Corporate Money articles from November 2000

Corporate Money archives from November 2000

CAPITAL MARKETS.
November 1, 2000... BONDS The US market was dictating movement in the bond markets and was the main reason that gilts ended down at Wednesday's close. A drop in long-dated US treasuries offset earlier gains on the back of weak retail and domestic...

Croda sells adhesives division.
November 1, 2000... UK specialty chemicals firm Croda international is to sell its global adhesives division to US-based Sovereign Specialty Chemicals (SSC), SSC will pay [pound]44.5m for the business, which made [pound]2.7M PROFIT IN 1999. Croda said it will use...

ABF sells Burton's Biscuits.
November 1, 2000... Associated British Foods (ABF), the international food, ingredients and retail group, has sold its UK biscuit and sugar confectionery operation, Burton's Biscuits, to a US private equity group. Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst will pay ABF...

Kleeneze buys rivals for [pound]37M.
November 1, 2000... UK mail order group Kleeneze is to acquire two of the UK's leading display marketing companies for an effective consideration of [pound]37.6 plus additional deferred payment. Dealerfield is based in Nottingham and is the industry leader. It has...

Reed strengthens science division.
November 1, 2000... Anglo-Dutch publishing group Reed Elsevier has teamed up with its Canadian rival Thomson to acquire US-based Harcourt General for $4.45bn. The deal calls for Reed to pay the entire purchase price and assume $1.2bn of debt before selling on...

CGNU exits London market.
November 1, 2000... UK composite insurer CGNU has exited the London insurance market by selling Marlborough Underwriting Agency, its Lloyd's managing agent, to Berkshire Hathaway Group. The move comes as part of CGNU's strategy of refocusing on general retail...

Unilever sells Arden business.
November 1, 2000... Anglo-Dutch consumer products group Unilever is to sell its Elizabeth Arden cosmetics business, brands and certain assets to Florida, USA-based FFI Fragrances for approximately $225m. Under the terms of the definitive agreement Unilever...

Trinity Mirror expands portfolio.
November 1, 2000... Britain's largest newspaper group Trinity Mirror has expanded its stable of titles with the acquisition of regional publisher Southnews. Trinity is offering [pound]12.00 per share, valuing the target at [pound]288m. The offer -- which has been...

Centrica buys Canadian gas firm.
November 1, 2000... UK energy and services company Centrica is to buy privately-held Canadian gas firm Avalanche Energy for [pound]114.5m, including the assumption of debt. The acquisition, which will be carried out through an offer to Avalanche shareholders, has...

Kingfisher takes online stake.
November 1, 2000... UK retailer Kingfisher is to buy an 85% stake in Streets Online for [pound]15.7m. Streets is the company behind Alphabetstreet, the online bookseller, and Audiostreet, the music site. The company also runs Streetwise, an online magazine, and...

Commission clears RIM bids.
November 1, 2000... The UK's Competition Commission has cleared all three of the bidders for publishing group Regional Independent Media (RIM). The decision will mean a three-way bidding war for RIM, which owns numerous regional newspapers and has the Yorkshire...

GKN ventures into Japan.
November 1, 2000... UK engineering group GKN has established its first manufacturing presence in Japan through the acquisition of the production assets of Nissan's automotive driveline facility. GKN will pay [pound]56m for the car manufacturers' Tochigi-based...

CSO buys Aker division for $625m.
November 1, 2000... French oil services firm Coflexip Stena Offshore (CSO) has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Aker Maritime's Deepwater operations for $625m. The consideration for the deal includes $512m in cash plus the assumption of debt...

Greif Brothers to acquire Van Leer.
November 1, 2000... Greif Brothers, the US manufacturer of industrial shipping containers, is to acquire the Van Leer Industrial (VLI) packaging division of the Finnish Huhtamaki Van Lcer group for $620m. The purchase price includes a cash payment and the...

Omega bids for Akzo OTC unit.
November 1, 2000... Dutch healthcare firm Akzo Nobel has received a cash offer of [epsilon]105.7m for its Chefaro over-the-counter pharmaceuticals business from Belgian rival Omega Pharma. As part of the deal Omega would also assume [epsilon]35m of debt. "The...

