THE investment bank CSFB has been hired by the Department of Trade and Industry to help advise on a £2 billion rights issue at Royal Mail. The details of this cash-raising have now been lodged with the government and will be examined by experts at the investment bank. Part of the proceeds will be used to reduce the postal group’s £2.5 billion pension deficit. The restructuring proposal includes giving 20% of Royal Mail’s equity to its workers.
Advertisement
Field narrows in Kiley succession
A SUCCESSOR to Bob Kiley, Transport for London’s controversial American boss who leaves at the end of the month, is expected to be named this week. Transport industry sources said the field of candidates has narrowed to Jay Walder, TFL’s finance chief, and Peter Hendy, who runs London’s buses. The new commissioner will be in place until the 2012 Olympic Games.
Advertisement
Interpublic sues ad man Lowe
Advertisement
SIR FRANK LOWE, the man behind London’s annual Stella Artois tennis tournament, was this weekend served with a legal action by his former employer, the American marketing-services group Interpublic. Lowe, one of Britain’s best-known ad men, is accused of using confidential information from the Interpublic-owned agency Lowe Worldwide to lure staff and clients to an agency he set up late last year.
The new agency has already scooped the prestigious Tesco account, worth millions of pounds a year in income, from Lowe, the latest in a series of blows to Interpublic, which has been forced to restate earnings at hundreds of its subsidiaries.
A statement from the American company said this weekend: “Frank Lowe sold his agency to Interpublic in 1990 for tens of millions of dollars and subsequently received many times that amount in financial support and resources.” He could not be reached for comment.
Advertisement
Johnson & Johnson closes on Guidant
Advertisement
THE medical-device maker Guidant has accepted an increased $24.2 billion takeover offer from Johnson & Johnson, the baby-lotion maker, despite having earlier received a higher offer from Boston Scientific.
Guidant said late on Friday night that it preferred the lower offer because it thought a deal with Johnson & Johnson could be concluded more quickly. Unlike the bid from its rival, Johnson & Johnson’s proposal has already cleared a competition review.
It remains to be seen whether Boston Scientific will come back with a higher offer. It has already raised its bid once in an effort to edge out Johnson & Johnson, which has been stalking Guidant since December 2004.
Care group close to clinching sale
BARCLAYS PRIVATE EQUITY is believed to be the frontrunner to acquire the care-homes group Robinia for about £85m. The mid-market firm, which has done a number of healthcare-related deals, is said to be in detailed talks to buy the business from its current owner, Bridgepoint Capital, after seeing off competition from a number of other potential buyers.
Robinia specialises in providing care for people with learning difficulties, an increasingly popular sector for private-equity groups. A deal could be announced within the next fortnight.