Corporate Finance

Credit Ratings: Hot Bond Markets, Amidst the Chill of Dodd-Frank

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:30:00 EDT

Corporate bond offerings are hot these days, despite Dodd-Frank’s confusing impact on bond activity. Issuers from Agilent to Target, lured by low long term rates, have recently...

M&A Terms: Reverse Takeovers Drive Forward

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EDT

Reverse takeovers are on the uptick, as is the legal complexity that rides alongside them, sometimes stopping them in their tracks. Fueling this is an increase in UK cash shells, and both LSE and AIM companies benefit…

IPO Watch: Surf’s Up at Lisboa Leisure

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EDT

In a too-good-not-to-be-true story, Lisboa Leisure, Inc. will conduct an initial public offering in hopes of realizing $32,000 in proceeds…

Li Ka-shing to Buy EDF's UK Grids for $9.1 bln

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EDT

Billionaire Li Ka-shing has offered to buy UK power grids from France's EDF for 5.8 billion pounds ($9.1 billion), giving his companies a foothold in more lucrative overseas markets...

Toyota Mulls Domestic Cash Incentive Plan

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:42:47 EDT

Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> is considering offering cash incentives of 50,000 yen ($580) per car to its dealers throughout Japan from Oct. 1, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported on Friday...

Volkswagen to Hoard Cash Ahead of Porsche Deals

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:26:40 EDT

Volkswagen will keep adding to its more than $20 billion cash pile as it girds for an acquisition spree that could help it overtake Toyota as the world's number one carmaker before the decade is out...

New Bank Metro Opens for Business

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:24:45 EDT

Metro Bank, Britain's first new High Street retail bank in more than 100 years, opened for business with high hopes of breaking into a sector shaken up by the global credit crisis...

Punj Lloyd unit amongst Firms Picked for Aramco Yanbu Refinery

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:00:00 EDT

Saudi Aramco has signed contracts with international firms to build a multi-billion dollar refinery at Yanbu on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast...

Malaysian Billionaire to Privatise Tanjong

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:20:28 EDT

Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan is set to buyout utilities and gaming company Tanjong Plc, the second of his listed firms in three days in a deal worth 4.4 billion ringgit ($1.38 billion)...

Egypt Developer SODIC bids for Cairo Suburb Land

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:41:24 EDT

Egyptian real estate firm SODIC, seeking new land near its flagship Allegria project, said it had bid for 410 feddans (426 acres) in the Cairo suburb of Sheikh Zayed City...

Offering Watch: For Israel’s Radvision, Cash is King

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:00:00 EDT

Contrary to other industries’ credit woes, Israel’s cash-laden Radvision has announced an offer to repurchase nearly a million of its shares representing 5% of the company’s voting power…

Global Agribusiness: Profit Takeaway Lost in Delivery

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:00:00 EDT

Somehow, the philosophy of ‘everyone’s gotta eat’ has not been translating into gushing profits for the world’s agribusiness conglomerates. Cutthroat competitors Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill and Bunge, among others, are reporting something in common to shareholders…

Substantial Issuer Bids: The Boom in Canadian Buybacks

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:15:00 EDT

Canadian issuers, including MDS, Genworth MI and ACE Canadian Holdings, are together spending billions buying back their own shares, a sign some view as evidence that…

Ageas Sells Turkish Insurance to BNP Paribas

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:30:05 EDT

Ageas, formerly known as Fortis, has agreed to sell its Turkish insurance business to BNP Paribas, a further step in the Belgium-based group's streamlining of its operations...

After the Canadian IPO: Share Sale Restrictions

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:30:00 EDT

After a sluggish 2009, the forecast for Canadian IPOs was supposed to have improved. Indeed, 2010 started out well. But when…

Shimao Property Says Plans to Sell Dollar Bonds

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:15:00 EDT

Chinese developer Shimao Property Holdings said it hired banks to help arrange a series of meetings with investors ahead of a planned dollar bond issue…

China Everbright Bank Gets Nod for Shanghai IPO

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:15:08 EDT

China Everbright Bank's plan to raise up to $2.9 billion in a Shanghai IPO has been approved by the securities regulator, two sources said, in what will be the latest Chinese bank to try and...

