PATRICK CESCAU, chief executive of consumer products group Unilever, will this week deliver a defiant rejection of calls to return funds to shareholders.
Some investors have been pressing the Anglo-Dutch group to hand back cash through a special dividend or share buyback. But Cescau and Unilever's new finance director, Jim Lawrence, are expected to use Thursday's announcement of full-year results to spell out reasons why they want to hold on to cash in order to finance acquisitions.
Analysts believe that Unilever is likely to announce a final dividend of around 34p a share, making 51p for the year as a whole. Last year, Unilever spent 1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) buying back its own shares. It is unlikely to announce any significant increase in its share buyback programme for 2008.
Security firm in $100m float
A FORMER major in the Indian army is to float a security and facilities management group on AIM. Mortice, whose founder and executive chairman is former officer Manjit Rajain, will be valued at $100m (£51m) by the float, which is expected to be announced this week. Mortice provides executive guarding services to major corporations in India, with clients including Microsoft, Intel and IBM.
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Chelsfield backs Gener8
CHELSFIELD PARTNERS, the property company run by entrepreneurs Elliott Bernerd and Sir Stuart Lipton, is backing a new regeneration company called Gener8. Based in Manchester, it will be headed by the former boss of Amec's built environment division, John Early. He hopes to build a £1 billion pipeline of projects in two years. Chelsfield has taken a 50% stake.
Saudi hotels coup
ONE of the world's largest hoteliers, InterContinental Hotels Group, has signed a deal to take its Holiday Inn Express chain into Saudi Arabia for the first time. It has signed a franchise agreement with Siraj Capital to develop 12 new properties over five years.
BT in Slovenia move
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BT could hear this week if a consortium it is part of has won the right to buy half of Slovenia's state-owned telecoms operator. It has partnered private-equity groups Bain Capital and Axos Capital. They are competing against Icelandic telecoms group Skipti.
The investment for a 49% stake in Telekom Slovenia could cost 1.3 billion (£980m), but BT will not take an equity stake and instead act simply as a technology partner.