Bidders circle German Kabel February 10, 2010 A CLUSTER of private equity firms are circling Kabel Deutschland, the German cable TV operator chaired by former BSkyB chief executive Tony Ball, it emerged yesterday. BC Partners and CVC Capital Partners joined forces earlier this week to launch a combined offer for the business. Bain Capital is also considering making an offer, while other [...]
…as pub groups report strong sales January 24, 2010 MITCHELLS & Butlers is unlikely to report significant trading news at its annual meeting, although other companies in the sector will update the market this week. Numis Securities said January trading at M&B is unlikely to have changed after a sales rise since late November. On Wednesday, brewer Greene King is tipped to report a [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 22, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES NORTEL AIMS TO BLOCK PENSIONS CLAIM Nortel Networks and its creditors are seeking to block the UK pensions regulator from pursuing a claim worth as much as £2.1bn ($3.3bn) against the company’s worldwide assets to cover the shortfall in its UK scheme. The Canadian telecommunications equipment maker and its UK subsidiary filed for [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 6, 2010 MENZIES Numis believes the shares are significantly undervalued and raised its target price from 411p to 423p on the back of a positive trading update. Management said Menzies Aviation had seen a slight improvement in fourth quarter trading, while Menzies Distribution saw the rate of decline for magazine sales slow. UK COAL Charles Kernot has [...]
Mutu fails another drug test January 28, 2010 FORMER Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu is facing career ruin after failing another drug test, this time for sibutramine, a banned appetite suppressant. The 31-year-old, who served a seven-month worldwide ban for using cocaine while at Stamford Bridge, tested positive after playing for Fiorentina earlier this month. Mutu could be banned for four years if the [...]
Wilkinson: I’ll defy critics against Irish February 23, 2010 UNDER-FIRE England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson is refusing to let personal criticism reduce him to a “quivering wreck” after being named in an unchanged team for Saturday’s showdown with Ireland. Wilkinson was singled out for condemnation after an uncharacteristically sloppy kicking performance in last week’s victory over Italy. Matt Dawson, his half-back partner during the 2003 [...]
Media stocks are starting to look very cheap February 11, 2010 A COMMON joke in media circles is that anyone with a pound burning a hole in their pocket can become a newspaper proprietor. Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev picked up the Evening Standard for £1, while it is said that some buyers offered just $1 for BusinessWeek (Bloomberg eventually paid $5m). Of course, these publications were [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS THERE HOPE FOR THE PUB INDUSTRY? November 26, 2009 JAMES DAWSON CHARLES STANLEY SECURITIES“M&B has echoed the positive news from most of the other players in the market – Capital, Young’s and Fullers – and its result has reinforced this confidence. But the consumer market is quite fickle and until they are sure about the state of their personal wealth then drinkers will still [...]
Fowle secures the top post at M&B pubs August 3, 2009 PUBS group Mitchells & Butlers yesterday announced it has appointed Adam Fowle as chief executive, who has been acting in the role since 21 May. Fowle was parachuted in as acting chief executive after an ill-fated 2007 joint venture with property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz forced the resignation of then executive Tim Clarke. Under Clarke pre-tax [...]
Sky launches 3D footie and defies slump January 28, 2010 SATELLITE broadcaster BSkyB will broadcast Manchester United’s clash with Arsenal this weekend in 3D at a handful of pubs. The event, which Sky is billing as a world-first, will drum up interest for its 3D TV service, which launches in April. Nine pubs in London, Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin will take part. Sky announced its [...]