Business Grapevine
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The international building materials company, has transferred its shareholding in Secil, the Portuguese cement producer, to Semapa, its former joint venture partner. The transfer of CRH's 49% stake has been triggered by a call option exercised by Semapa and confirmed by an award issued by an Arbitral Tribunal in Paris, functioning under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), at a valuation of €574m. The net proceeds received by CRH amount to €564.5m and reflect the valuation set by the Arbitral Tribunal as adjusted for legal costs awarded to Semapa and other amounts due to Semapa by CRH. Semapa has indicated that it intends to continue its proceedings in the Cour d'Appel (court of appeal) in Paris in relation to the award made by the Arbitral Tribunal. CRH will be represented at the hearing. source sharecast
The property firm has sold over one hundred million pounds worth of London property in three separate transactions, putting its portfolio 14 per cent ahead of the December 2011 valuation. The company earned £82.5m of the £106m proceeds from the sales, which was at a combined net initial yield to the purchaser of 3.28%. The firm sold 26,000 sq ft of retail and office building located to the east of Oxford Circus. The property was sold to a fund managed by CBRE Global Investors for £38.5m, 7.2% ahead of the September 2011 valuation. The gross income is £1.79m and the price paid reflects a net initial yield of 4.4%, and £1,480 per sq ft capital value. The second property, Buchanan House in Holborn, was a 67,000 sq ft office and banking hall building over basement, ground and first floor and is let to HSBC until 2056 at £30,000 per annum with a review in 2019 to open market value. The freehold property was sold to Orchard Street UK Special Situations Fund II for £20.5m, 14% ahead of the September 2011 valuation. The gross income is £0.46m and the price paid reflects a net initial yield of 2.1%, and £306 per sq ft capital value. A portfolio of adjoining properties on Park Crescent East was also sold. The properties are held by way of a long lease from The Crown Estate expiring December 2157 at a current ground rent of £15,000 per annum. The properties were sold to a subsidiary of Amazon Properties, for £47m. The gross income is £1.45m and the price paid reflects a net initial yield of 2.89%, and £443 per sq ft capital value or £780 per sq ft, reflecting the fact that some of the portfolio has been sold off on long leases. Toby Courtauld, GPE Chief Executive said: "These sales continue our strategy of selling smaller, labour intensive and/or mature assets to recycle capital into the more meaningful opportunities within the group, and its Joint Ventures. These include the exceptional growth opportunities at our properties...as well as our extensive pipeline of longer term projects." source sharecast
The machinery and tools company has appointed adviser Lazard to review strategic options for the company, including a potential sale. Expressions of interest have already been received. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed to handle the sales diligence. The group needs fresh capital to fund further expansion. The group employs 2,100 staff. In 2011 it recorded revenues of £144m, a 5% rise on the previous year. Annual profits were £310m.
The world's local bank, is to become a bit less local in parts of Latin America following the agreed sale of its operations in Colombia, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay. HSBC is selling the businesses for $400m in cash to the Colombian banking entity controlled by the Gilinski Group, Banco GNB Sudameri. The sales of the businesses in Colombia and Peru are expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2012 and the sales of the businesses in Uruguay and Paraguay are expected to complete in the first quarter of 2013. At the end of 2011, the businesses to be sold had 62 branches across the four countries and a gross asset value of $4.4bn. The sale of the branches was flagged by HSBC last week and is part of the group's to focus on regions where it sees the greatest potential for sustainable growth. source sharecast
The International mining giant has sold its Veduga gold deposit in the Krasnoyarsk region of Russia for twenty million dollars. The deal with Canadian firm Polygon Gold also sees it receive 750 shares in the former, taking its stake in the company to 81.8%. "We believe this transaction allows the firm, through its more than 80% stake in Polygon, to benefit from the development of this high-quality asset while preserving management's focus on the company's existing project pipeline," said Polymetal Chief Executive Vitaly Nesis. Polygon will operate as a standalone company with independent management, the firm said. Polymetal plans to provide certain technical and regulatory assistance to the company on an ongoing basis and added that in time it might dilute its equity stake in Polygon if external equity financing is raised. Veduga has estimated reserves of 1.05 Moz of gold contained in 5.9 Mt at 5.5 g/t and M&I resources (inclusive of reserves) of 2.04 Moz of gold contained in 11.8 Mt at 5.4 g/t. The asset was part of the joint venture between AngloGold Ashanti and Polymetal from 2007 to 2012. source sharecast