UK Says EU Must Not Intervene Directly in Domestic Banks

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:52:03 EDT

The European Union's new financial supervisory bodies should not be able to directly regulate a domestic bank, a government minister said...

Financing Watch: Chemical Maker Whips Up a Batch of Credit

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:30:00 EDT

In the latest bit of alchemy furthering the financial health of chemical makers, specialty chemical company Lubrizol Corporation recently whipped up a $500 million batch of credit with the help of…

IPO Watch: Ocado's Frustrated Flotation

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EDT

In one of the most controversial UK IPOs this year, Ocado has plowed ahead with its initial public offering, despite criticism over its market valuation and its last minute revisions to…

PRC Outbound Investment Tide in Tough Regulatory Seas

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:30:00 EDT

Much of the US$55 billion in outbound investment, invested in the first half of 2010 by Chinese entities, can be credited to agile corporate counsel. Navigating through the maze of China’s outbound investment laws, these lawyers…

Capitalisation Estimates for European Banks

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 04:39:20 EDT

With the results of stress tests on 91 European banks looming, financial institutions have been coming up with their own scenarios of what to expect...

UK-Business Summary

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 04:33:27 EDT

Several Spanish savings banks fail stress test - report...

Corporate Finance Watch: BP Sells Global Assets to Apache in $7 Billion Deal

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:00:00 EDT

BP is building up its war chest to confront the massive cash outlays it faces through a blockbuster deal to sell oil & gas properties in Egypt, Canada and the Permian Basin of Texas, to Apache Corp. for $ 7 billion...

M&A Watch: When Competition Comes Calling, Israel Techs Get Merging

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:15:00 EDT

Faced with overwhelming telecom competition, M&A provides a welcome respite. In their corner of VOIP, YMax Corp. and Israel’s VocalTec Communications Ltd. are...

JFE to Invest $1 Billion in India's JSW Steel

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:12:38 EDT

JFE Holdings Inc, Japan's second-biggest steelmaker, plans to invest about $1 billion in India's JSW Steel Ltd, Bloomberg reported, citing a person with knowledge of the deal...

State Bank of India Sells $1 Billion 5-Year Notes

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:39:47 EDT

The State Bank of India sold $1 billion of five-year notes, said IFR, a Thomson Reuters service...

Dubai World Ready to Use Tribunal for Debt Deal

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:18:34 EDT

Struggling state firm Dubai World is ready to use a special tribunal to force rebel lenders into line on plans to delay repayment of $14.4 billion in debts...

Minority Report: Buying Shares to Build Business

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:30:00 EDT

Global companies, take note of the Agricultural Bank of China’s neat ruse to improve the prospects of its recent Hong Kong IPO…

Online Game Technology-Maker Amaya in C$5 Million IPO

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:46:26 EDT

Amaya Gaming Group, a Montreal-based developer of technologies for online gambling, said it raised C$5 million ($4.81 million) in an initial public offering it made to finance growth...

PRC Hot Topic: Businesses Lament Early Real Estate Winter

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:30:00 EDT

In the PRC’s highly regulated economy, listed companies and business not directly in the real estate sector can be intimately affected by regulatory changes such as those pertaining to zoning and land-use…

SEC Knew About Repos Accounting Before Lehman

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:26:33 EDT

The U.S. securities regulator was aware of Wall Street's potentially questionable accounting practice of classifying repurchase agreements as sales instead of borrowings long before the...

China Watch: Xinhua Refinances for Hollywood Action

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:30:00 EDT

U.S. and Chinese media companies have at least thing in common – no it’s not their love of kung fu movies. Companies on both sides of the Pacific are restructuring…

Etisalat to Spend $163 Million on Sri Lanka Expansion

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:27:54 EDT

Emirates Telecommunication Corp., the Arab world's second-largest telecom operator by market value, said on Tuesday it will invest $163 million in an expansion of its Sri Lankan network...

