Challenger energy firm Ovo is plotting a takeover of SSE (SSE) domestic supply business in a deal that will create a new rival to British Gas. Ovo, which last reported annual profits of £6million, is understood to have offered £250million to its much bigger rival as well as additional payments that so far remain secret. If successful, the ambitious move would bring more than 7million households under the enlarged firm – second only to British Gas’s 12million – and allow SSE to offload its troubled electricity and gas supply business which has been haemorrhaging customers. Ovo is still majority controlled by former City financier Fitzpatrick, according to Companies House, but Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation bought a 20 per cent stake in May. That deal valued Ovo at £1billion, compared with SSE’s market capitalisation of about £11.2billion. SSE said in May that it was putting its household energy supply business up for sale after revealing it had shed 570,000 customers in just a year. It will focus on generating renewable energy and its power networks instead.
Lady Cobham has blasted the planned US takeover of Cobham (COB) saying it puts the UK’s national security at risk and should be stopped by the Government. The widow of Sir Michael Cobham, who built up the firm over 25 years – said the proposed £4billion takeover by private equity firm Advent International would place in jeopardy ‘important high-tech jobs’. In her first major interview Lady Cobham, 76, spoke of her anguish over the ‘opportunistic’ bid for the family firm – and warned that it threatened the Royal Air Force’s access to Cobham’s mid-flight refuelling systems, which were vital during the Falklands war. Sources also warned that Cobham runs training exercises for the Royal Navy and RAF which are a key part of the UK’s war readiness.
Another vulture fund has attacked Burford Capital (BUR) just days after the embattled legal firm’s share price was cut in half. Notorious short-seller Gotham City Research said the litigation finance specialist had ‘an absurdly high valuation’ and revealed it had bet against the shares last year. It comes after fellow US predator Muddy Waters published a damning 25-page dossier on Burford last week that criticised its accounting practices – sending its shares plummeting. London-listed Burford has hit back and threatened to sue, accusing Muddy Waters of making ‘false and misleading’ statements.
The embattled boss of Burford Capital (BUR) is assembling a team of lawyers to fight back against the hedge fund whose criticism cut his company’s value in half. Chris Bogart, co-founder of the lawsuit funder, warned US raider Muddy Waters that its attack earlier this week potentially amounted to ‘market manipulation’ and that his firm is preparing to take legal action. The 53-year-old told the Mail that Muddy Waters had picked a battle with the wrong business when it accused Burford of misleading investors through ‘Enron-esque’ accounting.
The former boss of Superdry (SDRY) will get £1million after he was ousted in a brutal boardroom showdown with founder Julian Dunkerton. Euan Sutherland resigned in protest along with the rest of the fashion firm’s board when Dunkerton’s battle to rejoin the company was backed by shareholders in April. But the 50-year-old is in line for a lucrative termination package worth £867,522 in pay and another £138,000 in share awards, the annual report published yesterday shows. This is on top of £9.7million he has been paid as chief executive since 2015.
Struggling travel group Thomas Cook Group (TCG) was last night said to be seeking £150million from investors in rescue talks. The cash injection would be on top of a recent £750million package provided by its major shareholder, Chinese firm Fosun Tourism, and its lenders, according to the Financial Times. The 178-year-old company, which has been hit by fading demand for its package holidays, plans to use the proceeds to help bolster its tour operating business. It reportedly discussed the proposals at a meeting in the City yesterday, with parties working towards a deal that would be finalised in September.
MIDAS SHARE TIPS: Backer of cab firm Bolt could give profits a lift. Midas verdict: An AIM company run by Russian entrepreneurs investing in private tech firms will not suit every investor. But the tech sector is booming and TMT Investments (TMT) has shown a knack for seeking out success stories. The stock is traded in dollars, as this is the currency in which TMT does most of its business. But investors can buy shares using pounds and pence, and brokers will simply convert the cash into dollars. At $3.69, this could be a rewarding punt for the adventurous investor.
