Leon bought by billionaire Issa brothers for £100m
Takeover of healthy fast food chain by EG Group follows the £6.8bn swoop on Asda and attempt to win control of Caffe Nero
18 April 2021 • 1:52pm
Leon, the fast food chain co-founded by Boris Johnson s food tsar Henry Dimbleby, has been snapped up by the billionaire Issa brothers in a deal set to net its founders a multi-million pound fortune.
EG Group, the petrol forecourts operator owned by Mohsin and Zuber Issa, said it has acquired the restaurant company from its biggest shareholders, Active Partners and Spice Private Equity.
The deal, which is estimated to be worth between £80m to £100m, will crystallise a multimillion-pound stake held by Leon s co-founders, chief executive John Vincent, Mr Dimbleby and chef Allegra McEvedy.
Billionaire brothers behind Asda close in on Caffe Nero takeover
Issa brothers buy up struggling chain s £140m debt pile to put them in pole position of a takeover if it defaults
18 April 2021 • 9:00am
The billionaire Blackburn brothers behind Asda are closing in on taking control of Caffe Nero after buying up the struggling coffee chain’s debts.
Mohsin and Zuber Issa, this week due to find out if regulators sign off their £6.8bn acquisition of Asda, are understood to have bought around £140m of loans from Swiss private equity firm Partners Group via investment bank Morgan Stanley.
Buying the loans will leave the Issas in a strong position to take control of Caffe Nero if the coffee chain were to default on its mountain of borrowing.
Swiss Billionaire Is Said to End His Bid for Tribune Publishing
Hansjörg Wyss was part of a serious offer for the major newspaper chain that could have prevented it from being sold to the hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
The Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss had wanted to transform The Chicago Tribune into a national publication.Credit.Taylor Glascock for The New York Times
April 17, 2021Updated 5:29 p.m. ET
The Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, who seemingly came out of nowhere last month to make a serious offer for Tribune Publishing, a major newspaper chain, has decided to take himself out of the bidding, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
Press release content from Business Wire. The AP news staff was not involved in its creation.
NEO Unveils the G-Corp: The Next-Generation Publicly Traded Acquisition Corporation
April 16, 2021 GMT
The NEO Exchange (“NEO”) is excited to announce the pilot program launch of a new publicly traded acquisition corporation, the Growth Acquisition Corporation™ (“G-Corp™”). This new go-public vehicle enables earlier stage growth companies to access capital and go public with significantly reduced risks in comparison with other public listing strategies.
In Canada and abroad, NEO is widely recognized as the Canadian stock exchange for companies and investment products driving the innovation economy, with over 120 corporate and ETF listings. NEO has also established itself as the leading Canadian venue for Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (“SPACs”), with 10 SPAC listings to-date that cumulatively raised over C$2.4 billion and a robust pipeline of new SPAC listing
Kansas City Southern Misses Profit Forecast, Confirms 2021 Guidance
COVID-linked shutdowns and February s polar vortex clipped first quarter carload volumes for rail operator Kansas City Southern.
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Kansas City Southern (
KSU) - Get Report posted weaker-than-expected first quarter earnings Friday as the polar vortex and coronavirus shutdowns hit cargo volumes, but confirmed its full-year profit guidance as it prepares for its $25 billion takeover by Canadian Pacific (
Kansas City Southern said profits for the three months ending in March fell 14.3% to $1.68 per share, missing the Street consensus forecast, while revenues slumped 4% to $706 million as carload volumes fell 1% from last year.
Looking into the current financial year, Kansas City Southern reiterated its forecast that sees double-digit revenue growth, earnings north of $9 per share and an operating ratio of 57.5%.