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European Business News 96-09-25
From: The European Business News Server at <http://www.ebn.co.uk/>
Page last updated September 25 10:20 CET
CONTENTS
[01] NatWest plans loan-backed notes
[02] Romano Prodi signs labour pact
[03] Hanson shareholders to vote in first step of four-way split
[04] French defence gourp Lagardere to announce 1H results
[05] European Union Commission expected to clear aid to Credit Lyonnais
[06] Olivetti may need capital
[07] Nethold and Canal Plus plan joint venture
[01] NatWest plans loan-backed notes
The UK's National Westminster Bank has announced that it will transform
$5bn of corporate loans into securities that it will sell to international
investors. The move, the first of its kind in Europe, will free up nearly
$400m of capital for the bank. Nat West's chief executive Derek Wanless
has said the money could be used either to buy back more shares or for
acquisitions.
[02] Romano Prodi signs labour pact
The Italian prime-minister, Romano Prodi, has signed a long awaited labour
pact with unions and business leaders. The accord, signed late last night,
aims to reduce unemployment and includes a reduction of the working week
and various business incentives. 'With this accord we will have new,
concrete policies for the labour market to tackle the employment emergency,
' saidk Prodi at a news conference after signing the deal. 'It will have
an immediate impact on the jobless total,' he added.
[03] Hanson shareholders to vote in first step of four-way split
Hanson shareholders will vote today on the company's plans to
demerge its chemical and tobacco
businesses. The vote will be the first step in
a fourway split of the industrial conglomerate. Official trading
in the new groups is scheduled to
begin next week. Hanson's stock price has been languishing recently
as investors remain skeptical about the merits of the planned
split. The stock closed down 1% yesterday
at 156.25...that's down 26% from the year's high of 211.50.
[04] French defence gourp Lagardere to announce 1H results
The French defence and media conglomerate Lagardere is due to
release its first-half results today.
Analysts will be looking for indications if the company can
reach its full-year net profit goal of Ffr1bn ($200m). News
about Lagardere's plans for Thomson if it wins the bidding war
with Alcatel for the state-owned
conglomerate are another focus of interest.
[05] European Union Commission expected to clear aid to Credit Lyonnais
The European Union Commission is expected to give the French
government the all-clear to grant some Ffr3.9bn in
'urgent aid' to troubled state- owned bank Credit Lyonnais. The commission
is also expected separately to open a full official
inquiry into plans by the French government to present a new
bailout plan for the bank. The urgent aid
is designed to avoid any more deterioration in the situation
of the bank.
[06] Olivetti may need capital
Italy's stock-market regulator Consob has indicated that Olivetti may need
more capital which has fueled market speculation that another restructuring
plan is in the wind.
Enzo Berlanda, chairman of Consob, told a parliamentary committee that the
information services company might already have needed a capital injection
if Italian reporting requirements were more stringent. He said that
hypothetically the company's first-half losses have eroded part of
Olivetti's capital. In recent days, analysts have been speculating that
Olivetti needs to sell assets, convert debt to equity or sell more shares
to raise money
[07] Nethold and Canal Plus plan joint venture
Dutch media group Nethold and France's Canal Plus, which are planning to
merge, will combine their digital-television decoder technology into one
European-wide system. The new decoder should give the merged company the
power to determine which technology will be adopted in the longer term. The
Canal Plus system is currently used by the German media group Bertelsmann.
Nethold's system is being used by Bavaria's Kirch Gruppe for its Pay-TV
broadcasts.
From the European Business News (EBN) Server at http://www.ebn.co.uk/
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