16th Sep 2015 10:14
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Wednesday.
----------
COMPANIES
----------
SABMiller said rival drinks company Anheuser-Busch InBev intends to make a proposal to acquire the business, with the latter also confirming it has made an approach. The FTSE 100-listed brewer and soft drinks company, which makes Grolsch, Peroni and Coors beers, is the world's second-largest brewer behind Belgium-based AB InBev. AB InBev has around 200 brands in its portfolio, including Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois. SABMiller's market capitalisation is GBP58.94 billion, compared to EUR163.91 billion, or GBP119.44 billion, for AB InBev.
----------
Glencore said it has raised USD2.50 billion after placing shares with institutional investors and the company's own senior management. The multi-commodity miner and trader had late Tuesday announced its intention to raise USD2.50 billion, or USD1.60 billion through the placing of 1.31 billion shares. On Wednesday, Glencore confirmed the price per share was 125.0 pence. Shares in Glencore closed up 0.1% at 128.05 pence on Tuesday and were quoted at 127.45p Wednesday.
----------
JD Sports Fashion reported growth in profit in the first half of its financial year, boosted by strong sales growth in sports fashion, and said that trading so far in the second half as been positive. The retailer, which also sells outdoor clothing, reported a rise in pretax profit in the 26 weeks ended August 1 of GBP44.7 million from GBP23.7 million in the same period the year before, as revenue grew 21% to GBP809.9 million from GBP670.3 million. JD will pay an interim dividend of 1.20 pence, up 4.3% on the 1.15p it paid the prior year.
----------
Outsourcer Serco Group said it has struck a deal to sell its offshore private-sector business-process outsourcing operations to a fund managed by private equity house Blackstone for around GBP250.0 million. The consideration comprises GBP220.0 million in cash and a GBP30.0 million loan note, Serco said, and the deal is expected to complete by the end of 2015. The company said its overall exit from the private-sector business-process outsourcing space should be broadly earnings neutral on a pro-forma basis in 2015.
----------
Construction and housebuilding group Galliford Try said its pretax profit pushed higher in the first half as its revenue grew on the back of strong performances on both of its main divisions. The company said its pretax profit for year to the end of June was GBP114.0 million, up from GBP95.2 million a year earlier, as its revenue increased to GBP2.35 billion from GBP1.77 billion. Including the contribution from its joint ventures, revenue was up to GBP2.43 billion from GBP1.85 billion. Galliford Try raised its final dividend to 46.00 pence per share, meaning its total dividend increases to 68.00 pence, up 28% year-on-year.
----------
Marwyn Value Investors said it has struck a deal with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to sell its remaining stake in media company Entertainment One. Marwyn will sell its 17.9% stake in Entertainment One for GBP142.4 million via the Marwyn Value Investors LP fund, which will result in the company getting GBP103.4 million from the sale. Marwyn will return GBP10.0 million to shareholders following the sale and will use the rest to back its existing investment portfolio and make further acquisitions.
----------
MARKETS
----------
UK indices were trading higher, with SABMiller shares leaping 20% after confirmation that Anheuser-Busch InBev, the owner of Budweiser and Becks, has informed it that it intends to make a takeover bid. The crucial two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting gets underway later Wednesday as investors anticipate its US interest rate decision on Thursday.
----------
FTSE 100: up 0.9% at 6,193.00
FTSE 250: up 0.3% at 17,011.50
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 737.11
----------
The pound spiked against the dollar as the UK unemployment rate declined in the three months to July and wage growth hit a six-year high, supporting expectations that the Bank of England may raise its benchmark interest rate early next year.
----------
GBP: up at USD1.5406
EUR: down at USD1.1234
GOLD: up at USD1109.35 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD48.40 a barrel
(changes since end of previous GMT day)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
UK wage growth hit a six-year high and the unemployment rate declined in three months to July, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Pay excluding bonuses increased 2.9% from the same period of last year, which was the fastest since 2009. Total pay including bonuses also advanced 2.9%. In three months to July, the ILO jobless rate came in at 5.5%, compared to 5.6% in three months to June. It was expected to remain at 5.6%.
----------
Eurozone inflation slowed to 0.1% in August from 0.2% in July, final data from Eurostat showed. The rate for August was revised down from 0.2%. Inflation remains well below the European Central Bank's target of 'below, but close to, 2% over the medium term'.
----------
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Austrian counterpart demanded a EU summit next week to deal with Europe's migration crisis. "This problem can only be solved by Europe as a whole," she said, after emerging from talks with Austrian Prime Minister Werner Faymann. They pressed EU President Donald Tusk in a phone call to convene an "emergency council meeting" on the divisive issue, Merkel said.
----------
Municipal and regional government leaders from the US and China pledged to fight climate change at the state and local level, in a joint declaration signed on the first day of a two-day summit in Los Angeles. The US-China Climate Leaders' Declaration committed mayors and governors from US and Chinese cities, states and provinces to work together to set their own climate agendas, reporting local greenhouse gas emissions and setting ambitious targets to cut them.
----------
The US rejected the renewed call from Russian President Vladimir Putin to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying it was "destabilizing and counterproductive". White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the US would prefer to see more "constructive engagement" from Russia with the 60-member US-led coalition focused on degrading and destroying Islamic State.
----------
By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]; @ArvindBhunjun
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Entertainment OneGalliford TrySercoMarwyn Val.GlencoreJD SportsSAB.L