UK M&A firms punching above their weight: Being bold, moving fast and paying cash key to takeover triumphs May 27, 2015 The study examined 265,000 deals over 20 years Companies pursuing aggressive merger and acquisition strategies deliver higher returns for shareholders than firms which act with more caution, a study finds. Businesses offering all-cash bids, and those that pursue overseas targets and avoid large transformational deals outperform their peers on a total shareholder return [...]
Greece’s creditors dismiss Prime Minister Alexis Tsipiras claim they’re close to drafting a deal May 27, 2015 Greece's creditors have poured cold water on the cash-strapped country's claim that the parties were nearing a deal which would pave the way for the additional funding it desperately needs. Greece's government has been locked into high stakes talks with its creditors the European Union, the European Central Bank and the IMF since February. And without [...]
EU residents to be banned from having undeclared income in Swiss banks May 27, 2015 The EU and Switzerland have signed a deal to stop EU residents holding undeclared income in Swiss bank accounts. The transparency agreement will be introduced at the start of 2018, and from then on Switzerland and the EU will share information relating to the bank accounts of their respective citizens. This includes names, addresses, [...]
Disposable income: This is how your spending power breaks down by region May 27, 2015 Between 1997 and 2013, people living in just four regions in the UK saw their disposable income increase when compared to the UK average. London saw the biggest jump, rising from an indexed level of 121.9 (where 100 is the average) in 1997 to 128.2 in 2013. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all saw [...]
Plus500 share price gains as company defends “sustainable business model” May 27, 2015 Plus500's share price has risen by more than seven per cent in morning trading after the firm insisted it had a "sustainable business model" in a statement to the stock exchange. The Israeli-based spreadbetter is holding its annual general meeting today where it is expected to give further details about how recent freezes on some its [...]
Snapchat IPO: Founder Evan Spiegel reveals plans to take messaging app public May 27, 2015 Evan Spiegel, the co-founder and chief of the billion-dollar app Snapchat, has said the company is planning an IPO. "We need to IPO," the 24-year-old told a tech conference, ruling out an acquisition by a larger company. Spiegel did not divulge the time frame Snapchat is following to take the hugely popular app public, but [...]
Imperial Tobacco share price rises after $7.1bn purchase of Reynolds cigarette brands wins regulatory approval May 27, 2015 Imperial Tobacco's takeover of a number of cigarette and ecigarette brands from Reynolds American is set to go ahead after winning regulatory approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The British tobacco company entered into a purchase agreement for the brands as far back as July last year following Reynolds' $27bn (£17.5bn) takeover of Lorillard. [...]
Wizz Air profits and revenue soar to record success in 2015 May 27, 2015 Wizz Air has been flying high since it floated in February. The figures Eastern Europe's largest low-cost airline achieved record results in 2015, with profits up at €146m (£103m) for the 12 months to 31 March – a 67 per cent increase from €87m in 2014. Revenue also went up by 21 per cent [...]
UK brushes aside German plan for EU-wide minimum rate of corporation tax May 26, 2015 The government has knocked back a move by German authorities to introduce a minimum rate of corporation tax across the European Union, saying that such proposals would not survive a vote involving the EU’s 28 member states. It is understood that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande want to introduce such [...]
Aer Lingus is cleared for BA boss’ takeover as Ireland agrees to sell May 26, 2015 The Irish government last night agreed to sell its 25 per cent in Aer Lingus to British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) after many setbacks. The Irish airline’s board recommended IAG’s proposed €1.36bn (£961bn) offer in February, but it still needs support from the other main shareholder, Ryanair, which has previously voiced its support [...]