Intercontinental completes New York takeover November 12, 2013 INTERCONTINENTAL Exchange’s takeover of NYSE Euronext is complete and stock of the combined company will begin trading under the symbol ICE today, the head of ICE confirmed last night. The deal, which was worth $10.9bn as of 1 November, gives ICE control of Liffe, Europe’s No2 derivatives market, as well as the New York Stock [...]
Recovering markets in Europe drive rise in international floats July 27, 2014 CROSS-border flotations raised $25.7bn (£15.1bn) in the first half of 2014, up 151 per cent on the year, law firm Baker McKenzie said today. The fastest growth came in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) where 31 flotations brought in $10.5bn, up 300 per cent on the year. Of those flotations, 21 were on [...]
London’s tech boom is more than just hype – and the City is at its heart September 18, 2014 WHILE London Technology Week may not yet rival London Fashion Week for glamour, there is real substance to the capital’s tech boom. This is why, for the first time, TechCrunch is bringing its Silicon Valley conference to London this October. A number of things are driving this tech boom. London has long acted as a [...]
Markit share price soars on first day of US trading June 19, 2014 Markit, the UK financial data provider, saw its shares leap as much as 14 per cent yesterday during its debut on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in New York. Markit, which raised $1.3bn (£762m) from the float, closed up 11.25 per cent at $26.70 after launching its shares at $24, the mid-point of its price range, [...]
Hilton soars on New York debut boosting Blackstone’s profit December 12, 2013 PRIVATE equity giant Blackstone yesterday generated the second biggest paper profit from a buyout float ever, after shares in hotel chain Hilton Worldwide soared nearly 10 per cent on their debut. Hilton, which started trading on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, rallied to a peak of $21.94 after being priced at $20 a share [...]
How London’s stockbrokers went to war – and conflict came to the City August 6, 2014 KEEP your heads. There is no need for panic. Try and go on in the ordinary way.” These were the words of the lord mayor of London, Sir Thomas Vansittart Bowater, to citizens on the outbreak of war in 1914. For all the lord mayor’s words of encouragement, life did not go on in the [...]
The West has killed its entrepreneurs and replaced them with bureaucrats February 23, 2014 IF WESTERN economies have lost considerable ground to emerging powers over the last two decades, it is not simply because we lack the cheap labour of China and India or the natural resources of Russia and Brazil. It is because we have killed our own entrepreneurs at a time when our competitors made business creators [...]
Valeant goes hostile in bid for rival Allergan June 18, 2014 Valeant Pharmaceuticals International yesterday launched a hostile takeover bid for rivals Allergan, proposing that Allergan shareholders exchange each of their shares for $72 and 0.83 of a Valeant share, valued at roughly $52.7bn (£31bn) in cash and stock. The offer is contingent on Botox-maker Allergan’s shareholders approving the issuance of Valeant common shares in the [...]
Burger King takes its first bite into India with joint venture November 20, 2013 BURGER King’s Whopper burgers will be available in India for the first time, after it yesterday announced plans to open its fast food chain in the world’s second most populous country. It will partner with private equity firm Everstone, which specialises in India and South East Asia, to set up a supply chain and establish [...]
Hilton Hotels float raises $2.3bn giving Blackstone huge profits December 11, 2013 INVESTORS checked into Hilton Hotel last night after the private equity-backed chain priced its initial public offering (IPO) near the top end of the range. The company, which was backed by Blackstone in 2007, priced its shares at $20 a piece – raising about $2.34bn after selling 117.6m shares to investors. The IPO is the [...]