BAEPE invests [epsilon]15m in ETR.
November 1, 2000... Banc of America Equity Partners Europe (BAEPE), the private equity division of Bank of America, has completed a [epsilon]15m equity investment in Sweden-based ETR Group, the world leader in temperature controlled air cargo transportation. BAEPE...

Syngenta sets price range.
November 1, 2000... Syngenta, the world's largest agribusiness group, has set a price range of SFr85-105 ([epsilon]55.7-68.8) per share for its global secondary offering. Formed from the merger of the crop protection and seeds operations of Novartis and...

ACQUISITIONS.
November 1, 2000... ACQUISITIONS Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals - week ending 29/10/00 BIDDER TARGET Benson Shoes Oliver Group (The) UK shoe retailer UK shoe...

Laird continues reorganisation.
November 1, 2000... The Laird Group, the UK engineering firm, has agreed to sell its car body sealants business to the US vehicles sealing company GenCorp. Laird is selling the business for an overall price of [epsilon]243m. This will consist of an initial cash...

Totally Jewish multimedia group.
November 1, 2000... Totally plc, the specialist website group, is to acquire London Jewish News (LJN) and the website sojewish.co.uk for a total consideration of 12.5 million new ordinary shares. Based on Totally's closing share price of 32.Sp on October 22, the...

Bernard Matthews to go private.
November 1, 2000... Bernard Matthews Holding (BMH) has made a recommended cash offer for the entire issued share capital of poultry products producer, Bernard Matthews plc, excluding the 42.2% which it has agreed with the Matthews family and the management team to...

LBSH to acquire Phoenix.
November 1, 2000... London Bridge Software Holdings (LBSH) has signed an asset purchase agreement to acquire all the assets and selected liabilities of software developer Phoenix International. The consideration for the deal will be a maximum of $45m in cash,...

EQUITY & BOND ISSUES.
November 1, 2000... EQUITY & BOND ISSUES UK equity issues, domestic and international bond issues - week ending 29/10/00 BIDDER TERMS Bede Sponsor:...

Second purchase for Tenon.
November 1, 2000... Tenon, the first quoted accountancy-based business services company is to acquire the non-audit businesses of the accountants Williams Allan Group (WAG) for [pound]9m. The consideration for the deal will be satisfied as to [pound]4.75m by the...

Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms.
November 1, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms by deal value (2000 year to date) Law Firm Value [pound]m No. 1 Slaughter & May 101,335.00 79...

Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants.
November 1, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants by deal value (2000 year to date) Accountant Value [pound]m No. 1 PricewaterhouseCoopers 43,900.23 135 2 KPMG ...

Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers.
November 1, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers by deal value (2000 year to date) Financial Adviser Value [pound]m No. 1 Goldman Sachs 134,723.06 37...

Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers.
November 1, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Cazenove & Co 82,811.88 52 2 Hoare Govett ...

Corporate Money Top Placing Brokers.
November 1, 2000... Corporate Money Top Placing Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No....

Corporate Money Top Sponsors.
November 1, 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 Flotation Law Firms.
November 1, 2000... Corporate Money Top Flotation Law Firms by market cap (2000 year to date) Law Firm Value [pound]m No. l Lovells 7,653.85 2 2...

Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters.
November 1, 2000... Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters by deal value (2000 year to date) Underwriter Value [pound]m No. 1 ABN AMRO Rothschild 1,268.70 2 2 Investec Bank ...

Corporate Money Top Stockbrokers.
November 1, 2000... Corporate Money Top Stockbrokers by market cap (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Credit Suisse First Boston 4,981.68 4 ...

Corporate Money Top Flotation Accountants.
November 1, 2000... Corporate Money Top Flotation Accountants by market cap (2000 year to date) Accountant Value [pound]m No. 1 KPMG 10,537.44 14 2 Arthur Andersen ...

