Sky battle lines drawn as Fox, Disney and Comcast prepare for £27bn auction. The protracted battle over ownership of Sky (SKY) will be all but settled over 24 hours this weekend in a rare auction in which three global media heavyweights will go three rounds. Comcast will take on the tag team of 21st Century Fox and Disney, with investors expecting the winning side to value Sky at at least £27bn. The Takeover Panel, the City’s regulator of merger processes, will act as referee between the Murdoch family, who contol Fox and will line up alongside Disney chairman Bob Iger, and Brian Roberts, the Comcast chief.
Barclays customers vent their anger after banking services go down for several hours. Barclays (BARC) has become the latest major bank to suffer a high-profile outage to its IT systems, after online, telephone and branch services went down for several hours today. The banking giant was inundated with hundreds of complaints from angry customers on social media as people found they were unable to access their accounts.
Aberdeen Standard issues Ryanair with ultimatum amid investor revolt. Ryanair Holdings (RYA) has been handed a dramatic ultimatum by fund management giant Aberdeen Standard as investors revolted at the low-cost airline’s annual general meeting. Almost a third of shareholders rejected the re-appointment of billionaire chairman David Bonderman, who has led the board since 1996. The re-election of senior independent director Kyran McLaughlin also attracted widespread disapproval, with 33.2% voting against.
Diageo profits hurt by currency moves ahead of AGM. Global drinks giant Diageo (DGE) has warned that its full-year profits will be dented by the recent sell-off in emerging market currencies. The company, which owns the Guinness, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker brands, announced on Thursday that it expects to lose £175m off net sales and £45m off full-year profits.
Connells closes online estate agency Hatched. Estate agency Connells has announced it will be closing its online business Hatched with immediate effect, saying the “online-only/hybrid” business is commercially unviable. The company is one of the largest estate agents in the UK but said the digital model is “fundamentally flawed”, which may be a subtle swipe at online rival Purplebricks Group (PURP), which describes itself as a “hybrid” estate agency with online and local office operations.
UK oil company M&A reignited by deals worth half a billion pounds. London-based oil companies are leading an M&A resurgence worth hundreds of millions of pounds following the summer break as oil market confidence returns. North Sea operator Verus Petroleum said it plans to scoop up its smaller rival Cieco Exploration and Production in a $400m (£301m) deal which will more double its current oil production. Meanwhile, London-listed oil and gas explorer Soco International (SIA) is venturing into the Middle East with a $215m (£161m) acquisition of privately owned Egyptian explorer Merlon Petroleum.
Kier profits rise as it shrugs off short selling pressure. The boss of Kier Group (KIE) has shrugged off interest from short sellers as the construction company reported a swing to profit for the year. Kier benefitted from a strong performance in its property and residential departments as well as construction, in what has been a turbulent time for the industry following the collapse of rival Carillion earlier this year.
Questor: if your portfolio lacks a ‘value’ fund, buy Keystone Inv Trust (KIT) at a discount of 13.4%
