Hong Kong raider targeting the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) may be forced to rack up massive debts as it scrambles to sweeten its £32bn bid in the face of sceptical investors. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has only won the backing of one shareholder among the top 10 since making its audacious offer for the London market (LSE) last month, sources said. City rules state that it must make a firm offer on Wednesday or abandon plans for a tie-up – but it is widely thought the current proposal of £83 per share will not be enough to win over investors.
London will bear the brunt of 10,000 job cuts at HSBC Holdings (HSBA) as the firm battles to slash costs in the face of a slowdown gripping Europe, analysts have warned. Analysts said the axe could “fall the heaviest” in the UK, where the lender employs 40,000 people. Deutsche Bank is cutting 18,000 roles worldwide, while its German rival Commerzbank is slashing 4,300 and 1,600 positions are being scrapped at French lender Société Générale. It is the latest in a wave of cutbacks across the continent as banks grapple with years of ultra-low interest rates which cripple their ability to turn a healthy profit.
SIG (SHI) announced plans to sell two divisions on Monday in an attempt to shore up its balance sheet. SIG has agreed to sell its air handling division to France Air for an enterprise value of €223m (£198m). Kingspan Group has struck a £38m deal to buy the building solutions unit. The sales are part of an effort to slash debts, which stood at £158m at the end of June. The company also plans to return £70m of the total proceeds to shareholders. The announcement didn’t prevent SIG from suffering the sharpest fall on the FTSE 350 after it warned the construction sector’s dismal performance would hit full-year profits.
Embattled banknote and passport printer De La Rue (DLAR) has hired turnaround expert Clive Vacher as chief executive in a bid to revive its flagging fortunes. The company said Mr Vacher has significant experience in turning around failing businesses and will focus on addressing its challenges following sharp criticism from investors and a 47% drop in its share price this year.
Legal & General Group (LGEN), Britain’s first £1 trillion fund manager is close to buying Next Generation Data, a 750,000 sq ft data storage facility in Newport, South Wales. The deal is part of the FTSE 100 investor’s push into digital infrastructure investments as a stepping stone into smart city projects. NGD is currently owned by InfraVia, the French investment fund that until recently owned the tram system in Nottingham. InfraVia put its data centre campus on the market earlier this year, appointing investment bank RBC to find a new owner.
Questor: we dodged a value trap at Pearson (PSON) but fell into one at Marks & Spencer Group (MKS). Time to move on. Questor share tip: Marks & Spencer’s valuation looks tempting but the pace of change feels too slow as the retail revolution continues