BONDS.
November 8, 2000... Gilts were not troubled after Wednesday's pre-budget report in the UK as announcements about the government's plans for public finances produced few surprises. And, despite the government saying it expected an increase in public finance...

Welsh Water bought by users.
November 8, 2000... US utility company Western Power Distribution has sold Welsh Water, the UK utility company, for [pound]1.8bn to Glas Cymru Cyfyngedig, a company whose owners include hospitals and local governments. The debt-funded deal has been hailed by many...

Rio increases Ashton bid.
November 8, 2000... Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto is to increase its cash offer for Ashton Mining, the Australian diamond mining firm, to A$2.20 ([epsilon]1.35) from A$1.85 ([epsilon]1.14) and will also add a cash/share alternative after it secures the...

Envoy snaps up Leagas Delaney.
November 8, 2000... Canada's Envoy Communications has bought London-based advertising firm Leagas Delaney for C$132m ([pound]60m) in stock and cash. The down payment consideration is approximately C$55m ([pound]25m) of which C$19.8m ([pound]9m) will be satisfied...

Amerada makes [pound]2.4bn for Lasmo.
November 8, 2000... US energy company Amerada Hess has made an agreed [pound]2.4bn bid for UK oil and gas exploration company Lasmo. Under the terms of the deal, Amerada is offering Lasmo shareholders one Amerada share and [pound]98.29 in cash for every 78.7...

Travelex acquires Thomas Cook division.
November 8, 2000... Travelex, the global provider of travel money, is to acquire the financial services division of travel agent Thomas Cook for [pound]440m in cash. Barclays Bank is underwriting the financing for the purchase and is providing guarantees to...

Vodafone takes Swiss stake for [pound]1.8bn.
November 8, 2000... UK mobile phone giant Vodafone is to pay [pound]1.8bn for a strategic 25% stake in Swiss telecoms firm Swisscom. The companies intend to use the deal as a platform for future partnerships between Vodafone and Swisscom Mobile. The...

Clifford Chance goes Italian.
November 8, 2000... Clifford Chance, the international law firm, is to merge with Italy's Grimaldi e Associati completing an integration which the two firms began in 1993 with their joint venture Grimaldi e Clifford Chance (GCC). The decision follows a...

APPOINTMENTS.
November 8, 2000... Dresdner Kleinwort Benson (DKB) has appointed Marc de Fraiture as a new director in the Benelux teat in its global corporate finance division. De Fraiture will be based in London and will report to Fabian French, head of the Benelux team. He...

Portal Software acquires Solution42.
November 8, 2000... Californian telecoms infrastructure provider Portal Software has acquired Germany's Solution42 for $300m in stock. Portal provides infrastructure software for broadband, wireless internet and next-generation communications services. Portal...

Assa locks in HID for $280m.
November 8, 2000... Swedish-based Assa Abloy, the world's leading lock manufacturer, is to acquire Hughes Identification Devices (HID), the US provider of electronic identification systems, for a maximum of $280m. Under the terms of the deal, Assa will pay HID...

Canadian deal to help Phonak.
November 8, 2000... Swiss heating aid manufacturer Phonak is to buy Canadian rival Unitron for C$160m ([epsilon]122m). The deal will help Phonak catch up with market leader Siemens, the German conglomerate. The consideration for the deal will be paid two-thirds in...

Rabobank and DG scrap merger.
November 8, 2000... Dutch bank Rabobank and Germany's DG Bank have scrapped the planned merger of their corporate and investment banking activities. The companies blamed the decision on integration difficulties. DG will, however, continue with its plans to take a...

Software Ag buys back Saga.
November 8, 2000... German firm Software AG is to buy back US electronic-business software provider Saga Systems for $360m in provider Saga Systems for $360m in cash. Software AG sold Saga, which was then its wholly-owned subsidiary, in 1997. The German company...

ACQUISITIONS.
November 8, 2000... ACQUISITIONS Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals - week ending 05/11/00 BIDDER TARGET ACG Freeway Electronics German listed semi- Group...