UK-Business Summary

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:28:41 EDT

Ireland to auction bonds after Moody's downgrade...

Tata Steel in Talks to Refinance $5.4 Billion in Loans

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 20:42:48 EDT

India's Tata Steel has started talks with lenders including Citigroup to refinance as much as 3.5 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) in loans for its British unit, Bloomberg reported...

Etisalat Close to Buying 26 Percent in Reliance Comm

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:45:40 EDT

Emirates Telecommunications (Etisalat) is close to buying 26 percent in telecoms firm Reliance Communications...

Bombardier Pins Qatar Issue on Engines

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:26:26 EDT

Bombardier is ready to sell its new C-series passenger jet to Qatar Airways but is waiting on Qatar to sort out problems with engine maker Pratt & Whitney...

Moody's Downgrades Ireland

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:02:04 EDT

Moody's downgraded Ireland's sovereign bond rating by one notch to Aa2, citing weaker growth prospects and the high costs of rebuilding the country's crisis-hit banking system...

Restructuring: From the Poorhouse to the Penthouse

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:00:00 EDT

Companies once crying poverty and filing for bankruptcy are quickly turning around and giving their stakeholders a payday, moving out of the poorhouse into the penthouse…

India: Western Capital Meets Eastern Promise

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EDT

India is gaining new corporate renown as, via acquisitions and exchanges, its companies migrate worldwide…

Khazanah May up Parkway Offer to Stare Down Fortis

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:08:42 EDT

Malaysian state investor Khazanah may have to pay more than S$4.00 a share for Singapore's Parkway, or at least 3.1 percent above its share price to ward off rival bidder Fortis Healthcare...

Emirates to Place $5 Billion Boeing Order

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:14:05 EDT

Emirates airline is set to place a $5 billion order for 20 Boeing 777 wide-body jets...

With AIA IPO Back On, Underwriter Guessing Game Begins

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 06:15:00 EDT

Even before bankers can finish celebrating the completion of Agricultural Bank of China's roughly $20 billion offer, they're preparing for an invite to another major IPO party…

Citigroup and AIG Classified Certain Repos as Sales

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:29:34 EDT

Citigroup Inc and AIG classified more than $11 billion in loans as sales in the second half of 2009, masking the companies' risk levels, filings with the U.S. Securities regulator showed....

UK-Business Summary

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:31:15 EDT

Wall Street reform clears Congress...

Deal Watch: Madison Square Garden Scores With Turner Construction

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 03:00:00 EDT

Turner Construction Company has scored a deal with Madison Square Garden, LP to manage the transformation of the Madison Square Garden Arena and the...

Offering Watch: Defining “Public” in Malaysian IPOs

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:15:00 EDT

A newly hatched Malaysian IPO demonstrates the lure of iconic American brands, yet in a decidedly un-American style offering...

Emerging Markets: The British are Coming

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:15:00 EDT

Buy shares in a leading British company and you might be buying more than you bargained for, as emerging market deals come into play…

Egypt's Naguib Sawiris Eyes Poland, Serbia

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:48:08 EDT

Weather Investments, the holding company of Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, is considering a move into Poland and Serbia after the success of its mobile operations in Italy...

Spain Sells 2025 Bond at Top of Range, Yields Rise

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:19:17 EDT

Spain sold 3 billion euros ($3.8 billion) of a 15-year benchmark bond, at the top end of the Treasury's target range, following previous successful auctions in euro zone periphery countries this week...

Governance Watch: Boardroom Dogfight at Israel’s Magal

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EDT

A group of former Israeli Air Force fighter pilots has taken a dogfight to the boardroom as Israel’s Magal Security Systems braces for a potentially bruising proxy battle…

Nakheel Outlines Debt Plan to Bank Lenders

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:33:35 EDT

Debt-laden Dubai property developer Nakheel outlined detailed terms of its plans to repay bank lenders, asking them to respond to the proposal by August 31...

