Hints and tips:
...Rexam, which dates from 1881 when it was known as Bowater, started as a London paper company, diversifying into banking, furniture and insurance....
...The £3bn company, which has its roots in the old Bowater paper and packaging empire, has been a nice little earner so far this year, outperforming the FTSE All-Share index by about 8 percentage points....
...The story: AbitibiBowater is the world’s biggest producer of newsprint, formed after the 2007 merger of Abitibi and Bowater. Abitibi was founded in 1912 by Frank Harris Anson....
...Even Abitibi’s stronger competitors face an uphill climb in currently frothy debt markets....
...An agreement on Bowater debt is needed before the company can go ahead with plans to restructure debt in its Abitibi unit....
...The Canadian company had spent weeks seeking a way to reduce some $2.4bn of that debt, much of which was incurred when Abitibi Consolidated and Bowater merged in 2007....
...AbitibiBowater was formed in 2007 with the merger of Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater, which created a newsprint giant but also saddled the company with significant debt just as the drop in demand for newsprint...
...Abitibi , which filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday, ran into trouble as the dire state of the newspaper industry eroded its cash flow and left it unable to service its debt load....
...For a while it looked as if Abitibi could muddle through....
...The new company will be owned 52 per cent by former Bowater shareholders and 48 per cent by Abitibi investors....
...In the newsprint industry Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater announced a merger. Shares in Bowater jumped 24 per cent to $27.44, and Abitibi rose 26 per cent to $3.33....
...In 1920 Bowater moved into newsprint and by the 1950s it was diversifying into packaging and tissues....
...In the newsprint industry, Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater said they would merge, sending shares in Bowater up 24.6 per cent to $27.60, while Abitibi rose 19.3 per cent to $3.15....
...“It is hard to muster too much investment enthusiasm for Deere, Textron, Bowater, UPS or Freeport McMoRan, given that we have concerns about a variety of companies serving what appear to be weakening end...
...■Age 63 ■Education Abitur, MBA Manchester Business School ■First job management trainee, Commerzbank ■Career highlights 1970-74 Inghams Travel 1974-1976 Bank of America International 1976-1988 Bowater...
...Before that, he led IT for the Canadian division of Bowater....
...The flats at Bowater House, designed by Lord Rogers of Riverside, will be decorated ostentatiously with expensive marble, crystal and exotic woods. “The finish is second to none,” says Nick Candy....
...Bowater, the biggest US newsprint maker, was forced to cut production this year to push through increases....
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