Land Securities houses DSS.
November 8, 2000... Land Securities, the UK property investment firm, has announced it has reached an agreement to acquire all the share capital of Trillium Investments for an overall cost of [pound]329.88m. Land Securities will pay [pound]160m in cash and...

Telewest extends cable network.
November 8, 2000... Eurobell, a UK subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, is to be sold to Telewest Communications for a maximum consideration of [pound]230m. Eurobell supplies telephone, internet, data and cable television services in the south of England. Telewest is...

Nikko backs Prestige's Powell deal.
November 8, 2000... Nikko Principal Investments (NPI), a European subsidiary of Japan s Nikko Securities, has backed buyout vehicle Prestige Acquisitions in its [pound]508m purchase of UK ports and engineering group Powell Duffryn. Prestige will pay 650p per...

BPE buys CRP.
November 8, 2000... Barclays Private Equity (BPE) has acquired CRP, which makes subsea cable equipment for the offshore oil and gas, and telecoms sectors, for [pound]120m. BPE has bought 80% of CRP with 58% coming from HSBC Private Equity and the rest from CRP...

Two deals for Close Brothers.
November 8, 2000... Investment bank Close Brothers has made two acquisitions. The first of these was the acquisition of 80% of the investment management business of OLIM Ltd. The consideration for the deal was [pound]10.45m of which [pound]5.25m was settled with...

EQUITY ISSUES.
November 8, 2000... EQUITY ISSUES UK equity issues - week ending 05/11/00 ISSUER ADVISERS TERMS AMEC Underwriter: Deutsche Amount ([pound]m): 29.12...

Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms.
November 8, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Law Firms by deal value (2000 year to date) Law Firm Value [pound]m No. 1 Slaughter & May 101,890.79 81...

Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers.
November 8, 2000... Corporate Money Top 35 Financial Advisers by deal value (2000 year to date) Financial Adviser Value [pound]m No. 1 Goldman Sachs 135,052.94 38...

Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants.
November 8, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Accountants by deal value (2000 year to date) Accountant Value [pound]m No. 1 PricewaterhouseCoopers 44,985.35 146 2 KPMG ...

Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers.
November 8, 2000... Corporate Money Top 10 Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Cazenove & Co 82,811.88 52 2 Hoare Govett ...

Corporate Money Top Placing Brokers.
November 8, 2000... Corporate Money Top Placing Brokers by deal value (2000 year to date) Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Hoare Govett 993.87 9 2 Investec Henderson...

Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters.
November 8, 2000... Corporate Money Top Placing Underwriters by deal value (2000 year to date) Underwriter Value [pound]m No. 1 Investec Bank 742.00 21 2 Deutsche Bank ...

Corporate Money Top Rights Brokers.
November 8, 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 ...

Corporate Money Top Rights Underwriters.
November 8, 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 Advisers.
November 8, 2000... Corporate Money Top Nominated Advisers by market cap (2000 year to date) Nominated Adviser Value [pound]m No. 1 Peel Hunt 383.93 12 2 Altium Capital ...

Corporate Money Top Nominated Brokers.
November 8, 2000... Corporate Money Top Nominated Brokers by market cap (2000 year to date) Nominated Broker Value [pound]m No. 1 Peel Hunt 429.84 14 2 Altium Capital ...

CAPITAL MARKETS.
November 15, 2000... BONDS This week some of the major issues were Eurohypo offering [epsilon]1.25bn bond due 2011, Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbrau launched a [pound]100m issue due 2021 and Banco Santander Central Hispanoamericano offered [epsilon]200m due...

TMT Survey.
November 15, 2000... Taylor Joynson Garrett, the London law firm, has released a survey completed in conjunction with the London Business School examining the issues facing technology, media and telecoms (TMT) companies seeking initial public offerings (IPO's) in...

Oxford GlycoSciences.
November 15, 2000... Oxford GlycoSciences (OGS) has announced plans to raise [pound]150m and to obtain a secondary listing on the NASDAQ. The UK biotech company operates in proteomics - the study of the link between genes proteins and diseases. The proceeds will be...

