President Trump to nominate World Bank critic David Malpass to lead the institution February 5, 2019 President Donald Trump is reportedly set to nominate an ally from the US Department of the Treasury to become president of the World Bank. The nomination of David Malpass would see an ardent critic of the World Bank put in line to lead the lending institution. Read more: Shutdown back down: Trump faces conservative backlash as [...]
Weathering the storm: City expects minimal Brexit impact on jobs February 5, 2019 The number of City jobs expected to move overseas in the event of a hard Brexit has fallen to just 2,000 – according to the latest survey of financial institutions. A Reuters study also suggests that investment banks are planning to increase their London headcount. In September, the Reuters survey showed that 5,766 jobs would [...]
Plastic packaging giant RPC Group revenues down after weak Christmas, as it ramps up Brexit stockpiling February 1, 2019 RPC Group’s shares fell slightly this morning as the company admitted weak Christmas trading had impacted revenues. The firm, one of Europe’s biggest plastic packaging makers, said Brexit stockpiling had also hit cash flow in the period as it looks to alleviate disruption from the UK’s exit from the EU. Read more: Private equity group [...]
RPC Group takeover: US-based Berry Global threatens to crash Apollo’s party January 31, 2019 Private equity firm Apollo’s takeover of plastic packaging manufacturer RPC group has come under threat after US company Berry Global said it was considering making a counter offer. Berry, another a plastic packaging supplier, said it had reached out to RPC for the due diligence information needed to make an offer, but also stressed it [...]
US-China trade war greater threat to M&A deals than Brexit, survey finds January 29, 2019 The trade war between the US and China is a greater risk to merger and acquisition (M&A) activity this year than Brexit, according to research published today. A total of 50 per cent of senior global M&A professionals viewed the trade tensions, rising tariffs and potential subsequent erosion of global GDP as the biggest emerging business [...]
Hilton steps up UK presence with four new hotels in £200m partnership January 28, 2019 Hilton is ramping up the size of its UK hotel empire after announcing a £200m investment partnership with private equity business Dominvs Group today, as it plans to build three more hotels in London and one in Bath. Among the new acquisitions are two hotels on either side of the Square Mile, with Creed Court [...]
Changing industry, changing skill-set January 25, 2019 | City Talk In the 1990s, the skill-set required by asset management professionals was vastly different. The investment universe consisted primarily of equities and bonds. Alternative asset classes like hedge funds and private equity were accessible only to high net worth individuals and some particularly sophisticated pension funds. Balanced managers were hired to outperform benchmarks, not produce outcomes. [...]
Mark Kleinman: Flybe might struggle for take-off without investors on board January 25, 2019 Talk about a crash landing. The outrage of Flybe’s largest shareholder about the terms of its £2.2m takeover, articulated in a legal letter to the airline’s board last week, is at face value perfectly understandable. On the full pre-flight checklist-worth of complaints from Hosking Partners, the most incendiary may be Flybe’s decision last year to [...]
Struggling retailer Paperchase exploring sale or store closures January 24, 2019 The owner of stationery and greeting card chain Paperchase is exploring a possible sale as its feels out landlords about a potential company voluntary arrangement (CVA). According to Sky News, Paperchase’s adviser KPMG has been contacting potential buyers this week about a deal which could include a pre-pack administration. The company is also sounding out [...]
RPC Group’s £3.3bn private equity takeover sparks disquiet among top shareholders January 23, 2019 Private equity firm Apollo Global Management’s £3.3bn buyout of packaging manufacturer RPC Group has sparked a row among investors, who feel they are getting a raw deal. Each RPC shareholder will get 782p cash for every share they own, 15.6 per cent up on the 683.6p closing price on 7 September, the last day before [...]