PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 6
Feb 6 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The Times
REXAM WANTS 4 BLN STG MERGER
British drinks can maker Rexam Plc could be sold to U.S. rival Ball Corp in a 4.3 billion pound merger to create a tin cans giant that would trigger scrutiny by competition authorities. (http://thetim.es/1Kl0jvA)
STANDARD CHARTERED MAY OPT FOR SHARES PAYOUT
Standard Chartered Plc could hand out shares rather than cash when it comes to pay its full-year dividend. Investors, analysts and banking industry insiders say that the struggling emerging markets lender should consider paying at least a portion of its annual dividend in stock as fears grow over the balance sheet. (http://thetim.es/1zTTeip)
The Guardian
TRAVELODGE BOOKS IN FOR 1.3 BLN STG EXPANSION
Budget hotel chain Travelodge is planning to capitalise on the Britain's growing appetite for cheap stayovers with a 1.3 billion pounds expansion programme this year that will target 205 new hotel sites, mostly in London and the south-east. (http://bit.ly/1v2T4PU)
The Telegraph
GREECE PLEADS WITH BERLIN FOR TIME AND MONEY TO RE-WRITE DEBT DEAL
Greece's finance minister pleaded for his country to be given time and money to negotiate a new debt deal with its creditors, after the European Central Bank sought to pull the carpet from under the feet of the country's stricken banks. (http://bit.ly/1Cz4ZwE)
WONGA AVOIDS CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER FAKE LETTERS
The City of London Police has ruled out opening a criminal investigation into Wonga after concluding that the payday lender's fake letter scandal was not a case of fraud. A spokesman for the police force said the demands for repayment that Wonga sent its customers under fake lawyers' names were not "falsely purporting to be debt recovery agencies", since the letters' small print showed that they were in fact from Wonga. (http://bit.ly/1xrArVJ)
FORMER CITY MINISTER MARK HOBAN TO JOIN THE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE
Mark Hoban, the former City minister, has lined up a non-executive job at the London Stock Exchange as he prepares to leave Westminster. Hoban, the Conservative MP for Fareham, will join the board of the stock market with immediate effect. He has also been named as the new chairman of Flood Re, the insurance industry scheme to provide cover to households at risk of flooding. (http://bit.ly/1DkdOK5)
Sky News
ECB PULLS PLUG ON GREEK GOVERNMENT BONDS
Greece's access to vital loans has been squeezed after the European Central Bank stopped accepting the government's bonds as collateral. The ECB had been accepting the junk-rated bonds, but in a statement said it was changing its mind because of uncertainty over Greece's bailout commitments. The country's new leaders are currently jetting around Europe trying to renegotiate their 240 billion euros bailout package and ease austerity obligations. (http://bit.ly/1KwqBJr)
VIRGIN ACTIVE GETS FIT FOR JOHANNESBURG IPO
Virgin Active has picked a quintet of banks to work on a flotation that will value one of Britain's biggest health and fitness chains at around 1.5 billion pounds. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Standard Bank and UBS have been hired by Virgin Active's board to work on the public listing. (http://bit.ly/1uftps6)
SINGAPORE STATE FUND EYES MISYS SOFTWARE DEAL
Singaporean state fund Temasek Holdings is plotting a takeover bid for Misys, one of the UK's biggest software companies. Temasek is among a number of potential acquirers examining offers for Misys, which was a member of the FTSE-250 index before it was taken private in 2012. (http://bit.ly/1DCQCV3)
The Independent
TESCO TO BE INVESTIGATED BY GROCERY INDUSTRY WATCHDOG OVER SUPPLIER PRACTICES
An official investigation is to be made into Tesco Plc to find out whether the supermarket giant broke the grocery industry watchdog's rules, including through delayed payments to its suppliers. The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), Christine Tacon, announced the move today, saying she had formed a "reasonable suspicion" that the retailer had breached the Groceries Supply Code of Practice. (http://ind.pn/1zCriOl)
(Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
