Financial News

HILTON Group, the hotel and gambling operator, confirmed yesterday it is in advanced talks with Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC) of the US about a £3.6 billion sale of its hotel business, in a deal that would see it split from Ladbrokes, the UK bookmaker the group owns. The deal could reunite the two Hilton hotel companies, split in 1964. Hilton Group said talks were going on, but declined to giv ...

BLUE-chips recovered from their six-week low yesterday as investors checked into the hotels sector on the back of multi-billion pound talks at Hilton. Shares in the UK company surged more than 13 per cent amid speculation that US-based Hilton Hotels Corporation was willing to pay £3.6 billion for its hotels in a move that would reunite the group after 41 years. The news boosted other hotel sto ...

LAST Christmas, Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan sat down with his 12-year-old daughter in front of the family computer. The plan was to save money on his gas and electricity bill - something he spends a lot of his working life urging other people to do. "I wanted to see just how easy it was," says the energy regulator supremo. "And it was very straightforward. We sat down in front of the ...

By Trevor Datson LONDON (Reuters) - Somerfield Plc, Britain's fifth-biggest supermarket group, has agreed to a 1.1 billion pound offer from a consortium led by buyout firm Apax, bringing a protracted takeover saga towards an end. The consortium, which also includes Barclays Capital and property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz, said it will pay 197 pence a share for the retailer. The agreement was annou ...