Carlyle Group in $700m deal to acquire Dealogic November 5, 2014 GLOBAL asset management firm the Carlyle Group, together with other investors, has agreed a $700m (£438m) deal to buy international financial software company Dealogic and two related joint ventures. The deal is set to land Dealogic’s founders with a windfall of around £250m, City A.M. understands. The founders and management will re-invest equity into the transaction, [...]
Stock Spirits in profit warning as sales slump November 5, 2014 STOCK Spirits, the central European-focused spirits producer, saw its share price plummet 25 per cent yesterday as the company warned its full-year profits could be between “€5m (£3.9m) and €10m below expectations”. The UK-headquartered company pointed to a 15 per cent rise in Polish excise duties and aggressive pricing from competitors as reasons for the [...]
Sunny autumn boosts sales for Wetherspoon’s November 5, 2014 British pub chain JD Wetherspoon has recorded a like-for-like sales increase of 6.3 per cent in its first quarter of the year, with total sales up 11.3 per cent. The sales increase came despite October being a drag on the quarter’s figures, as like-for-like growth decreased over the month. JD Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim [...]
Nick Rust is off to the races as Ladbrokes loses head of retail November 5, 2014 Ladbrokes retail director Nick Rust will be leaving the company in 2015 to take up a new role as the chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority. Rust has been with the British betting giant for three and a half years. He will remain with the company until the end of his notice period in [...]
Imperial Tobacco hit by global decline in cigarette sales November 4, 2014 Imperial Tobacco yesterday reported a drop in its revenues for the year ending 30 September, with the company hurt by its attempt to reduce its debt pile along with falling sales in volatile markets. However, the results were broadly on par with City expectations, and investors reacted positively. Shares closed more than four per cent [...]
Greene King and Spirit Pubs in £773m takeover November 4, 2014 BRITISH pub retailer and brewing giant Greene King finally reached agreement yesterday over the long-mooted takeover bid of compatriot brewer Spirit Pubs. Greene King’s offer – worth £773.6m, at 115p a share – has been accepted by Spirit Pubs’ senior management. The arrangement will see Greene King shareholders take 71.1 per cent in the newly [...]
Record quarter as casino sales lift 888 revenue to all time high of $144m November 4, 2014 Online gaming giant 888 has reported its best performing quarter on record for the period between 1 July and 30 September this year. The company yesterday published its interim results, revealing that its third quarter group revenue hit an all time high of $114m, up 22 per cent year-on-year. A strong performance from the company’s [...]
Qatar Investment Fund joining China’s Citic Group in $10bn funding for Asia November 4, 2014 Qatar Investment Fund and Chinese state-owned investment company Citic Group are planning a $10bn (£6.25bn) fund to invest in Asia. The pair have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch the joint-venture investment fund, with the deal planned for completion in coming months, QIA chief executive Ahmed Al-Sayed told reporters at an investment conference in [...]
Dish chief given controlling stake in rival telecoms firm November 4, 2014 CHARLIE Ergen, chairman of US broadcast satellite service provider Dish, is to receive a 60 per cent controlling stake in LightSquared under the terms of the American wireless broadband company’s new restructuring plan, a New York court declared on Monday. The deal sees control of LightSquared move from its owner, hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, [...]
Gain Capital boss Glenn Stevens reveals why he’s so keen on London-based City Index November 3, 2014 You can build it and hopefully they’ll come, or you can buy it and they’ll already be there,” says Glenn Stevens, chief executive of US online trading services firm Gain Capital. It’s an interesting take on the moral behind Kevin Costner’s all-American 1989 movie Field of Dreams. Why bother putting years into a labour of [...]