Merchant Equity Partners
is not expected to finalise a bid for the MFI furniture chain until the end of this week, at the earliest, according to sources close to the deal. The private equity firm is thrashing out a deal in which it would pay a nominal sum for the MFI chain. The two sides are also discussing who will take on MFI’s debts, which are thought to be up to £100 million.
ArmorGroup role
Andrew Fulton, a former head of MI6 in Washington, has joined ArmorGroup, the protection and defence group, as its corporate strategy adviser. Mr Fulton, who was revealed as a spy in 2000 and forced to step down from the Lockerbie Commission, will develop new openings in the security consulting market.
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SMG challenge
Rob Woodward, the former Channel 4 executive, is lining up a cash bid for SMG, the owner of Virgin Radio, to counter a merger offer from UTV, the Northern Irish owner of the radio station TalkSport. Mr Woodward is thought to have teamed up with former Scottish Radio Holdings boss Richard Findlay.
Belgravia aims at Newcastle
The Jersey-based Belgravia Group has emerged as the latest hedge fund to be interested in acquiring control of Newcastle United Football Club. The investment group, headed by the fund managers Ron Mitchell and Duncan Hickman, is believed to be in talks with Sir John Hall, the former chairman of Newcastle United, who wants to sell his 28.8 per cent stake, and his son, Douglas, who remains a director and holds a 12 per cent stake. Freddy Shepherd, Newcastle’s current chairman, has resisted approaches to sell his 28 per cent holding and has been increasing his stake.
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Bankrupt women
Women make up an increasing proportion of people declaring themselves bankrupt, according to a survey from accountant Wilkins Kennedy. They account for 44 per cent of the total, up from 32 per cent in 2000. If trends continue, half the people going through the process by the end of the decade will be female.
Powerfuel deal
The biggest order for coalmining equipment for decades has been signed by a company re-opening a colliery, safeguarding hundreds of jobs. Powerfuel will spend £37 million on state-of-the-art machinery to be used at the Hatfield pit near Doncaster.
German recovery
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The German economy will continue its “dynamic” recovery and could grow at 2 per cent or more this year, Axel Weber, a European Central Bank council member, said in a newspaper interview. “The economic recovery . . . will continue in dynamic fashion,” he told Bild.
Chinese tally
Only 220 of the 500 biggest manufacturing enterprises in China — less than half — are state-owned, the Xinhua news agency has reported, citing a National Bureau of Statistics study. The rest are collective enterprises, which may involve some degree of government control, or private companies.
AIM oil stocks dip
The value of junior oil and gas shares on AIM fell 11 per cent in the second quarter despite continuing strong oil prices, according to the Ernst & Young Oil & Gas EYe, the index tracking such companies’ fortunes. The fall masked sharply differing performances by individual stocks.
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Phones on hold
Saudi Arabia’s telecoms regulator has decided to delay, from this year to next, ending a monopoly on fixed-line services and issuing a third mobile licence, an official said. The Communications and Information Technology Commission official said: “It should take place next year.”