Analyst Views: What did you make of Finlayson’s resignation and the Egypt update? April 28, 2014 NEILL MORTON | INVESTEC He cites “personal reasons” yet the board seems happy to usher him through the exit while reiterating its commitment to his strategy. His focus was on project delivery and Brazil and Australia still appear to be on track. Egypt may have worsened, but this is a political situation over which he [...]
Centamin soars on hopes a new Egyptian law will end court case April 24, 2014 SHARES in Centamin surged over 10 per cent yesterday, after the Egypt-focused gold miner noted a law change that should end a long-running court dispute over the validity of an exploration licence. The new ruling will restrict third parties from challenging contracts between the Egyptian government and investors, which will also apply to pending lawsuits. [...]
Drax plummets as government pulls subsidies April 23, 2014 DRAX Group made the biggest losses on the FTSE 250 yesterday, after launching legal proceedings against the government’s decision to exclude one of its units from a new green support framework. Britain’s largest coal-fired power station operator Drax expected to be eligible for early contracts for difference (CfD) mechanisms, so that it could convert its [...]
Glencore uses Bambas cash to snap up Caracal April 14, 2014 GLENCORE Xstrata yesterday swooped for Chad-focused oil company Caracal Energy, offering $1.3bn (£780m) to beat off a rival bid from Canada’s TransGlobe Energy. London-listed Caracal had agreed to a $1.08bn merger with the Canadian oil explorer last month, but the FTSE 100 miner trader trumped the deal with a £5.50 per share offer, representing a [...]
City Moves for 11 April 2014 | Who’s switching jobs April 10, 2014 Saffery Champness The accountancy firm has made two senior appointments. Jamie Cassell (right) joins its business advisory group as a partner. He specialises in advising entrepreneurs and owner-backed businesses. Cassell was previously a partner at Blick Rothenberg and a director at BDO. Niraj Patel has been promoted to partner. He joined in 2000, and was [...]
Seplat launches £301m London and Lagos float April 9, 2014 NIGERIAN oil and gas explorer Seplat yesterday said it has raised £300.9m in its initial public offering in London and Lagos, valuing the company at around £1.14bn. The deal is London’s biggest oil industry flotation in years and will provide a significant boost for Nigeria’s energy sector, which has seen an exodus of international players [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of Aberdeen’s results yesterday? April 1, 2014 PHIL DOBBIN | ESPIRITO SANTO We feel this additional payment [for Swip] was already expected by the market and is not, in the company’s words, “a game changer”….Overall we are reassured that net flows, while difficult in January and February, are not deteriorating in March. PETER LENARDOS | RBC Aberdeen is stabilising, and that is [...]
Burford starts to reap rewards as earnings rise higher again March 31, 2014 BURFORD Capital, the litigation finance firm chaired by former Barclays chair Sir Peter Middleton, yesterday said surging investment returns helped deliver better profits last year. The group, which primarily provides financial funding for litigation, said pre-tax profits rose 25 per cent for the year ending December 2013 to $42.5m. “We’ve hit a point in our [...]
City Moves for 31 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 30, 2014 Trowers & Hamlins Rebecca Wardle has been appointed real estate partner in the law firm’s London office. She specialises in large-scale property transactions, with a focus on site acquisition, development, joint ventures and estate regeneration. Edmond de Rothschild Group Greg Clerkson has been appointed head of global consultant relations in Edmond de Rothschild’s asset management [...]
Analyst Views: What did you think of yesterday’s results? March 28, 2014 DANIEL GARROD | BARCLAYSThe tone of the release is positive, particularly on improvement in primary and secondary cash equity volumes. Yield on secondary equities is highlighted as having come down as would be expected, but nevertheless we believe the net result is positive. PHILIP MIDDLETON | BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCHThe company reports good performance [...]