The Power commpany, together with its parent company GDF SUEZ, has sold a large stake in Bahrain's Hidd Power Company (HPC). The plant, which has a total capacity of 929 megawatts of 90m imperial gallons per day of water desalination, was originally sold to a consortium of Int'l Power (40%), GDF SUEZ Energy International (30%) and Sumitomo Corporation (30%) in 2006. A 40% interest in the plant has now been offloaded to Malakoff International for $113.4m, leaving the firm with a 30% stake. GDF SUEZ owns 70% of the FTSE 100 electricity generating company. "This transaction is in line with International Power's agreement to sell down part of its interest in the Bahraini power market to comply with regulatory requirements following the combination with GDF SUEZ Energy International in February 2011," the firm said. The transaction contributes €0.6bn to the GDF SUEZ €10bn portfolio optimisation programme. The remaining stake will now be accounted for under the equity method as an associate with its net debt (of €538m as at March 31st) not included within Int'l Power net debt. source sharecast
The investment company has announced the acquisition of Cinesite, a visual effects company based in London; the purchase price has not been advised. Cinesite provides up to the minute digital effects which are used to turn ideas into good film materials. Antony Hunt, managing director of Cinesite, stated “I feel that we are moving Cinesite into a new era. The partnership with Endless LLP is a great strategic move for both parties and we’re delighted to have their support and investment behind us. We have an extremely innovative and creative team who deliver cutting-edge visual effects for the media and entertainment industry, and we’re now keen to take the Cinesite brand into new territories and expand our digital visual effects services. This takeover sale will give us the opportunity we need to grow our talented team to ensure we remain at the forefront of the visual effects industry for many years.” Garry Wilson, Managing partner, remarked “Cinesite is one of the world’s most respected visual effects companies. We were truly impressed by the potential of their creative talent, breadth of blockbuster films and television shows they have been involved in, and their BAFTA, Emmy and Oscar-winning work. We’re excited to be helping Cinesite with its next stage of growth and are convinced our partnership will help them continue to expand their long-standing and successful global brand.”
The bingo and casino group has resumed talks with Gala Coral over the possible £200m purchase of Gala's 24-strong casino division. Earlier negotiations between the two firms broke down at the end of March 2012. If a deal could be agreed it would make Rank the leading casino operator in the UK, combining its 35-strong Grosvenor Casinos business with Gala's 24 operations.
The healthcare software business which has its headquarters in Bolton has appointed a US-based investment bank to advise on a potential sale of the business. The firm was taken off the stock market in 2009 when private equity firm ECI Partners backed a £32.9m management buyout. It develops software for hospital prescribing and other aspects of patient care. It is understood the company has appointed William Blair & Company as it looks at its strategic options. The Chicago-based investment bank has extensive deals experience in the healthcare sector, making a sale of the UK company to a US trade buyer a possibility. The company is expected to be put on the market for over £50m and possibly as high as £80m. The company is trading strongly after investing in new products in the UK and abroad. It has approximately 320 staff spread across its offices in Bolton, Cambridge, Southampton, Sydney, Melbourne and Nairobi. The business generated revenues of £25m in the year to last June and underlying pre-tax profits of £7m. The software company has introduced business intelligence software in Australia, enabling hospital managers to analyse performance, and is developing an iPhone app which will enable doctors to obtain patient information while on their rounds. It has also set up a consultancy arm to help NHS Trusts maximise their returns on IT investment. Currently about 80% of Ascribe's turnover is generated in the UK, with the rest coming from Australasia and the Far East.
The financial software firm says its takeover by Vista Equity Partners will be delayed by a legal hold-up in Portugal. The 350p a share deal was announced back in March and approved in April but it now appears the Portuguese monopoly probe process will take longer than first thought. Although Portugal is a very small part of the business, the group felt it had to get approval from the Portuguese authorities before completion. The UK "scheme court hearing" - which would enable the sale of convertible bonds - was supposed to take place on May 10th, but it is now expected on May 28th, followed by a "capital reduction court hearing" on May 31st. This means the scheme will actually begin on June 1st. The deadline for acceptance is June 7th, with payment being sent out on June 14th. source sharecast
The Manchester University spin-out firm has announced a sum of £30M available for investments. The development of scar healing drug, Prevascar, has now been completed and revenue is now recorded as nil for the half year to the end of March 2012. Cash at bank is shown as £29.9M at the 31st March 2012. Chairman Jamie Brook said: "The board will continue to focus on its previously announced merger and acquisition plans and its share buy back programme in order to enhance shareholder value."
