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Sunday, 24 November 2024
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European Business News 96-07-29European Business News (EBN) Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The European Business News Server at <http://www.ebn.co.uk/>Page last updated July 29 8:45 CETCONTENTS
[01] Allied Domecq expected to sell Carlsberg-Tetley stakeAllied Domecq PLC today will announce that it is in talks to sell its 50% stake in brewer Carlsberg-Tetley PLC, possibly clearing the way for Allied, a spirits and retailing giant, to break up.Allied is negotiating to sell its portion of British-based Carlsberg- Tetley to Bass PLC for about £200m ($311.5m). The agreement, which could be completed within the next week, will cap a six-year restructuring drive at Allied and could lead to Bass gaining control of 40% of the United Kingdom brewing market. As part of the negotiations, Bass also is reportedly talking to Denmark- based Carlsberg AS, the other owner of the joint venture, about buying its stake. In return, Carlsberg would receive a 20% stake in Bass's British brewing unit, according to U.K. newspaper reports. Bass didn't return telephone calls and an Allied spokesman would only say that the company would be making an announcement this morning. The Bass purchase has been expected for weeks, because Allied has made no secret of its intention to focus on its core retailing and spirits businesses. Allied owns U.S. food chains Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin' Donuts, as well as spirits brands Beefeater gin and Courvoisier cognac. [02] Small UK manufacturers fall behindOutput for small- and medium-sized British manufacturers rose at the slowest rate over the past four months since a negative balance was reported in January 1993, according to a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) survey published Monday.Small- and medium-sized manufacturers lagged the sector as a whole, which saw output levels recovering since April. The smaller companies also reported that sentiment about the last four months fell as it has in the three previous surveys, while their larger counterparts said that business confidence increased for the first time since April 1995. 'In the U.K., we have buoyant consumer demand, but it hasn't yet fed downstream to the manufacturing sector,' said Neil Mellor, an economist at the CBI. [03] Japan's industrial output falls more than expectedProduction at Japan's factories and mines, after adjustment for seasonal factors, fell 3.9% in June from May, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) reported Monday. The decline, coming after industrial output rose 2.4% in May from April, was much steeper than MITI's forecast two weeks ago that output would drop 1.8% in June, and compared with expectations of a 1.7% drop according to averaged forecasts from economists surveyed by AP-Dow Jones.From the European Business News (EBN) Server at http://www.ebn.co.uk/European Business News (EBN) Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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