Financial News: 3i Shelves Asian Buyout Team
24th Jun 2010 15:22
By Toby Lewis Of FINANCIAL NEWS U.K.-based 3i Group (III.LN) has shelved its local buyout team in Asia, it has emerged, joining a number of other Western private equity firms that have refocused their divisions in the region over the past 18 months. The head of the firm's Asian buyout te
Read moreFOCUS: Buyout Firms Swoop On Health Sector, Challenges Remain
24th Jun 2010 13:34
By Marietta Cauchi Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Private equity firms are piling into auctions for health-care companies, betting that their defensive qualities and steady cash flows will bring in the returns being demanded by investors after two lackluster years. Over the p
Read moreClinic Operator Medi-Partenaires Valued At EUR1B-EUR1.1B-Report
23rd Jun 2010 08:11
PARIS (Dow Jones)--Clinic operator Medi-Partenaires SA, which is being sold by French private equity firm LBO France, will be valued at between EUR1 billion and EUR1.1 billion, La Tribune newspaper reports Wednesday, without naming sources. Preliminary offers for the company will be filed this w
Read moreINTERVIEW: 3i's Sale Of Inspectorate "Always Part Of Plan"
22nd Jun 2010 12:33
By Marietta Cauchi Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--3i Group PLC's (III.LN) sale of Inspectorate, the oil testing and certification business owned by 3i's portfolio company Inspicio Group was always part of the plan, 3i partner Alan Giddins told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday. Ea
Read moreINTERVIEW: Bureau Veritas: 3-5 Yrs To Up Inspectorate Margin
22nd Jun 2010 10:15
By Ambroise Ecorcheville Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES PARIS (Dow Jones)--Certification services company Bureau Veritas (BVI.FR) said Tuesday it has bought U.K. peer Inspectorate for GBP540 million, and plans to improve its operating margin in three-to-five years, bringing it to the parent company
Read moreBureau Veritas Acquires UK's Inspectorate for GBP450 Million
22nd Jun 2010 06:46
PARIS (Dow Jones)--French conformity assessment and certification services company Bureau Veritas (BVI.FR) said Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with U.K. company Inspicio, majority-owned by private equity firm 3i (III.LN) and funds managed by 3i, to acquire Inspicio's unit Inspectorate for G
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Weir, Mothercare, United Utilities
15th Jun 2010 06:53
Engineering group Weir issued a surprise update yesterday, revealing that trading over the nine weeks to the 4 June had been stronger than expected. Particularly encouraging was the disclosure that original equipment orders had begun to increase. In terms of enterprise value to earnings before inte
Read more3i buys back more bonds
14th Jun 2010 07:35
Private equity group 3i has bought another chunk of bonds for cancellation. The company has bought £28.55m of its 3.625% convertible bonds due 2011 in the market for cancellation. The purchase follows a £27.65m purchase of bonds for cancellation announced on 21 May. Following cancellation there w
Read moreCapital and Counties bosses lay foundations
14th May 2010 16:29
Bosses at Capital and Counties Properties have been opening their accounts in the real estate firm following its demerger from the property giant Liberty International. Chairman Ian Durant bought 122,347 shares at 1,21.7p a share, paying a total of £148,884, while chief executive Ian Hawksworth, to
Read moreLondon close: Blue chips make healthy gains
13th May 2010 16:33
London's top stocks rallied near the close to finish well up on the day as traders speculated on possible measures to cut the UK's debt burden. A VAT rise to 20% is a likely measure according to a group of economists questioned by the BBC. Justin King, chief executive of supermarket Sainsbury's,
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie still in the blue
13th May 2010 15:06
London's top stocks are easing down towards the close after a flat start on Wall Street and some calming down of the excitement over the plans of the new Conservative-Liberal government. The focus now is on just how they new government intends to get the UK's debt levels down, with a VAT rise to 20
Read moreLondon midday: BT leads market higher
13th May 2010 12:07
London's top stocks are making good gains helped by BT's full-year numbers and a decent showing from the miners. BT is the strongest riser on news that telecoms giant returned to the black in the last quarter and the full year and reported a 6% rise in the dividend. Pre-tax profit hit £1.01bn in th
Read moreLondon open: FTSE posts early gains
13th May 2010 08:20
London's top stocks are on the rise in early dealings on Thursday, tracking triple-digit gains on Wall Street last night and a rally in Asia. Global markets appear more optimistic about Europe's ability to sort out the region's debt problems and the receding threat of a crisis spreading to the glo
Read more3i net asset value climbs 15%
13th May 2010 07:56
Private equity group 3i saw a 15% return on its portfolio in the year to March 31 as the companies it invests in participated in the strong rally that followed the economic collapse of the previous year. The group's net asset value (NAV) climbed totalled 321p at the end of the period, up from 279p
Read moreMontague named new 3i chairman
10th May 2010 09:57
Private equity group 3i announced that Sir Adrian Montague will succeed Baroness Hogg as chairman of the group. Montague, the former chairman of Friends Provident, will start his new role at the conclusion of 3i's AGM in July. He will succeed Hogg, who took up her new role as chairman of the Finan
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