Tata Steel Denies $2 Billion Fund Raising Report

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:46:24 EDT

Tata Steel denied a media report the company was planning to raise about $2 billion through fresh equity over the next quarter to help fund expansion. "Nothing at this point"...

Healthcare and Generics: Deals and Drugs on Fast Track

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:30:00 EDT

Major pharmaceutical deals, like those involving Teva and Pfizer, are unfolding under the twin pressures of healthcare reform in the U.S. and downward price pressure on...

PRC Hot Topic: Travel Industry Changes Kick Start M&A Holiday

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:30:00 EDT

Summer is turning up the heat in the northern hemisphere. As travelers are packing their bags, legal counsel of PRC hospitality and travel companies have been…

Israel's BioLineRx Readies NASDAQ Share Offer

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:08:08 EDT

Israeli drug development company BioLineRx is planning a share offering on U.S. exchange NASDAQ...

Corporate Finance Watch: Harry & David’s Amend & Extend Gift

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:30:00 EDT

Gift basket retailer Harry & David recently amended its existing credit agreement, extending the maturity date and reducing the size of the facility…

Guest Analysis: Chinese Developments in Anti-Monopoly Filings Part II

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:30:00 EDT

Under China’s Anti-Monopoly Law and the Filing Thresholds Regulations, the State Council has delegated to MOFCOM the right to investigate…

Citi Confirms Sale of Private Equity Unit

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:00:09 EDT

Citigroup Inc said it agreed to sell its private equity unit to StepStone Group LLC and Lexington Partners...

Borders to Sell Paperchase for $31 Million

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:42:57 EDT

Borders Group Inc said that it had agreed to sell a British-based retailer of stationery, cards and gifts to Primary Capital Ltd for about $31 million (20.5 million pounds)...

Florida Banks Seek Reprieve From New Capital Rules

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 05:03:14 EDT

Banks in Florida are requesting that U.S. federal regulators exempt them from mandatory higher capital requirements because they...

European IPOs: Gambling on Business Risk

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:00:00 EDT

Whilst stock market wobbles continue to disrupt the IPO plans of many, a few surprisingly risky companies have managed to get their equity issues off the ground recently…

Dubai World to Meet Creditors July 22

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 08:29:56 EDT

Troubled state conglomerate Dubai World has invited creditors to a July 22 meeting to offer details on its multi-billion dollar debt restructuring, the first session to include all lenders since December 2009...

Six Groups Bid for Mecca-Medina Rail Stations

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 05:41:53 EDT

German transport group Deutsche Bahn, Italy's Astaldi and British firm WS Atkins are among companies bidding to build four stations along a 450-km (280 mile) railway in Saudi Arabia...

M&A Watch: China's Lenovo Gets Linkage

Fri, 9 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EDT

Lenovo-affiliate and tech giant AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc. just completed its merger with Linkage Technologies Holdings…

Dubai's Lossmaking DHCOG Extends $555 Million Loan

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 09:37:39 EDT

Dubai Holding's main unit will not be repaying a loan due on Thursday, saying lenders have agreed to extend the $555 million credit, underscoring worries that Dubai's debt woes are far from over...

Corporate Finance Watch: Tech Industry Tapping the Credit Keg

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 03:00:00 EDT

The lending gap for startups and small companies is disappearing, at least for a lucky few. Since the financial crisis, smaller and riskier companies such as…

Istithmar Sells 6.9 Percent in SpiceJet

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 02:14:25 EDT

Dubai's Istithmar sold its 6.9 percent stake in low-cost carrier SpiceJet for $25.3 million...

Guest Analysis: Chinese Developments in Anti-Monopoly Filings Part I

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EDT

In early November, 2009, the merger-control regulator of the People’s Republic of China, the Anti-Monopoly Bureau under the Ministry of Commerce, announced…

ICBC Could Raise $6.6 Billion in China Bank Funding Drive

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 02:46:30 EDT

ICBC, the world's most valuable lender, may raise up to $6.6 billion in new funding, sources said, joining Agricultural Bank of China, which priced its IPO to be the world's largest, in a rush to raise billions of dollars...

