Financial News

LONDON (Dow Jones) -- The battle for BAA Plc intensified on Monday as the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said its funds management unit has joined a Goldman Sachs-led consortium mulling a bid for the U.K. airport operator. The news came as Spanish construction firm Grupo Ferrovial SA faces a deadline of midnight on Monday to make a final takeover offer for the operator of London's Heathrow, Gat ...

Jeff Prestridge, Mail on Sunday5 June 2006 THE number of building societies is shrinking as merger mania grips the sector, but it is not stopping the pay of chief executives from continuing to go through the roof. BIG PAY RISE: Andrew Messenger with other West Brom directors OTHER STORIES Banks in pledge to cut charges Fury at Lombard's surprise rate cut New on the market Power failure shuts down Abbey Make your money travel further USEFUL SAVINGS LINKS EMAIL ...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's best-known shareholder activist, fund manager Yoshiaki Murakami, said on Monday that there was almost no question that he would be charged with insider trading and would resign immediately from his fund. Murakami said that after discussions with prosecutors he had decided that his actions in connection with a high-profile takeover battle last year initiated by Livedoor C ...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. (CBA.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) said its funds management arm is part of a Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) consortium that may bid 10 billion pounds for airports owner BAA Plc (BAA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) . BAA turned down an informal approach from Goldman earlier this year, and the U.S. investment bank has until June 9 to launch a rival offer to the 9.73 billion pound bid launched on Friday by Spain's Grupo Ferrovi ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Australia's Macquarie Bank Ltd (MBL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) is set to sell its 75 percent stake in Britain's South East Water in favour of larger UK water utility Thames Water, according to one media report. The Independent on Sunday reported that the Australian bank plans to offload South East Water for around 400 million pounds in order to avoid competition issues as i ...

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The head of Mittal Steel (ISPA.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) was quoted on Saturday as saying he would not share takeover target Arcelor (CELR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) which is trying to escape his 25 billion euro (17 billion pound) bid by lining up a "white knight." The International Herald Tribune reported Lakshmi Mittal had dismissed the idea of taking a minority stake in Arcelor alongside Russian steel magnate Alexei Mordashov. A combination of Mittal Steel and  ...