Private equity group 3i Group PLC (LON:III) announced it is combining its Growth Capital business, which acquires small stakes in companies, with the Buyout business to form one Private Equity business. This will mean that 3i has two distinct business lines, Infrastructure and Private Equity. As discussed at the year-end, 3i also continues to explore expansion into adjacent areas such as debt management.
Invensys PLC (LON:ISYS) said its train control and signalling business Invensys Rail has entered into significant agreements with a division of CSR Corporation Ltd (CSR), a Chinese manufacturer of rolling stock.
Cost cutting and an improvement in the DIY market were the two major factors behind better-than-expected first half results from B&Q owner Kingfisher (LON:KGF) The retailer posted pre-tax profits of £354 million – a rise of 23 per cent. This was around £12 million ahead of analysts’ forecasts.
United Business Media (LON:UBM) said it is paying US$287 million for trade shows firm Canon Communications. It is buying the business from Spectrum Equity Investors and Appraise Media, and the deal is the biggest of chief executive David Levin’s tenure.
Kesa Electricals PLC (LON:KESA), the electrical retailer that owns Comet, reported better-than-expected sales as it benefited from a World Cup rush to buy flat screen TVs. Underlying sales grew by 4.3 per cent and by more than double the anticipated rate in the three months to July 31.
Rio Tinto (LON:RIO, NYSE:RTP, ASX:RIO) announced it will invest US$803 million to ramp up the underground block cave project at its Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia. Following a transition from the current open pit operation, the underground will be fully operational in 2013. The project will extend the life of the mine until at least 2019.
FTSE 250 youth clothing retailer SuperGroup PLC (LON:SGP) said group trading is where it should be at this stage, and it is on track to deliver another successful year. In an interim management statement covering the three months to August 1 2010, it said group sales were up 59.8 percent up at £32.8 million from £20.5 million in the same period a year earlier.
Advertising and marketing giant WPP PLC (LON:WPP) said its wholly-owned operating company G2, the global brand activation agency network and a Grey Group company, announced today that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Chinese shopper-marketing consultancy DPI. Financial details were not disclosed.
Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) said the Owo-1 exploration sidetrack in the Deepwater Tano licence offshore Ghana has significantly extended the column of high quality light oil discovered by the Owo-1 well. Results of drilling, wireline logs and samples of reservoir fluids confirm that Owo is a major new oil field.
Coal of Africa’s (LON:CZA) farm swap agreement with Rio Tinto (LON:RIO, NYSE:RTP, ASX:RIO) moved a step closer as regulators in South Africa gave the deal the green light. The approval from the Department of Mineral Resources Coal relates to the Makhado coking Coal Project and was granted under section 102 of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act.
Gold miner Centamin Egypt (LON:CEY, TSX:CEE) has cut its production guidance for the current year, while also anticipating higher cash costs per ounce in the current quarter.