Hong Kong tycoon eyes Four Seasons February 20, 2012 HONG-KONG business tycoon Li Ka- Shing has been named as a potential investor in Four Seasons Healthcare, UK’s biggest care home operator, which is exploring refinancing options ahead of a debt repayment deadline later this year. The debt-laden company is said to have attracted the interest of CK Life Sciences, a healthcare business owned by [...]
China’s sovereign wealth fund buys stake in Thames Water January 20, 2012 China’s $410bn (£264bn) sovereign wealth fund said it had bought a minority stake in Thames Water, the water network that serves London, marking the fund’s first acquisition in Britain. China Investment Corporation (CIC) said it had bought an 8.68 per cent stake in Thames Water through a wholly-owned subsidiary. It did not say how much [...]
China makes Kalahari bid December 8, 2011 Kalahari Minerals has agreed to a £662m takeover by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp, as the nation continues its acquisition spree in a bid to meet its spiralling energy needs. AIM-listed Kalahari, which is the top shareholder in one of the world’s largest uranium projects, had been in talks with the state-owned firm before Japan’s [...]
Low’s on a high after fixing double energy deals October 17, 2011 NOT that many bankers have experienced the satisfaction of closing an M&A deal this year, as markets have proved volatile. Yet Jeremy Low of RBC Capital Markets found himself on the advisory side of two completed deals in less than a week recently when he advised Dominion Petroleum on its £118m sale to Ophir Energy [...]
United Utilites says revenues are on the up September 22, 2011 UNITED Utilities Group, Britain’s largest listed water utility, said it had traded in line with its expectations with higher first-half revenue offset by rising operating expenses. The British utility said it was on track to meet targets and would accelerate £100m of previously agreed pension deficit payments to provide a higher investment return. United Utilities’ [...]
United Utilites says revenues are on the up September 22, 2011 UNITED Utilities Group, Britain’s largest listed water utility, said it had traded in line with its expectations with higher first-half revenue offset by rising operating expenses. The British utility said it was on track to meet targets and would accelerate £100m of previously agreed pension deficit payments to provide a higher investment return. United Utilities’ [...]
Deutsche beginning to make its presence felt September 12, 2011 NOTWITHSTANDING worries over the Eurozone and jitters about the state of the investment banking sector, there were some happy bankers at Deutsche Bank yesterday. Deutsche is the lead adviser on US group Colfax’s £1.5bn bid for Charter that was made yesterday, higher than a rival bid from the UK group Melrose. There are not many [...]
Britain’s Sage loses out to US firm in race for Australian IT company August 21, 2011 BRITAIN’S Sage has lost out in the race to buy Australian software firm MYOB, after it was beaten by a US private equity house. Bain Capital has agreed to purchase the accounting software company for about $1.3bn (£790m), trumping both Sage and private equity outfit Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Sage was forced to abandon its bid [...]
Britain’s Sage loses out to US firm in race for Australian IT company August 21, 2011 BRITAIN’S Sage has lost out in the race to buy Australian software firm MYOB, after it was beaten by a US private equity house. Bain Capital has agreed to purchase the accounting software company for about $1.3bn (£790m), trumping both Sage and private equity outfit Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Sage was forced to abandon its bid [...]
CKI makes a £2.4bn bid for Northumbrian July 11, 2011 NORTHUMBRIAN Water surged 5.1 per cent yesterday after it received a £2.4bn provisional offer from Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing. Northumbrian will now open its books to Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI). The 465p a share bid would give a 21 per cent premium to Northumbrian’s share price before reports of a takeover surfaced last [...]