Bidders diving in for Thomas Cook Group (TCG) talks as it works with company ‘doctors’ to fix its finances. Predators have made tentative approaches to buy some or all of Thomas Cook as it works with newly-appointed company ‘doctors’ to fix its finances. Bidders including China’s Fosun have approached the holiday firm about buying its tour operating business – and even the company outright, Sky News reported. The takeover interest comes after Thomas Cook announced a potential sale of its Condor airline. One insider cautioned that the approaches were ‘highly preliminary’. It was unclear whether the company would be forced to confirm the bids when the stock market opens on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Thomas Cook is understood to have hired Alix Partners, a specialist ‘company doctor’, as it tries to figure out how to manage its operations alongside its debt pile of up to £1.6billion. Sky News also reported that some of Thomas Cook’s lenders had hired advisers from FTI Consulting amid restructuring talk.
Details of a spectacular business failure suffered by the corporate raider targeting Barclays (BARC) can be revealed by The Mail on Sunday today. Edward Bramson, the London-born activist investor who is trying to force his way on to the board of Barclays, has repeatedly emphasised his many successes in letters to shareholders ahead of a vote on May 2 that could give him a seat at the bank’s top table. The multi-millionaire, who owns luxury homes in New York and Connecticut, has touted his ability to deliver ‘significant gains in operating performance and shareholder value’. He says Barclays would thrive if it drastically scaled back its investment banking arm – something which chief executive Jes Staley has refused to permit. But Bramson, 68, has been much less keen to talk about his 20-year stint presiding over a major business worth hundreds of millions when he joined, but which filed for bankruptcy just months after he quit.
Housebuilder Persimmon (PSN) is braced for a fresh revolt over its controversial bonuses after shareholder advisers urged investors to vote against the company’s ‘highly excessive’ pay. Advisory group PIRC has instructed investors to oppose the pay report for a second year running at the annual meeting early next month. Last year, the FTSE 100 company narrowly escaped defeat over its bonus scheme for top bosses, but still suffered a major rebellion. The scheme included a bonus worth more than £100million for former boss Jeff Fairburn that was trimmed to around £75million after a public backlash. The bonus pot was boosted by the taxpayer-funded Help to Buy scheme. Persimmon, led by new chairman Roger Devlin, has attempted to draw a line under the scandal by trimming the overall payouts, ousting Fairburn, ensuring that all staff are paid more than the living wage, and making steps towards improving the quality of its homes.
Foods giant Unilever (ULVR) has admitted it takes 90 days to pay its suppliers – despite signing up to a Government code that promises that bills will be paid within 60 days. The revelation will fuel fears that the so-called Prompt Payment Code is not fit for purpose and stricter rules are needed. The Mail on Sunday understands the Government will next week name and shame suppliers who are breaching the rules. But Unilever is not expected to be among them. The company admits on the PPC’s website that it takes 90 days to pay large suppliers, but it claims that smaller ones are paid in 30 days. A spokesman for Unilever, which prides itself on its social responsibility, said average payment times for all firms are 62 days and all payment terms are ‘agreed mutually upfront’.
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) has been flooded with objections to its decision to move £18billion of business to Ireland ahead of Brexit. The company has had 355 complaints from policyholders – with the vast majority angry about losing access to the UK’s regulatory protection offered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Around 390,000 policyholders will lose their protection under the scheme as there is no equivalent in Ireland. Most of the objections were raised by German policyholders. Financial firms are relocating some of their business so they can still operate across the EU if the UK loses access to the single market. The move is costing Standard Life £40million and it has injected another £250million into its Dublin arm to bolster the division.
The activist pressing for a break-up of FirstGroup (FGP) has quietly raised its stake in the British bus and rail company to become its biggest shareholder outright. The move has triggered speculation that Coast Capital Management is set to make fresh demands for a shake-up. The US activist has bought a further 1.4% of the FTSE 250 group, according to stock market filings last week. That means it owns almost 7.6% of the business, valuing its stake at nearly £100million and making it the largest shareholder. The move comes after the New York-based hedge fund run by James Rasteh publicly threatened an audacious boardroom coup at the £1.2billion company and called for FirstGroup to break itself up or start paying a dividend. Aberdeen-based FirstGroup runs the Great Western, South Western and TransPennine Express rail networks. It also operates Greyhound – the largest bus network in the US. Coast Capital wants FirstGroup to improve the company’s share price following years of underperformance. It also criticised the company’s rejection of a takeover approach last year from American buyout firm Apollo, run by Wall Street tycoon Leon Black.
MIDAS SHARE TIPS: Plug into fuel cells with fast-growing firm Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) for a profits boost. Midas verdict: Fuel cells are likely to play a growing role in energy production and Ceres is at the forefront of the industry. An impressive UK technology business exporting its know-how around the world, the company should continue to thrive. At £1.75, the shares are a buy.
