Bayer’s $62bn Monsanto bid: Are European firms about to take over the world? May 24, 2016 Just when you thought the dearth of outbound M&A in Europe was here to stay, Germany’s Bayer sweeps in with a $62bn bid for US agrichemicals giant Monsanto. Not only would the tie-up create the world’s largest agricultural supplier, more significantly for Europe, it would be the biggest outbound takeover by a German corporate on [...]
Investment manager Dragon wants fund to breathe fire with London float May 23, 2016 Investment management company Dragon Capital is planning to float its flagship fund on the London Stock Exchange. Dragon wants Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited (VEIL), which has a net asset value (NAV) of $850m (£587m), to list on the main market of the exchange from July. Read more: London set for IPO market recovery… but not just [...]
At the close: FTSE falls after oil price drop erases earlier gains May 23, 2016 A meandering start to the week saw the FTSE 100 climb strongly shortly after the open only to fall back before lunch time. The blue-chip index ended the day at 6,136.43, down 0.32 per cent from yesterday's close price. The falling oil price, down over one per cent and moving away from the psychologically important $50 per [...]
BlackRock bets on lithium with stake in Aim-listed Bacanora Minerals May 23, 2016 The world's largest asset manager BlackRock has taken a bet on lithium, the so-called "white petroleum", with a stake in Aim-listed miner Bacanora Minerals. Lithium is a small but irreplaceable component of rechargeable batteries for small-scale devices such as mobile phones. Prices have already risen this year, and analysts predict tremendous growth in the future, mainly due to [...]
Aim-listed Lansdowne Oil & Gas sounds alarm over funding May 23, 2016 Aim-listed Lansdowne Oil & Gas has warned shareholders it must raise additional funds to "continue its ongoing business". The oil and gas explorer will seek shareholder approval at a general meeting next month for a capital reorganisation and an issue of up to 350m shares, potentially representing more than 200 per cent of its current share [...]
Mitie Group share price jumps as profit doubles May 23, 2016 UK outsourcer Mitie shook off a string of "unanticipated macroeconomic headwinds" to double profit in the year ended 31 March. The figures: Revenue from continuing operations fell 1.8 per cent to £2.2bn in the year ended 31 March, down from £2.3bn a year earlier. But pre-tax profit rose 133 per cent to £96.8m during this period, up from [...]
IP-O2: Mobile operator strongly considering stock market float May 22, 2016 O2 is strongly considering a stock market flotation, Morning Wire understands. An initial public offering (IPO) is one of a number of options being looked at by the mobile operator following its failed merger with Three. However private equity firms are understood to be planning bids for O2, owned by Spanish company Telefonica, which could be [...]
London set for IPO market recovery after referendum… but it may have to wait until the autumn May 22, 2016 The UK’s flagging flotation market is expected to recover from a slow start to 2016 – but not until the autumn. Activity on London’s initial public offering (IPO) market has dropped significantly on 2015 levels, with uncertainty around the upcoming EU referendum widely cited as being one reason for the slowdown. The state of the [...]
It’s only Logicor: Private equity firm encouraged to float warehouse company in London May 22, 2016 The private equity owner of a commercial landlord giant is being encouraged by banks to float the business in London. Morning Wire understands Blackstone has yet to decide whether to make an initial public offering (IPO) on Logicor, the owner of 600 warehouses. The flotation, which would be expected to value the company at more [...]
Canada’s oil heartland has some evacuation orders lifted May 21, 2016 Evacuation orders have been lifted on two oil sites in Canada's wildfire-ravaged energy heartland, as a spell of cold weather and rain helped to tame the flames. Authorities in the oil town of Fort McMurray in Alberta lifted the lifted the mandatory evacuation orders on Suncor Energy's base plant and Syncrude's Mildred Lake facility, as well as nearby camps [...]