M&B rebel fights corner as row grows December 6, 2009 THE largest shareholder in pubs group Mitchells & Butlers will meet with the Takeover Panel today as the furore grows over the company’s decision to oust four directors. Piedmont, which owns 23 per cent of M&B on behalf of billionaire Joe Lewis, wants to put its side of the story after its representatives Richard McGuire [...]
Standard Life backs M&B’s management December 3, 2009 One of Mitchells & Butlers’ largest institutional shareholders yesterday issued a public statement backing the firm’s management, which is facing a revolt from dissident shareholders. Mitchells & Butlers, led by chief executive Adam Fowle, sent documents to the takeover panel this week alleging that Bahamas-based billionaire Joe Lewis, who controls a 23 per cent stake [...]
DIYboost for owner of B&Q December 3, 2009 B&Q owner Kingfisher yesterday beat City forecasts for its third quarter, boosted by a change of strategy in China and a renewed interest in home improvement. The group said that pre-tax profits rose in the 13 weeks to 31 October to £227m, compared to £176m last year, ahead of expectations. Kingfisher said that a revival [...]
Accuma chief executive makes bid to go private December 2, 2009 ACCUMA Group chief executive Charles Howson has launched a £5m bid to take the debt management company private. Howson, who bought Accuma in 2003, has teamed up with the Manchester-based financial services company Zeus Group to pay 15.5p a share for Accuma, 88 per cent higher than Monday’s closing price. The deal has already received [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 2, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES CIC IN €800M OFFER TO APAXChina Investment Corp, China’s sovereign wealth fund, is offering to invest as much as €800m (£723m) into Apax Partners’ €11.2bn private equity fund in a groundbreaking deal.The move, which would see CIC acquire a small stake in the management company of one of Europe’s biggest equity funds, shows [...]
M&B steps up board battle December 1, 2009 PUBS group Mitchells & Butlers yesterday ramped up its row with its major shareholder, billionaire investor Joe Lewis, removing his representatives from the board and appointing a new chairman in defiance of his wishes. Richard McGuire and Douglas McMahon, representatives of Lewis’s investment vehicle, Piedmont, have been told by M&B to step down. Simon Laffin, [...]
M&B asks Panel for help with its rebels November 30, 2009 THE scale of the turmoil at Mitchells & Butlers became clear yesterday after the pubs group asked the City takeover watchdog to decide whether rebel shareholders were attempting to seize control of its board. M&B called on the Takeover Panel after Bahamas-based billionaire Joe Lewis, who controls 23 per cent of the group, blocked the [...]
C&C quenches its thirst with a cider acquisition spree November 30, 2009 IRISH drinks group C&C yesterday said it had acquired the UK cider assets of Constellation Brands – including Blackthorn, Olde English and Gaymer – for £45m in cash. C&C chief executive John Dunsmore said the price of the assets was “highly attractive”, while analysts said the deal handed the company a third of the UK [...]
ITV’s Norman blocked from M&B by Lewis November 29, 2009 JOE LEWIS, the Tottenham Hotspur owner and billionaire currency trader, has blocked Archie Norman from being appointed as Mitchell & Butlers chairman. Norman, who hit the headlines earlier this month when he was nominated as ITV’s new chairman, had been in talks to head up the £1bn pub group, which owns the All Bar One [...]
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 [...]