Monday newspaper round-up: RBS, Smith&Nephew, Alstom

16th Jun 2014 07:24

Royal Bank of Scotland is in talks over a restructuring of its Ulster Bank unit that could overcome a hurdle to selling some of the government's majority stake. The taxpayer-backed lender is working on a plan to attract private equity into Ulster to boost its capital position before the business is merged with another Irish bank. Permanent TSB, owned by the Irish government, is considered the most likely partner for the creation of an enlarged Irish bank. Any such transaction would enable RBS to cut its holding in Ulster below 50%, where it would no longer have to consolidate the lender in its accounts. - The Times Over the weekend it emerged that Medtronic is close to announcing a $50bn (£29bn) takeover of Dublin-based orthopaedic group Covidien. The move would rule out Medtronic as a potential buyer of Smith & Nephew. "All things being equal, Medtronic's pursuit of Covidien will be unhelpful for Smith & Nephew's share price," Tom Jones, analyst at Berenberg said. "Smith & Nephew has been a takeover target since 1968 when Unilever tried to acquire the company, I would not be surprised if we have to wait another 46 years". - The Daily TelegraphFrance expects US industrial group GE to boost its offer for Alstom's power assets as it battles against a rival joint-offer from Germany's Siemens and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Siemens and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are putting the finishing touches to a joint offer for Alstom's turbine businesses, which is understood to include a cash element of around €9bn (£7.25bn. Siemens has set a self-imposed deadline of Monday to make an offer. - The Daily TelegraphBritain's banks are short-changing thousands of small businesses who are seeking compensation for huge losses run up on mis-sold instruments originally intended to shield them from interest rate rises. The Financial Conduct Authority has told ten banks to compensate 19,000 small businesses that were recklessly sold highly complex financial products known as interest rate hedges. - The TimesChinese investment in nuclear energy, high-speed rail and North Sea oil will be high on the diplomatic agenda when Chinese premier Li Keqiang visits the UK this week, building on what he has described as an "indispensable partnership" between the two countries. Lord Sassoon, chairman of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) told The Telegraph that securing more Chinese investment for critical UK infrastructure will be an important element of Mr Li's three-day tour, which will include meetings with The Queen and David Cameron. - The TelegraphThe debate about house prices is reignited on Monday amid claims by Britain's biggest property website that prices for homes have come "off the boil". For the first time this year, the asking prices posted on the Rightmove website for homes in London fell by 0.5% in early June, compared with the month before, in part due to a rapid increase in sellers rushing to cash in on rising prices. In some areas, especially in London, prices may have hit an "affordability cap", the website said. - The GuardianAB