Home
Investment
News & Views
Company News
news storage
Sunday newspaper round-up: Sab Miller, BHP Billiton, M&A boom
Thu, 09 Feb, 2012
INVESTMENT NEWS
Company Search
Search QCK.COM
Investment Home
News & Views
Top Stories
Charting
Company Search
Watchlist
Market Reports
Market Buzz
Company News
Economic News
New Issues
Other News
Sunday newspaper round-up: Sab Miller, BHP Billiton, M&A boom
Sun, 22 Aug 2010, 13:22:00
Sab Miller
, the giant brewer, is considering a £7 billion takeover of its iconic Australian rival, Foster's. The London-listed group, which owns the Peroni, Grolsch and Miller brands, is plotting a move for Carlton & United Breweries, the beer-making arm of Foster's, the Sunday Times reports. Mining giant
BHP Billiton
, which last week launched a £25bn hostile bid for Canada's PotashCorp, will display its financial firepower this week when it unveils a doubling of annual profits to about £12.7bn, but the Anglo-Australian miner is not guaranteed success in its takeover attempt. It is understood talks have already been held between PotashCorp, based in Saskatchewan, and Sinochem, the Chinese state-owned chemical group, aimed at seeing off BHP. BHP's bid for PotashCorp has stoked takeover fever across global markets amid speculation that a
mergers and acquisitions
(M&A) boom is on the cards as cash-rich companies splash out on expansion, according to the Observer. The paper reports that analysts say British companies in the takeover frame include ITV, targeted by NBC; BG, the gas and exploration group, which is being stalked by oil majors such as Shell; insurance company Prudential, a possible target for a break-up bid by Aviva and Resolution; miner Xstrata, which is being eyed by Swiss commodities group Glencore; AstraZeneca, the drugs company, which could attract interest from GlaxoSmithKline or European rivals; and Sainsbury, where the Qataris have built up a minority stake. The Sunday Telegraph also reports on
BHP
's pursuit of PotashCorp. Marius Kloppers will this week lead a team of BHP Billiton executives on a charm offensive across five continents in a bid to convince shareholders that its $39bn (£25bn) bid for PotashCorp is the best strategic move. The mining company's board, led by Mr Kloppers, the chief executive, will also meet a number of large investors with cross-holdings in Potash and BHP during the whirlwind tour across the UK, Australia, South Africa, Asia, the United States and Canada, paper reports. Also in takeover news,
HSBC
is poised to enter exclusive talks to buy a controlling stake in South Africa's Nedbank in a deal that is estimated to be worth about £4.5 billion. An announcement on the talks could come as early as this week, according to market sources. The 52% holding has been put up for sale by Old Mutual, the Anglo-South African insurance group that has been forced to sell a string of assets following the credit crunch, says the Sunday Times. Indian government officials will fly in to
De La Rue's
plant in Overton, Hampshire, this week to investigate production errors that sent the banknote printer's shares into a tailspin and forced its boss to quit. The problems concern De La Rue's largest contract, to supply watermarked banknote paper to the Reserve Bank of India. In some years, it accounts for 25% of group profit. The Indians are expected to discuss compensation with chairman Nicholas Brookes but are not expected to end the contract, according to the Sunday Times. Drinks giant
Diageo
will be "walking through treacle" for another year as high unemployment in its biggest markets holds back sales in bars and prevents the company raising spirits prices, analysts warned. The maker of Smirnoff and Guinness will report earnings for the year to the end of June on Thursday. While results are expected to meet forecasts, Diageo's shares could take a hit if its outlook for the coming year is more conservative than expected, reports the Sunday Telegraph. British families may have to serve up turkey with fewer trimmings this Christmas as economists warn that
food price inflation
could hit 9% by the end of the year. Deutsche Bank believes recent rises of more than 12% in the price of basic commodities particularly wheat, up nearly 60% in the past three months will be passed on to consumers in the autumn, reports the Sunday Times. Interest rates may rise to 8pc within two years to choke off soaring inflation, according to radical new research. Andrew Lilico, chief economist at the influential Policy Exchange think tank, has warned of an interest rate environment not seen since the 1990s. He said the rise could happen as the recovery beds in and Government measures to stave off a recession lead to an explosion in the money supply, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Rents on
Oxford Street
could rise as much as 40 per cent after a Spanish retailer agreed to a record lease on London's busiest shopping street. Desigual, a retailer selling men's and women's casualwear, exchanged contracts last week to occupy 360 Oxford Street opposite Bond Street tube station, paying a Zone A rent of just over £700 per sq ft, or £1.5m a year, reports the Independent on Sunday. Up to 150 stores of the old
Woolworths
empire might never be used by retailers again, according to the man behind a report produced for The Independent on Sunday. Over a year-and-a-half after the chain ceased trading, more than 300 of the firm's 807 units do not have a replacement tenant. Britain's
banks and retailers
are facing a £60bn increase in their balance sheet liabilities if proposed accounting changes are implemented in 2013. The massive hit follows the publication last week of a draft document from the International Accounting Standards Board that calls for substantial changes in how leasing commitments are reflected on balance sheets, the Independent on Sunday reports.
Marks & Spencer
has ordered headhunters to begin a search for two new directors to focus on the online and international business. The changes are part of a board restructuring by chief executive Marc Bolland, who arrived from Morrisons in May, says the Mail on Sunday.
©2004-2009 QCK.com