Royalty makes $6.6bn bid for Irish firm Elan February 25, 2013 US investment firm Royalty Pharma yesterday made a $6.6bn (£4.35bn) approach to Irish drugmaker Elan, targeting royalty rights for multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually. But Elan described the informal approach as “highly opportunistic”, coming before shareholders could assess its plan to sell off Tysabri. Elan said earlier this month [...]
Reckitt loses fight to block generic drugs February 25, 2013 SHARES in Reckitt Benckiser closed three per cent lower yesterday after US authorities said they will allow rivals to produce generic versions of the firm’s heroin substitute. The consumer health goods company’s pharmaceuticals division makes most of its profit from Suboxone, a treatment containing buprenorphine that helps people addicted to opiates cope with ceasing to [...]
Barnes & Noble chair makes bid February 25, 2013 BARNES & Noble chairman Leonard Riggio yesterday offered to buy the US bookseller’s declining retail business, joining a growing list of executives lining up to buy the fading companies they founded. Barnes & Noble’s shares rose as much as 11 per cent in morning trading, valuing it at about $900m. The New York-based company’s retail business [...]
3i raises money for debt fund February 25, 2013 THE UK’s oldest private equity firm 3i Group yesterday said it had raised a $500m (£331m) collateralised debt obligation (CLO) fund, the latest push by the group into debt management. The company is currently in the midst of a strategic overhaul, led by chief executive Simon Borrows, in a bid to put more emphasis on [...]
Symphony hits the right notes February 25, 2013 EMERGING market money manager Symphony International, which taps into Asia’s growing consumer spending, yesterday said it boosted fund value by almost 12 per cent last quarter due to surging revenues from its companies. Symphony, based in Hong Kong, invests in a vast array of consumer staples across Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, including hotels and [...]
Mortgage loan growth hits a new record low February 25, 2013 MORTGAGE lending barely budged in January while businesses continued to pay off their debts instead of borrowing more, despite intense government efforts to push banks to lend more. Meanwhile, bank deposit levels rose sharply despite interest rates plunging over recent months, industry data showed yesterday Mortgage lending increased 0.2 per cent on the year to [...]
New Cyprus leader says he will pass reforms to secure bailout February 25, 2013 CYPRUS’S new conservative leader today told European leaders he would rapidly enact structural reforms if necessary to get hold of bailout funds. Bond yields dived to an 18-month low of 9.45 per cent as the incoming President Nicos Anastasiades made the sharp break with his Communist and anti-reform predecessor Demetric Christofias. “Long term prospects for Cyprus [...]
France warns Cameron on EU exit vote February 25, 2013 DAVID CAMERON will get nowhere with his efforts to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU and should instead try to convince voters of the merits of the union as it currently stands, French finance minister Pierre Moscovici told an audience in the City yesterday. The minister argued that France and other nations are looking to [...]
Chinese factory recovery stalls in February on export order dip February 25, 2013 A TURNAROUND in export orders put the brakes on the Chinese manufacturing recovery during February, according to a prominent business survey released yesterday. The health of China’s manufacturing sector was improving in the second month of 2013, according to Markit and HSBC’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the Asian giant, but at a substantially reduced pace compared [...]
City Views | Are you worried by the UK’s rating downgrade? February 25, 2013 DAVID KING TOKIO MARINE I am personally not worried about the UK’s downgrade as I don’t think it really affects me. I would be more concerned if my company’s credit rating was downgraded. JEREMY STEVENS MGM It was only a matter of time, but I’m not too worried. When America’s credit rating was downgraded, the [...]
