PRESS DIGEST - British business - Dec 20

Mail on Sunday

CARE UK MULLING BRIDGEPOINT OFFER

Nursing homes group Care UK (CUK.L) has been in deliberations about whether to accept a 275 million pound bid from Bridgepoint and be taken private. An offer has also been tabled by Advent International but a source said the offer was too low and that he was unaware of any other interested companies. Care UK runs 60 nursing homes, GP practices and NHS walk-in centres. Its shares closed up 10.5p at 430.5p on Friday.

B&Q ON EVE OF PRICE WAR

B&Q, Britain's largest DIY chain, will launch its biggest sale on Christmas Eve. Investment in the sale is expected to be 25 percent higher than last year at 190 million pounds, with the firm hoping that a lacklustre housing market will see an increased interest in home improvement. B&Q UK chief executive Euan Sutherland said: "People are sitting at home looking at the same four walls and thinking of ways to make it look better." Rivals Wickes, Homebase and Focus are also expected to launch major price-cutting campaigns.

FEARS GROW OVER EMI LOAN TARGET

EMI's share of the UK album market dropped slightly to 13.3 percent for the year to December 6, from 13.4 percent in 2008 and 15.7 percent in 2007. The music publisher's owner, private equity group Terra Firma, has until December 31 to demonstrate that it can meet the terms of its 2.5 billion pound loan from Citigroup -- used to finance the purchase of EMI -- or face being taken over by the American lender. According to sources close to Terra Firma, EMI's profits are up and the company has turned a cash flow deficit of 144 million pounds into a surplus of 190 million pounds.

Sunday Times

SHELL PLANS THREE BILLION POUND SALE IN NIGERIA

Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is looking to raise up to five billion dollars through the sale of oilfields in Nigeria. The shake-up of its operations comes as Nigeria prepares stricter terms for foreign operators to be introduced next month designed to give domestic companies greater control. Nigeria was once Shell's primary growth region, but increasing violence by militants against foreign workers, rampant piracy and soured relations with the government has led to Shell investing billions elsewhere in an effort to offset its dependence on the country.

193 MILLION POUND WRITE-OFF FOR RADIO GROUP

Global Radio has written off 193.5 million pounds of investments made over the past two years in order to reflect the fall in value of media assets. Global spent 545 million pounds to acquire GCap Media and Chrysalis Radio ahead of a collapse in the advertising markets. Global's accounts, which will be filed at Companies House this week, will show the company recorded earnings of 31 million pounds for the year to March despite income falling by 16 percent to 223 million pounds.

BOOKIES RENEW ONLINE HOSTILITIES

Ralph Topping, chief executive of William Hill (WMH.L), has sparked a fresh clash between the bookmaking and racing industries and online betting exchanges by calling on Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe to launch an investigation into exchanges. Topping has claimed exchanges pay far less in tax on over-the-counter bets than the 250 million pounds that companies such as William Hill pay. Topping said in his letter to Sutcliffe that there were "substantial indications" that exchanges are being used to run unregulated bookmaking businesses in the UK.

The Sunday Telegraph

L&G MAY LEAVE OVER EU RULES

Legal & General (LGEN.L) is exploring the option of relocating its headquarters abroad to avoid the impact of new European Solvency II regulatory measures. Sources close to the insurance group say the plan is still close to its inception and that any move would be made over the longer term, without relocating the bulk of the company's staff. Annuity providers such as L&G would be hardest hit by the new regulations as they will be required to match liabilities to bond yields, which they fear will increase the volatility of their balance sheets and force them to raise capital levels. Potential destinations for L&G could include Canada or Bermuda, where a number of general insurers are already based due to tax benefits.

MOULTON SETS HIS SIGHTS ON 50 COMPANIES FOR TURNAROUND FUND

John Moulton has targeted 50 companies for investment from his recently launched Better Capital investment vehicle, which raised 142 million pounds when it listed last week. The private equity entrepreneur told the Sunday Telegraph: "Several of them we are working on now, three of them I would say we are doing serious work on already." Moulton said the only sector the vehicle would not invest in would be the financial services sector, a view point that he said was the cause of his decision to leave Alchemy Partners as he refused to back the firm's decision to invest in the financial sector. Moulton believes that weakening economic conditions will lead to a dramatic rise in distressed companies.

BANKS TO DRIVE AWAY WITH THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE

Lenders to HIT Entertainment Group are understood to be in discussions with the media group's private equity owner, Apax Partners, to prevent the company breaching its banking covenants next year. The lending syndicate which is led by Deutsche Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch is understood to be negotiating a move to obtain HIT's Thomas the Tank engine brand, which is considered the group's most valued asset. Sources close to the situation say Disney is interested in making an approach to acquire the brand with a view to releasing a feature film in 2011.

The Independent on Sunday

VT MAY GET CLEAR RUN AT MOUCHEL

VT Group VTG.L may be unopposed in its bid to takeover Mouchel (MCHL.L) by two companies previously tipped to be interested in the deal, but Mouchel has refused to meet VT, calling its 380 million pound proposal "wholly inadequate". Sources have said Serco (SRP.L) and Capita (CPI.L) have no interest in Mouchel, quashing rumours of a bidding war that was expected to drive up Mouchel's value. A Schroders fund manager said that 300 pence would be a more viable offer, but it is thought to be unlikely that VT will increase above its current offer of 260 pence a share.

STANDARD LIFE TELLS CITY EXPECTED INDIAN FLOAT WILL BE DELAYED

The incoming chief executive of Standard Life (SL.L), David Nish, has announced that the flotation of HDFC Standard Life, its Indian subsidiary, could be delayed until 2011. It had been expected to happen at the end of this year. Proposed changes to Indian law that could allow Standard Life to increase its stake from 26 to 49 percent have been mooted for next year. A Standard Life spokesman said: "The expectation continues that the potential will arise to float the business once market and regulatory conditions are appropriate."

The Observer

HSBC OPENS DOOR INTO CHINA WITH FIVE BILLION POUND FLOAT

HSBC (HSBA.L) is planning a five billion pound share offer to Chinese investors as it looks to become the first international company to list on the Shanghai stock exchange. China Citic and China International Capital Corporation have been appointed to advise on the flotation, with Goldman Sachs expected to be appointed an adviser as early as March. It is predicted that operations in Hong Kong and China could account for 50 percent of HSBC's profits over the coming decade.

LSE POISED TO SEAL MERGER WITH RIVAL TURQUOISE

The London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) is close to a deal to take over rival trading platform Turquoise, with an announcement expected as early as this week. Turquoise was established four years ago by a consortium of investment banks including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, but has yet to move into profit after going live 18 months ago. The LSE announced in October it had entered talks over the Turquoise exchange, and is not expected to face any competing bids. LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet is thought keen to combine Turquoise with the LSE's "dark pool" unit, Baikal.

LINGERIE STORE REVEALS LOSSES

Accounts posted last week by lingerie and adult accessory retailer Agent Provocateur show the firm made a loss after tax of 676,000 pounds, compared to a 175,000 pound profit last year. The firm attributed the deficit to the repayment of loans to its private equity owner 3i, and said it was in no danger of breaching bank covenants. Turnover was up by 1.5 million pounds to 22 million pounds. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell by one million pounds to 852,000 pounds.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants.