WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
3I TO OFFLOAD EUROPEAN INVESTMENTS
3i, former powerhouse of Europe’s venture capital industry, has entered exclusive talks to sell a portfolio of 36 European venture capital investments to a consortium led by Coller Capital and HarbourVest Partners for about £100m. The talks follow 3i’s decision last year to abandon early stage investment in start-up companies, its worst-performing activity since the technology bubble burst, to focus on buy-outs, growth capital and infrastructure.
CIT GAINS BREATHING SPACE TO RESTRUCTURE DEBT
CIT yesterday revealed it had won more time to restructure and avert a near-term bankruptcy filing, saying a tender offer for $1bn of the troubled US small business lender’s debt succeeded by a small margin. The success of the tender offer came as CIT reported a $1.6bn loss for the second quarter, its ninth consecutive loss.
DELL JOINS CHINA MOBILE TO LAUNCH SMARTPHONE
Dell disclosed yesterday that it was preparing to enter the smartphone business, adding to the escalating competition as mobile handset and computer makers converge on one of the only parts of the personal technology market still showing strong growth and profits.
RADAR GROUP IN TALKS WITH GARMIN
Raymarine, the manufacturer of radar and navigation systems for leisure boats, is holding takeover talks with the US satellite navigation manufacturer Garmin. The group has been in refinancing discussions with its lenders since the start of the year after the fall in the value of the pound pushed up its borrowings.
THE TIMES
PRIVATE EQUITY SET TO MOVE IN ON BROADGATE AS BLACKSTONE SEALS £150M BRITISH LAND DEAL
Blackstone, the American private equity group, is set to buy half of the Broadgate Estate in Canada from British Land. The deal could be announced as early as today when British Land discloses its results for the three months to 30 June, which are expected to show a further fall in asset values.
MONTAGU AIMS TO SELL SURVITEC FOR £300M
Montagu Private Equity wants to sell Survitec, the defence group that makes safety equipment for British forces in Afghanistan. Montagu has appointed NM Rothschild to handle the sale for £300m, a price that will test appetite for leveraged buyouts. The sale will be one of the biggest British private equity exits of 2009.
The Daily Telegraph
MUTUALS FEAR ROCK PLAN WILL DISTORT MARKET
Northern Rock should not be allowed to complete a planned restructuring without paying financial penalties, Britain’s building societies yesterday told European competition regulators. The consortium argued that the nationalised mortgage lender will otherwise have an unfair advantage in the market.
THINK TANK COMPASS SAYS MASTERS OF UNIVERSE MUST BE REIGNED IN
A left-leaning think tank has called for a “high pay commission” to review top pay rates and consider measures to curb what it argues are excessive remuneration levels that undermine economic stability. Amid a growing debate about the level of City remuneration Compass has argued that a “High Pay Commission” would deliver a fairer and more stable economy.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
CARD ISSUERS SEEING IMPROVEMENT
Data released yesterday by major US credit-card issuers provided the latest evidence of an improvement in the rate of delinquent payments. American Express and Bank of America each announced a small drop in the level of borrowers who were at least a month behind in their payments in July compared with the month before.
CHINA WILL APPEAL RULING AT WTO TO OPEN MARKETS
China said it is preparing to appeal last week’s World Trade Organisation ruling that could help to force open the country’s market for US movies, music and books. “We are preparing the necessary documents and are not ruling out the possibility of an appeal,” Yao Jian, spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce, said yesterday.