Winner of City Airport auction set to be named February 21, 2016 The sale of City Airport to one of four groups of bidders could be announced as soon as this week. Four groups of bidders are currently in the race to secure the east London airport, which has an expected price tag of over £2bn. A pension fund consortium that includes PSP Investments, money manager for [...]
Mining giant BHP Billiton’s dividend is expected to be the latest commodity rout casualty February 21, 2016 BHP Billiton is set to become the latest mining company to chop down its dividend later today, as it seeks to hold onto its A-grade credit rating. The dividend could drop by up to 75 per cent as the commodity rout continues to lay waste to profits in the sector. The company is expected to post [...]
Investors line up to bid for National Grid’s massive £11bn gas pipeline February 21, 2016 Investors are teaming up to bid for a controlling stake in National Grid’s £11bn gas pipeline arm that was put on sale last year. The consortium includes Canada’s Borealis Infrastructure; the Universities Superannuation Scheme, and Wren House, an arm of Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund. Bankers at Rothschild and Citi have been recruited as advisors, the [...]
Telecommunications giant BT expected to avoid being broken up from Openreach, in verdict due this Thursday February 21, 2016 BT is expected to avoid having its infrastructure arm Openreach carved out this week, following months of campaigning for a split by the company’s rivals. City PM understands the decision will be announced on Thursday in Ofcom’s Digital Communications Review, though will reportedly include requirements for minimum-service standards between Openreach and BT’s rivals Vodafone, Sky, and [...]
Sainsbury’s expected to ask for more time over Home Retail Group bid as Christo Wiese’s Steinhoff International joins the party February 21, 2016 Sainsbury’s is expected to ask for an extension to tomorrow’s deadline for making a firm offer for Home Retail Group after a South African retail conglomerate waded in at the eleventh hour with a higher offer. The supermarket chain revealed earlier this month that it had reached an agreement with Home Retail over a possible cash [...]
GlaxoSmithKline suffers setback as US regulator accepts submission for a generic version of Advair, its biggest-selling product February 21, 2016 Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline has come under pressure after the US drug regulator said it may approve a generic version of GSK's biggest selling product next year. The US Food and Drug Administration has accepted a submission from rival GSK's rival Mylan for a cheaper copy of its asthma drug Advair. Once an application has been submitted it is [...]
Anglo American mulls sale of De Beers’ London headquarters as part of asset sell-off February 21, 2016 Anglo American is considering selling its diamond subsidiary De Beers’ headquarters in Farringdon as part of major cost-cutting plans revealed last week. The FTSE 100 miner posted a $5.4bn loss for 2015 – the largest in its history – prompting chief executive Mark Cutifani to set out an aggressive restructuring plan to boost its cash [...]
UK bank results: Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) gearing up to post losses for full-year 2015 February 21, 2016 Two of Britain’s biggest banks are expected to post sharp losses this week when they report full-year results for 2015. Analysts say Standard Chartered will report significant losses amid steep restructuring costs, while Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) pre-empted the full-year results last month when it announced a so-called clean-up plan that would hit annual [...]
Lloyds Banking Group could pay out more than £2bn in dividends to shareholders despite fears of higher costs related to PPI claims February 21, 2016 Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly getting ready to pay out more than £2bn in dividends to shareholders, despite fears of further costs related to the mis-selling of loan insurance. The Sunday Times reported today that Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio is attempting to convince regulators that the bailed-out bank has enough capital to afford the [...]
Media giant Time Warner eyes office move to Battersea Power Station February 19, 2016 Media and entertainment giant Time Warner has lined up five major office schemes for its new London headquarters, including Battersea Power Station. The company, which currently operates out of several London offices including Turner House in Soho, has hired agents at CBRE to find new offices spanning at least 200,000 square feet. Battersea Power Station [...]
