Hints and tips:
...Earlier this year BAE appointed Charles Woodburn, former chief executive of oil services group Expro International, as chief operating officer and heir apparent to Mr King....
...The offering, led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, could swell to $253.6m if underwriters purchase additional shares in a so-called greenshoe offering....
...The Aim-quoted expro tiddler just struck oil off Cork. Its shares have tripled, capitalising it at €286m, twice INM’s worth....
...But the most crucial investment for Candover is Expro International, the oil and gas services group it bought for £1.8bn in 2008, which accounted for 30 per cent of its portfolio by value at the end of last...
...Candover’s future is likely to hinge on how well it sells off what is left in its investment portfolio, which includes Expro International, the oil and gas services group; Hilding Anders, the Swedish bedmaker...
...The notion that “the Americans are coming”, with the prospect of high-premium contested takeovers reviving a trend that saw UK companies such as Enodis, the industrial catering equipment maker, and Expro...
...Candover has been advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Lexicon Partners....
...To date this year, B-rated bonds have delivered total returns of 48 per cent, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indices. Their European peers, a smaller group, have returned 80 per cent....
...The only investment by the new fund was Expro, the oil-field services group, which was bought last year for £1.8bn by a Candover-led consortium....
...institutional investors including Blackrock, UBS and JPMorgan, perhaps helped by the presence as chairman of the board of Chris Fay, former chairman and chief executive of Shell UK and former director of Expro...
...Both Halliburton and Mason Capital, a US hedge fund that held a 7.1 per cent stake in Expro, were represented in the High Court as counsel argued “shareholder democracy’’ justified postponing any sanctioning...
...Expro shares hit a high of £16.40 earlier in the day – 25p more than the consortium’s £16.15 recommended offer – as traders bet that a hearing, originally expected to rubber-stamp Expro’s sale, might be...
...Halliburton locked horns with the UK’s Takeover Panel on Monday over its failed attempt to kick-start an auction for Expro International, as the High Court postponed its approval of the sale of the UK oil...
...Shares in Expro are expected to be traded for the last time on Friday, ahead of a second hearing on Monday that will officially confirm the end of Expro’s existence as a quoted company....
...Expro shares rose 48p to £16.63. Expro said it was still in discussions with Halliburton. The US oilfield services group said it was still considering its options....
...As if to underscore the importance of the issue, representatives of the panel were in the High Court for yesterday’s Expro hearing....
...Expro, in response to the adjournment, said it now hoped to clear the first court hearing on Wednesday, with a second hearing set for Friday. Expro shares closed 45p, or 2.7 per cent, down at £16.32....
...Its offer valued Expro at £1.6bn, including £200m debt. The board of Expro were meeting Thursday night to consider the rival bid....
...US energy services giant Halliburton is this week expected to decide whether to launch a formal £1.8bn counter-offer for UK rival Expro International, reports the Daily Telegraph....
...A private equity consortium beat Halliburton this year with a bid to pay $3.6bn for Expro International....
...It urged Expro shareholders to take no action. The US group launched its own counter bid of £15.25 a share yesterday morning....
...The panel, at risk of ceding authority to the courts, emerged triumphant from a hearing that denied Halliburton the chance to make a late bid for Expro, a smaller UK-based oil services group....
...The move comes weeks after Expro agreed a £14.35 a share cash offer from Umbrellastream, which valued Expro at £1.6bn, including £200m debt....
...Expro shares rose 4p on Friday at £15.45....
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