Tag: shareholders
Cadbury agrees £11.7bn Kraft takeover
After months of hostile talks, British confectioner Cadbury has finally agreed to an £11.7 billion takeover by US food giant Kraft. The 186-year-old British company, renowned for Dairy Milk chocolate, is set to advise shareholders to accept the latest bid of 840p a share. Kraft, which is renowned for brands such as Kenco coffee and [...]
Cadbury attacks Kraft after it unveils ‘outstanding’ 2009
British confectioner Cadbury, renowned for Dairy Milk chocolate, urged shareholders today not to let Kraft “steal your company with its derisory offer“. Cadbury chairman, Roger Carr, delivered the statement after it said it had enjoyed an “outstanding” performance in 2009, which exceeded market expectations. It said underlying revenues were up 5% in 2009, with a [...]
Kraft defends bid for Cadbury
US food giant Kraft has today reinforced its belief that a tie-up with Cadbury would “represent a uniquely complementary fit”. Kraft is actively trying to convince Cadbury shareholders that a combination with its British rival could “deliver substantially more value” together and would benefit Cadbury staff as new jobs would be created in the UK. [...]
Lloyds outlines details of record rights issue
Lloyds Banking Group has today embarked on the biggest rights issue on record by asking shareholders to buy 1.34 new Lloyds shares for each one they already own. The rights issue price of 37p is slightly higher than expected but still heavily discounted at 59.5% on Monday’s closing price of 91.47p. According to Lloyds, the [...]
Kraft deadline looms as Cadbury awaits next move
Two months ago, US food giant Kraft, which is renowned for brands such as Kenco coffee and Oreo biscuits, approached Cadbury with an informal £10.2 billion takeover offer, which the UK confectioner later rejected. Roger Carr, chairman of Cadbury, described its US rival’s £10.2 billion takeover offer as an “unappealing” and “unattractive prospect”. However, under [...]
Stagecoach makes fresh offer for National Express
Stagecoach has approached rival National Express with a £1.7 billion offer after a Spanish-led consortium withdrew its £765 million offer last week for the rail and bus group. Stagecoach, the operator of South West Trains and East Midlands Trains, has made a new all-share offer for its rival, following the withdrawal of the Spanish-led consortium, [...]
Camera retailer Jessops agrees rescue plan
Camera retailer Jessops has today secured a deal that will save the company. The struggling retailer has been hit by a shift to digital photography and the economic downturn which has meant it has been fighting to survive. The company, which trades from more than 200 stores in the UK, is undertaking a solvent restructure [...]
Lloyds reported to be considering £15bn cash call
Shares in Lloyds Banking Group have fallen today on the speculation that the banking giant is looking to raise between £10 – £15 billion by selling new shares. According to reports, the Treasury is said to be in support of the possible plans to raise cash from the stock market, which will therefore reduce the [...]
Thomson Reuters to save $10m as it ceases trading on LSE
Information group Thomson Reuters has announced plans to remove its listing from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the US Nasdaq index. The company said the delisting is part of plans to “simplify the company’s structure” and is urging its shareholders to vote in favour of the move in early August. The move marks the [...]
Lloyds set to come under fire at AGM
Shareholders in Lloyds Banking Group are set to grill the bank at today’s annual general meeting. Directors of the bank have faced criticism from shareholders following the hasty takeover of HBOS last autumn, which left the group 43% state-owned. The bank is expected to plunge into a loss this year, following the takeover of HBOS, [...]
Majority of RBS shareholders vote against pay
Over 90% of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) shareholders have voted against the remuneration policy proposed by the bank’s board at its AGM last Friday in Edinburgh. The vote comes as a huge blow to the already struggling bank, which has been the subject of bad press recently. As a result of the vote, the [...]
RBS announces further job cuts and calls for an “end to public flogging”
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced it will make further redundancies worldwide. The fresh job losses are in addition to the 2,700 job losses already announced. The bank’s chairman, Sir Philip Hampton said: “We can only be honest and say that this will not be the end of the story and more job cuts [...]
RBS shareholders to sue
Two local authority pension schemes are suing current and former board members of RBS. The bank was bailed out by the taxpayer in October of last year when the Government was forced to take a 68% stake in the business to avert its collapse. A more recent package of support involving a further cash injection [...]
Northern Rock shareholders lose court battle for compensation
Former shareholders of Northern Rock have failed in their legal challenge to the Government’s plan to compensate them. Rock’s biggest former investor SRM Global brought the case against the Government, with RAB Capital and 150,000 private investors. The case entered the High Court in January and shareholders were contesting the way in which the bank’s [...]
Northern Rock shareholders seeking compensation
Northern Rock shareholders are to enter the High Court this week demanding compensation to contest the way in which the stricken bank was nationalised in February 2007. The firm’s biggest former investor SRM Global has brought the case, with RAB Capital and 150,000 private investors. However, it is not the nationalisation itself that shareholders are [...]
Taxpayer owns almost 60% of RBS
Due to the small take-up of its £15 billion share offer by investors, the Government is to own 57.9% of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). This was widely expected as shares in the bank were trading below the 65.5p offer price announced last month. Last week, shareholders voted by 99% in favour to take the [...]
RBS apologises for financial difficulties
Sir Tom McKillop, the departing chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has apologised for the bank’s difficulties. The apology came ahead of the shareholder vote for the £20 billion Government bailout, of which shareholders voted by 99% in favour. Earlier this month, the bank said it expected to report its first full-year loss [...]
Lloyds TSB shareholders vote in favour of HBOS takeover
Lloyds TSB shareholders voted today on the proposed takeover of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) with 95.98% voting in favour of the deal. Shareholders also approved proposals to raise £5.5 billion by issuing new shares and special preference shares. The takeover will create a new banking giant called Lloyds Banking Group, which will comprise almost [...]
Lloyds TSB shareholders vote for HBOS takeover today
Shareholders in Lloyds TSB are to vote today on the proposed takeover of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS). Lloyds’ shareholders are expected to vote in favour of the takeover, which will create a new UK banking giant called Lloyds Banking Group, which will comprise almost 150,000 staff and 3,000 branches. However, not everyone has been [...]
