The £2.6 billion takeover of Inmarsat (ISAT) has received the green light after a group of hedge funds that had been objecting to the deal for the British satellite communications company dropped their opposition at the last minute. The funds, which include Oaktree Capital Management, the Los Angeles-based firm co-founded by Howard Marks, 73, the billionaire investor, had been planning to challenge the takeover in the High Court yesterday, but hours before the hearing began they announced that they had surrendered. Their decision came after the consortium buying Inmarsat, which includes Warburg Pincus and Apax Partners, the private equity firms, warned that it would scrap the takeover if the court favoured the hedge funds.
Centamin (DI) (CEY) has rebuffed a £1.5 billion takeover proposal from a larger Canadian rival.Centamin, which owns the Sukari mine in Egypt, said that the possible all-share offer from Endeavour Mining Corporation did not reflect the contribution it would make to the merged company and that it was “better positioned to deliver shareholder returns than the combined entity”. Endeavour, which is backed by one of Egypt’s richest men, said that it had gone public with the proposal to try to encourage engagement with Centamin after private approaches seeking talks had been rejected.
Cineworld Group (CINE) has blamed the delay in releasing blockbusters including Wonder Woman 1984 for a slowdown in takings. The news prompted big swings in the company’s stock — the most-shorted in the FTSE 250 index, with 18% of Cineworld’s share capital out on loan. Yesterday’s statement that full-year trading would be only “slightly below management’s expectations” initially sent its shares up 13¾p to 219¾p. Yet the shares closed down 8p at 198p. They have fallen by 24% over the past 12 months amid scepticism over the company’s investment in the American market.
Goldman Sachs is advising clients to stop buying Aston Martin Holdings (AML) shares, a year after it helped to float the luxury carmaker on the London Stock Exchange. Goldman was one of a group of advisers that shared £12.9 million fees for their work during the initial public offering last October. Aston has endured a miserable year as a listed company, during which its shares have lost almost three-quarters of their value. The stock fell 22½p to 505p, as Goldman cut its recommendation to “neutral” from “buy”. It also cut its price target to 520p from 620p. Aston Martin is based in Warwickshire and is the London Stock Exchange’s only quoted carmaker.
The value of foreign investment into the UK outstripped British investment abroad for only the second time on record last year, as the Americans piled in to the country and the Europeans withdrew. Figures on the UK’s net investment position revealed a £112 billion deficit, the largest recorded in history, the Office for National Statistics said. The data suggests that the UK remains an attractive destination for foreign companies and that the weak pound has made foreign investment increasingly expensive for domestic firms.
Playtech (PTEC) a company that has been hit by investor revolts over executive pay is proposing a new bonus scheme that could hand its boss shares worth more than £30 million. Playtech said yesterday that it would hold a shareholder meeting on December 19 to seek approval for a long-term incentive award it has designed for Mor Weizer, its chief executive since 2007. The scheme is for nil-cost options over 1.9 million Playtech shares linked with the performance over five years of the company’s share price. If Playtech’s price reaches the bonus plan’s cap of £16, Mr Weizer, 44, would be handed shares worth £30.4 million.
The chief executive of Glencore (GLEN) has suggested that he could step down next year, declaring that he does not want to be “an old guy running this company”. Ivan Glasenberg, 62, previously had indicated his plans to retire between the ages of 65 and 67 from the commodities group he has run since 2002. Yesterday he said that Glencore was working to get a new generation of senior managers in place “as early as possible in the new year” and that as soon as one of them was ready to succeed him, he would stand down. This “could happen soon”, he said, adding: “No exact time, but as soon as I believe they’re ready, I will move aside.”
Ferguson (FERG) has warned of a “challenging” market for plumbing repairs and maintenance in Britain as it prepares to demerge its UK division from the rest of the business. The plumbing materials group makes 90% of its annual group profits and four fifths of its annual revenues in North America. Valued on the stock market at £15 billion, it operates under the Wolseley brand in Britain, with 550-plus branches and 5,000 employees. In September Ferguson announced plans to demerge its British business and to list it separately as part of efforts to focus more on the United States.
The Dutch food delivery group seeking a merger with Just Eat (JE.) yesterday accused a rival bidder of scaremongering in a bid to persuade shareholders to accept a “low-ball” cash offer. Takeaway.com said that Naspers, the South African technology investor, was making contradictory assertions about Just Eat’s future investment requirements and the level of risk faced by investors retaining their holdings. Prosus, the Naspers subsidiary bidding for Just Eat, has made a £4.9 billion cash offer worth 710p-a-share that has been rebuffed. Amsterdam-listed Takeaway.com’s recommended all-paper offer was worth 688p at last night’s close.
Unilever (ULVR), the maker of Dove soap and Marmite, is replacing the head of its North American division as part of a reshuffle of its top team. Unilever said yesterday that Amanda Sourry, 56, president of Unilever North America, would retire after more than 30 years with the business to pursue new opportunities. She will be replaced by Fabian Garcia, a former boss of Revlon, the cosmetics group. In addition Conny Braams, 54, executive vice-president of Unilever’s middle Europe division, has been appointed to a new expanded role of chief digital and marketing officer. Unilever has been searching for a replacement to Keith Weed, 58, the advertising veteran, for more than a year.
A music investor has bought the rights to a catalogue of nearly 300 songs written by Fraser T Smith. The songwriter, 48, has written for the biggest pop stars. He co-wrote and produced Adele’s hit Set Fire to the Rain from her bestselling album 21 and has composed tunes for Craig David, Sam Smith and Stormzy. Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG) will now receive his share of the royalties from those tracks. Hipgnosis is run by Merck Mercuriadis, a music industry veteran. The fund has invested more than £400 million and holds interests in 8,000 songs, including hits by Eurythmics, Diana Ross and Justin Bieber.