It has been revealed that Tata, the Indian motor manufacturer, is poised to pull the plug on plans to introduce an electric vehicle in the UK in a move that could put the electric car dream on hold for the foreseeable future. The company is expected to confirm that the Tata Indica Vista EV will not now be rolled out due to the slow take up of electric vehicles in the UK. The Indica Vista EV was due to be made in the UK and launched this summer Just 940 electric cars were sold in Britain last year, a figure that fell short of what had been hoped for and expected by manufacturers and the Government. It is also believed that the company had concerns over the lack of charging points and the resultant “range anxiety” among prospective buyers about being able to charge them away from home. The EV, based on the company’s Indica Vista hatchback, was a production-ready vehicle with 25 cars developed at the Tata Motors European Technical Centre at the International Automotive Research Centre at Warwick University. All 25 had been used as part of the Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrator (CABLED) electric vehicle trial project. The company is actively developing a broad range of low carbon vehicle technologies and speaking about the development of the Indica Vista EV. It is in the process of incorporating the learning from the development phase and the CABLED trial. The work carried out on the Indica Vista will have contributed to the development of the firm’s EV technology though it will almost certainly delay any launch until the market picks up and infrastructure is better developed. Tata is unlikely to be the only manufacturer with concerns about the market, with sales remaining slow despite a government grant towards the cost, up to a maximum of £5,000. Although electric cars are unlikely to prove the panacea some people predicted, research will continue. The company is setting up a Midlands’ battery technology centre to carry out research in association with car companies.
It is speculated that the defence firm, with a base at Plymouth dockyard, will secure a £350m contract to refit and refuel a Royal Navy nuclear missile submarine that will safeguard up to 2,000 UK jobs. The defence secretary is to announce that the firm Babcock will upgrade HMS Vengeance. Work on the Vanguard class vessel will secure 1,000 jobs at the firm, 300 at other firms in Plymouth, and 700 elsewhere. Work on the 15,000-tonne vessel will include a complete overhaul of equipment, improved missile launch capabilities and upgraded computer systems. A new reactor core will also be fitted that will last the submarine until she is decommissioned. HMS Vengeance is the newest of the four Trident-carrying strategic missile submarines that make up the UK's nuclear deterrent force. Plymouth's Devonport Dockyard has a £5bn deal to refit the Vanguard class vessels. They are berthed in a specially-converted dock because they are too big for the yard's other docks at 150m (492ft) long.
A factory in County Durham has been chosen for a £40m research programme aimed at reducing carbon emissions from heavy duty vehicles. The Caterpillar factory in Peterlee was chosen because of its role in global engineering for articulated vehicles. It is hoped that the vehicles incorporating the new technology will be on sale by 2020. They are hoped to attract significant long-term commercial opportunities. The public and private company was set up to speed up deployment of affordable low-carbon energy systems. Heavy vehicles account for 8% of the UK's CO2 emissions. It is considered to be critical that technologies that are affordable are developed for the vehicles industry as well as accelerating the delivery of clean and secure energy solutions. It is expected that this programme will demonstrate that there are significant long-term commercial opportunities from the introduction of improved vehicle efficiency.
Councillors have announced £90m worth of highways maintenance work to be undertaken in the area. The contract is to be split into three to deal with infrastructure to the highways; design; improvements to the networks to be undertaken over a period of 6 years. The new London super highways framework is to be utilised to search for a suitable contractor whilst a separate competition will be held by the south London council at the same time.
A new rail station likely to attract 3,000 passengers a day has been approved for Cambridge Science Park. The initial costs will be fronted by the council and it is likely rail operators will foot the £26m construction costs. The new station should be open by 2015. The Cambridge Science Park station at Chesterton will provide more frequent and reliable links to other parts of the county. The station will have three platforms and there will be three northbound trains each hour to Ely, King’s Lynn and Norwich. It is likely that trains on the Birmingham New Street line, which currently stops at March, will also depart from there. The station will also improve access to the 4,500 skilled jobs already based at the science park, which are likely to grow as a result of the new travel link.