Warren Buffett splurges $500m on Australian insurer IAG June 16, 2015 Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and second-richest man in the world, is clearly interested in protecting his fortune, after he spent AU$500m (£248m) on the Insurance Australia Group (IAG). Under the deal, Buffett will end up with a 3.7 per cent stake in the company, while IAG will have options to place another five per [...]
Applegreen IPO: City funds help fuel €300m listing of petrol station firm June 15, 2015 Irish petrol station group Applegreen is set to drive off with a €300m (£220m) valuation after winning backing from top City investors for the biggest European float on the junior stock market this year. The firm, which has 152 sites mainly in the UK and Ireland, has secured €70m of backing from investors, including City [...]
H&M beats forecasts as currency movements work in its favour June 15, 2015 Swedish fashion retailer H&M posted a bigger-than expected jump in sales in May, helped by weakness of the Swedish crown against other international currencies. H&M has benefitted from a recovering US economy, a stronger online presence and a broader product offering, which includes new brands such as & Other Stories and sales of homeware. Sales [...]
Dragon Oil share price soars as board agrees £3.7bn takeover offer June 15, 2015 Dragon Oil’s board yesterday approved a sweetened takeover offer from Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), breathing fire into its share price on hopes that minority shareholders will accept the deal. Shares in the oil explorer, which operates in Turkmenistan, soared 9.6 per cent to a record high of 734p in early trading, before settling [...]
Digital money transfer firm Azimo raises $20m to push its expansion June 15, 2015 Digital money transfer service Azimo has raised $20m (£12.8m) to accelerate its expansion. The latest funding round was led by Frog Capital – backer of local tradesman comparison site RatedPeople.com, as well as MCI Investments and existing investors, including e.ventures and Greycroft Partners. The London-based tech firm, set up three years ago, allows customers to [...]
Aberdeen Asset Management in new fundraising June 15, 2015 Aberdeen Asset Management has raised £100m from one of its largest investors to strengthen its balance sheet and to seed new fund launches. The shares will be issued to Japan’s, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB) which has a stake of 17 per cent in the fund manager. The preference shares will count towards [...]
Canadian fund Omers make $1.7bn swoop on UK consultancy Environmental Resources Management June 15, 2015 Charterhouse yesterday sold its stake in the world’s biggest environmental consultancy to Canadian mega fund Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (Omers) in a deal worth $1.7bn (£1.1bn). Omers’ private equity arm (OPE) will buy Charterhouse’s 55 per cent investment in Environmental Resources Management (ERM), which is headquartered in London with 162 other offices around the [...]
Apax Global Alpha share price rises after IPO as parent floats new listed vehicle on London market June 15, 2015 Shares in Apax’s new £585m listed fund Apax Global Alpha rose nearly five per cent as trading kicked off in the stock on the London stock exchange yesterday. The private equity firm raised £218.2m from investors last week to float the fund on London’s main market. The vehicle is comprised of investments made by Apax [...]
River and Mercantile gets £700m Royal Mail Pension Plan contract June 15, 2015 River and Mercantile yesterday announced it will manage the £700m options mandate for the Royal Mail Pension Plan. The advisory and investment business was appointed in April by the FTSE 100-listed Royal Mail and the structure of the mandate was designed and executed last month. “The derivatives team at R&M has a track record of [...]
Au revoir to Verona and Kuala Lumpur as Air France scraps flights June 15, 2015 Air France is chopping three European routes as part of £58m worth of cost-cutting measures in an attempt to restructure the flag carrier. The airline, part of Air France-KLM and the SkyTeam alliance, said it was cutting flights to the loss-making destinations of Stravanger in Norway, Verona in Italy and Vigo in Spain from September [...]