WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
CREST ADVISERS SHUN £350M HORIZON BID
A £350m offer for Crest Nicholson was in jeopardy on Thursday night after advisers to the debt-burdened housebuilder told its lender-owners to reject the bid as too low. A steering committee representing Crest’s creditors, which took control of the housebuilder following a £630m debt-for equity swap last year, met with Morgan Stanley on Friday to discuss details of the possible sale of the business.
THREE BIDDERS LINE UP FOR RBS MERCHANT UNIT
Royal Bank of Scotland has three bidders competing in the final round of the auction of its Global Merchant services division, which is centred on the WorldPay payment processing business. TPG and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice are now to bid separately after two months of on-off talks between the two over whether they would bid separately, together or not at all for the £2.5bn business.
MINERVA BOARD SURVIVES CHALLENGE
Nathan Kirsh, the South African investor, has been knocked back in his latest attempt to change the leadership of Minerva, the London property developer, which called his demands “wholly inappropriate”. KiFin, Mr Kirsh’s investment vehicle that holds 29.9 per cent of Minerva, had demanded that Salmaan Hasan, and Oliver Whitehead leave their posts.
BERTRAMS PURCHASE BEHIND SALES LIFT FOR SMITHS NEWS
Smiths News enjoyed a surge in revenue thanks to its acquisition of a books wholesaler and a rise in market share after a rival distributor fell into administration. Revenue at the UK wholesaler jumped 38 per cent.
THE TIMES
ANNUITY CHANGE WILL FREE THOUSANDS TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH THEIR PENSION PLAN
Hundreds of thousands of savers will be freed from the need to lock themselves into poor-value pension deals from April next year, under radical plans outlined by the Government. Mark Hoban, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said that the Government would replace deeply unpopular rules.
SHAREHOLDERS SEEK TO HAVE BLANK EXTRADITED TO FACE ACTION IN US
A shareholder action group wants Sir Victor Blank, former Lloyds Banking Group chairman, to be extradited to the US to defend the controversial takeover of HBOS in 2008. Lloyds Action Now (LAN) is trying to bring a lawsuit in America, alleging that Sir Victor and chief executive of Lloyds, Eric Daniels, misled investors.
The Daily Telegraph
AGRICULTURAL BANK OF CHINA SHARES WEAK ON DEBUT
The Agricultural Bank of China remains on course to become the world’s largest ever initial public offering despite a disappointing first day of trading in Shanghai. hares in the Chinese bank closed up 0.8pc at 2.70 yuan (26p) after the company launched the first part of its widely anticipated dual flotation. AgBank shares had been expected to rise by almost 5pc.
WPP ‘TO GENERATE $1BN IN FAR EAST’
Sir Martin Sorrell expects the China region to become WPP’s third-biggest market within the next few years. peaking at a conference in Shanghai on Thursday, the chief executive of WPP said he is “hopeful” of generating $1bn (£650m) of revenue from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. WPP is the world’s largest advertiser.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
BOEING HEDGES 787 DELIVERY
Boeing says delivery of its new 787 aircraft could slip into next year, though the company is still hoping it can send the jet to its first customer by year’s end. The cautious new guidance for delivery of the much-delayed Dreamliner stems from issues with testing rather than the aircraft, according to Scott Fancher, head of the 787 program.
HEALTHY DRUG SALES BOOST NOVARTIS RESULTS
ovartis AG reported a 19 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit thanks to healthy drug sales and cost cuts, prompting the Swiss drug giant to boost its full-year sales outlook despite a difficult market environment in Europe. Novartis chief executive Joe Jimenez said the higher net profit was partly backed by soaring sales of the company’s new drugs.