseCoopers ...

Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers.
July 19, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers by deal value (2000 year to date) Financial Adviser Value [pound]m No. 1 Goldman Sachs 117,262.85 27 2 Morgan...

Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers.
July 19, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Hoare Govett 57,632.18 25 2 Cazenove & Co ...

Corporate Money Top Placing Brokers.
July 19, 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 ...