Laird drives into [epsilon]170m deal.
November 15, 2000... Laird Group has agreed to sell its non-sealing automotive components division (LAC) to the Stockholm-listed Trelleborg Group for [epsilon]170m in cash. The sale is the end of the road for Laird's involvement in the automobile industry, as the...

Royal Dutch Shell links with CNOOC.
November 15, 2000... Anglo-Dutch group Royal Dutch Shell has stated in a memorandum of understanding that it intends to acquire a 20% stake, up to a maximum of US$300m, in the forthcoming China National Offshore Oil Corp's (CNOOC) IPO. The IPO is intended to...

GFInet nets Fenics.
November 15, 2000... London-based technology firm Fenics is to be acquired by GFInet, the US voice and online brokerage. The value of the transaction is undisclosed but it will consist of a mixture of cash and unlisted stock. Fenics will be bought from the British...

SP Systems back to its founder.
November 15, 2000... Close Brothers Private Equity (CBPE) is backing the management buyout of SP Systems from its Nasdaq-listed parent, Zoltek Companies. SP, established in 1978, is a world leader in the supply of composites to the wind energy industry, a...

APPOINTMENTS.
November 15, 2000... West LB Panmure have taken on an exLazard banker to create and develop a French M&A business. Gerard Sander worked for Lizard for 15 years in Pari until 1996 and setup a boutique concentrating on new economy businesses. Jeff Berry has...

Lazard restructuring.
November 15, 2000... Lazard has announced the sale of its stake in Assicurazioni Generali, the Italian insurance group. Should the deal progress as expected, it will mark the beginning of the end for a 50-year-old Franco-Italian romance between Lazard Freres & Cie...

Servecast online for [epsilon]40m.
November 15, 2000... Servecast, an Irish streaming media firm, has raised [epsilon]40m in new funds. The financing has been earmarked for speeding up the completion of its European network. It aims to have nine offices up and running by the end of the year, with...

SGS inspects Think Tools.
November 15, 2000... Swiss inspection company Socite Generale de Surveillance is taking a majority stake in a joint venture with Swiss knowledge software house Think Tools. SGS is to have a 53.5% stake in A-Knowledge, the new company to be formed with activities...

TIM takes Venezuelan stake.
November 15, 2000... Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM), the Italian mobile phone company, has announced that it has signed an agreement to take a $600m controlling stake in Venezuelan mobile telephony company Digitel. TIM will take a controlling 57% stake of Digitel's...

FMC spends healthily.
November 15, 2000... German healthcare company Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) is spending $343m to buy Everest Health Services Corporation in America. The price to be paid will be settled one third in cash, one third funded by recovery of the debts and the remaining...

GMT completes new fund.
November 15, 2000... GMT Communications Partners, specialists in Private equity in the telecoms and media sector has completed a [epsilon]365m final closing of it new fund. The Fund, originally targeted at [epsilon]250m has been oversubscribed by a wide range of...

ACQUISITIONS.
November 15, 2000... ACQUISITIONS Bids, mergers, demergers and disposals - week ending 12/11/00 BIDDER TARGET Amerada Hess LASMO Corporation UK listed oil and gas...

Chime strengthens communications offering.
November 15, 2000... Public relations, advertising, design and research company Chime Communications has acquired three new companies, strengthening its position as one of the UK's foremost communications companies. Chime has purchased Roose Holdings, Quentin Bell...

Intec into Asia-Pacific.
November 15, 2000... Intec Telecom Systems has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Malaysian telecoms billing company, Inception to Implementation (i2i) for a maximum of $40m. Intec, a UK-based provider of software solutions specifically...

Abacus Polar.
November 15, 2000... Abacus Polar, the UK electronic components distributor, announced the acquistion of unlisted UK microchip designer Silicon Concepts for a maximum price of [pound]13.9m. Consideration for the deal is [pound]3.4m in cash and [pound]10.5m...

Rio Tinto.
November 15, 2000... Rio Tinto, the London-based mining giant, has won the day in its battle to take control of the company operating the Argyle diamond mine: the world's largest. Rio Tinto's revised bid of A$2.20 a share for Ashton Mining was accepted by Ashton...