S&P Upgrades Qatar and Qatar Petroleum to 'AA'

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 11:34:51 EDT

Rating agency Standard & Poor's on Monday upgraded Qatar's sovereign credit rating and state-controlled Qatar Petroleum to 'AA' from 'AA-', citing the gas-rich Gulf Arab state's strong growth prospects...

Backdating Backlash: Comverse Comes Full Circle With Settlement

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EDT

Just when companies welcomed a sign that the SEC might be backing down on its backdating pursuit, the hammer of the plaintiffs’ bar has struck a blow for corporate transparency…

Credit Watch: Closing the GAAP to IFRS

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 01:00:00 EDT

The clock is ticking for the switch-over of Canadian public issuers to IFRS. With just six months to go, a relatively innocuous filing by Capital Power Income…

Saudi Airlines' Catering Unit Eyes IPO by March 2011

Sun, 4 Jul 2010 09:49:28 EDT

Saudi Arabian Catering Co, a unit of Saudi Airlines (Saudia), is eyeing a bourse listing by March 2011, while its ground handling unit will merge in July with two other firms...

BP Could Get Backing From Mideast Firms

Sun, 4 Jul 2010 02:17:05 EDT

Troubled oil giant BP could get a reprieve from Middle East financial institutions looking to make a strategic investment in the company...

Egypt's Mobinil Signs Off on Purchase of OT Internet

Sat, 3 Jul 2010 03:49:48 EDT

Mobinil shareholders approved the $130-million purchase of two internet assets from major shareholder Orascom Telecom...

Bank of China Plans Rights Issue for $8.8 Billion

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 08:20:40 EDT

Bank of China Ltd, China's No.4 lender, plans to raise up to 60 billion yuan ($8.8 billion) through a rights offer, the company said in a statement...

Abu Dhabi's Aabar Launches $2 Billion Loan

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 06:30:25 EDT

Abu Dhabi investment vehicle Aabar Investments has launched syndication of a $2 billion loan that will mature on May 21, 2013...

Lagardere to IPO Canal+ Stake After Vivendi Impasse

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 04:03:39 EDT

French media groups Lagardere and Vivendi failed to agree on the price for a 20 percent stake in leading French pay television group Canal+ France, and the stake will now be sold in an initial public offering...

Debt Watch: Virgin Courts Bondholders With Note Refinancing

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 02:30:00 EDT

Virgin Media has set the scene for possible share buy-backs, dividends or capital investments by putting itself in rude financial health with a…

Private Equity Watch: Blue Square’s Propco-Opco Spinoff

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 00:15:00 EDT

The private equity gambit of asset-shifting continues to find opportunistic participants…

AgBank HK Offer 10 Times Oversubscribed by Institutions

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 04:13:50 EDT

Agricultural Bank of China's Hong Kong share offering has been more than 10 times oversubscribed by institutional investors, signalling their healthy interest in the dual-market listing that could end up...

Barclays Sets Up Swiss Corp Bond Syndicate Team

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 03:44:34 EDT

Barclays Capital said it had set up a new syndicate bond, sales and trading team in Zurich to bolster its presence in the Swiss bond market...

Indonesia Works Overtime: State as Regulator-Competitor

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 00:30:00 EDT

When the government both competes and regulates, the outcome of the competition should rarely be in doubt…

Nakheel Starts 40 Percent Cash Payments to Creditors

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:33:50 EDT

Troubled Dubai developer Nakheel said it has started making cash payments to trade creditors, in the second phase of a repayment schedule, and is restarting several projects put on hold during the downturn...

Indosat Extends Debt Buyback Offer Period

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:47:58 EDT

Indonesian telecommunications company PT Indosat said that it has extended the deadline for holders of its debt due in 2010 and 2012 to accept its offer to buy back the bonds...

Israel Oil Refineries Gets $600 Million Syndicated Loan

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:30:29 EDT

Oil Refineries Ltd, Israel's largest oil refinery, and a syndicate of local banks led by Bank Hapoalim signed an agreement for a loan of $600 million...