Friday newspaper round-up: Independent News, British Airways, Mitchells & Butlers
18th Dec 2009 06:31
Alexander Lebedev, the owner of London's Evening Standard and a former lieutenant-colonel in the KGB, is in advanced talks to buy the The Independent and The Independent on Sunday, according to people familiar with the matter, reports the FT. Lebedev has held intermittent talks over the past year w
Read moreINM sells stake in German site
7th Dec 2009 14:32
Independent News & Media (INM) has sold its 49% interest in Verivox, its German online price comparator for energy and telecom services, to private equity group Oakley Capital. The deal will realise gross cash proceeds of €18.3m, including repayment by Verivox to INM of a €2.3m loan prior to 31 Mar
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Pre-Budget, Shanks, Mitchells & Butlers
7th Dec 2009 06:37
Alistair Darling, chancellor, is preparing a crackdown on "extraordinarily high" bankers' bonuses when he makes his pre-Budget report on Wednesday, but is expected to reject a windfall tax on bank profits. Mr Darling's officials are in a race against time to draw up some form of supertax to curb wh
Read moreIndependent News says ad revenue stabilising
29th Oct 2009 08:24
Financially troubled newspaper group Independent News & Media warned the advertising market is expected to remain challenging for the rest of the year but is showing signs of stabilising. The Independent newspaper publisher, which is currently in talks to restructure its debt with its lenders, said
Read moreINM signs restructuring deal
7th Oct 2009 18:13
Struggling newspaper group Independent News & Media has reached a formal agreement with key bondholders to implement its restructuring plan. Under the plan, some €123m of bonds will be exchanged into 732m new shares or 46% of the company. Existing shareholders will then have an option to subscribe
Read moreLondon close: Directionless day for FTSE 100
29th Sep 2009 16:52
Footsie finished slightly in the red after another day of flitting between the red and the blue while not showing any real sense of direction. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift into reverse
Read moreLondon afternoon: Back to square one
29th Sep 2009 14:34
It's back to square one for the Footsie which is barely changed on the day, with gains on banks and insurers counterbalanced by miners and property stocks. Swiss bank Credit Suisse has issued a bearish note on the property sector prompting the likes of Land Securities, SEGRO and Hammerson to shift
Read moreIndependent agrees debt lifeline
29th Sep 2009 14:13
Shareholders in Independent News & Media are set for hefty dilution after the newspaper group's board agreed a well-flagged refinancing package. Some €123m of bonds will be exchanged into 732m new shares or 46% of the company. Existing shareholders will then have an option to subscribe for a €94m
Read moreTuesday paper round-up: Barclays, Sterling, Arm
29th Sep 2009 06:18
Barclays is in talks to buy the banking division of Standard Life. The move is part of its strategy to snap up businesses while its rivals try to rebuild their balance sheets after the financial crisis. Standard Life is talking to several parties, but Barclays is understood to be the most likely b
Read moreINM gets debt extension
28th Sep 2009 13:51
Struggling newspaper group Independent News & Media has negotiated an extension of its debt standstill from 25 September until 30 October. The extension of the standstill period will facilitate the continuation of ongoing and constructive discussions between all key stakeholders in relation to the
Read moreIndependent News debt freeze extended
28th Sep 2009 09:34
Debt heavy Irish publishing group Independent News & Media has secured an extension to the standstill agreement on its debt repayments. The financial standstill has been extended from 25 September to 30 October in relation to its €200m of 5.75% guaranteed bonds. The extra breathing space will enab
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Cadbury, Vauxhall, BoE
24th Sep 2009 06:07
Todd Stitzer, chief executive of Cadbury, has appeared to concede that a combination with Kraft makes "strategic sense". Bank of America/Merrill Lynch revealed that Mr Stitzer had told a conference organised by the investment bank that he did not expect Kraft would walk away and that his 'job is to
Read moreLondon close: Footsie dips into the red
23rd Sep 2009 17:05
A late swoon saw London's blue-chip index give up the gains of the morning to close marginally lower on the day, as investors banked profits ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision this evening on US interest rates and its quantitative easing (QE) programme. The morning's gains had been achieved on
Read moreIndependent News confirms debt-for-equity swap
23rd Sep 2009 14:24
Publisher Independent News & Media admitted today that it will give bondholders a big equity stake and carry out a rights issue to 'position the business for growth'. The company confirmed talks with its syndicate of senior lenders and holders of the €200m 5.75% guaranteed bonds had 'advanced signi
Read moreIndependent's O' Reilly to halve stake
14th Sep 2009 15:21
Independent News and Media's (INM) biggest shareholder Sir Anthony O' Reilly is close to agreeing to halve his stake in the newspaper group as part of a financial rescue plan, reports say. Under the plan, O' Reilly's controlling stake of nearly 30% would fall by half and INM's lending banks would e
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