New energy giant Wintershall DEA set for £23bn float. Former BP boss Lord John Browne and Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman are poised to kick-start a £23bn float of a new energy giant that will go toe-to-toe with some of the world’s top oil explorers. A merger of the oil and gas business of their holding company LetterOne with that of German industrial powerhouse BASF is in the final stages, paving the way for the enlarged operation to immediately begin preparations for a blockbuster stock market listing. Analysts say it could fetch a valuation of as much as $30bn (£23bn), making it one of the biggest floats Europe has seen in years.
Tesco to cut up to 15,000 jobs and axe deli counters. Tesco (TSCO) is planning to make as many as 15,000 jobs redundant in the latest round of cost cuts by chief executive Dave Lewis. Deli counters including butchers, fishmongers and cheese stands in many of its largest stores face closure, as do parts of staff canteens, according to reports in The Mail on Sunday. Mr Lewis wants to cut costs by £1.5bn by 2020 to make the company more profitable. Tesco spent £4bn buying Booker, the wholesaler, last year, in an attempt to take more control of its supply chain. It also launched Jack’s, a discount chain, to fend off competition from low-cost rivals such as Lidl and Aldi.
Openreach to recruit 3,000 engineers to hit full-fibre broadband target. Openreach has unveiled plans to hire 3,000 apprentice engineers in the next 12 months to hit its multi-million fibre broadband target, as pressure mounts to deliver high speed internet across the UK. BT Group (BT.A) broadband infrastructure unit said it was extending its recruitment drive to meet its pledge to provide full fibre broadband to three million homes and businesses by the end of 2020. Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, said the company is making “great progress” towards its 2020 target, after it sped up the pace of the rollout to 13,000 premises per week. Openreach has also pinpointed 11 new locations across the UK that will receive fibre broadband this year, including Bexley, Croydon, the Greater Glasgow region, Harrow, Merton, Redbridge and Richmond upon Thames. This brings the total number of areas offering fibre broadband up to 25.
M&S in talks with Ocado Group (OCDO) to enter online food fight. Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) is in talks about a takeover of Ocado’s supermarket operations in a belated attack on the online grocery market. The discussions are said to be at an early stage, but could mean anything from M&S using Ocado’s highly automated distribution centres and vans to the acquisition of large parts of the logistics network. Such a deal would leave Ocado more focused on its technology business, which designs and licences online grocery shopping technology for supermarkets around the world.
Scottish Power to vy for £2bn energy network against infrastructure funds. Scottish Power is lining up against foreign infrastructure investment funds in the race to buy a £2bn electricity network operator. The utility firm will join the early stages of an auction for Electricity North West (ENW), one of Britain’s nine regional power network companies, which was put up for sale by JP Morgan, the US bank, last year. Scottish Power already owns the networks that flank the ENW region to its north and south through its SP Energy Networks arm. If it succeeds in seeing off competition from investment funds, its power network assets would stretch from southern Scotland to northern Wales.
Peter Cruddas insists the City is ready for a no-deal Brexit. City tycoon and Brexit-backer Peter Cruddas has tried to soothe bankers’ concerns about Brexit by arguing that the sector is “certainly prepared” for a no-deal scenario based on World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade terms. CMC Markets (CMCX) founder Mr Cruddas, who donated £1.5m to the official Vote Leave campaign and lives in a £42m mansion in Mayfair, said there remained “no rival anywhere in Europe” that could take London’s crown as Europe’s finance centre once the UK leaves the EU. “[The City] has adapted remarkably well to the challenges of the current Brexit uncertainties with only a tiny fraction of jobs predicted relocating to the continent,” said the former Tory treasurer.
Short selling against Sirius Minerals (SXX) hits record high after funding update. The tycoon behind the purchase of the most expensive home in the US is among the short sellers betting against Sirius Minerals as it tries to secure funding for a fertiliser mine in Yorkshire. Hedge fund Citadel, founded by billionaire Ken Griffin, is one of the top six short sellers to disclose a position against Sirius. Short-selling against Sirius hit a record high last week, with 12.36% of its shares on loan, according to IHS Markit. Short sellers borrow shares from investors and sell them in the expectation the price will fall, then buy the stock back at a discount and pocket the difference.
Stagecoach transferred £25m before quitting South Western. Stagecoach Group (SGC), the rail and bus giant founded by transport tycoon Sir Brian Souter, siphoned off £25m from one of the country’s biggest rail networks in its final four months before relinquishing control. Money was transferred from Stagecoach South Western Trains to its listed parent through a network of internal loans, according to recently filed accounts. The Perth-based transport conglomerate ceased operating Britain’s fourth biggest rail franchise on Aug 20 2017, handing over to a joint venture led by rival FirstGroup (FGP).
