Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digest
LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related stories involving U.S. and European companies were reported by media on Wednesday: ** Insurance entrepreneur Clive Cowdery has announced that he has secured commitments from investors of just over 500 million pounds ($743.4 million) for his new incarnation of the investment vehicle Resolution, the Financial Times reported. ** Private equity group 3i (III.L) is to announce plans on Thursday to cut about 100 jobs or around 15 percent of its 660 staff, the Financial Times reported. Approximately half of the job losses will affect the company's UK operation and will be concentrated around back-office functions including marketing and human resources, it said. ** EDF (EDF.PA) may be forced to auction a part of its UK power-generating capacity in order to clear competition hurdles facing its proposed takeover of British Energy BGY.L, the Times reported.
** It is believed that Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo is considering acquisitions in Britain, where it already has a retail foothold, and in the United States, where asset prices have fallen, the Times reported. The strength of the yen is expected to accelerate expansion plans, it said.
** Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme has repeated that the coupon which his government plans to offer Fortis (FOR.BR) shareholders will only be available to individuals, business daily De Tijd reported. [ID:nL3531560]
** Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (GS.N) Whitehall family of real estate investment funds, best known for buying New York's Rockefeller Center in 1996, has been hit by the property downturn and could post big losses on some investments made at the market peak, the Wall Street Journal said. [ID:nBNG249333]
** Ramius Capital, an activist hedge fund, is informing its investors that it will close four funds with a combined $550 million in assets, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the fund. [ID:nBNG194660]
** Russian state bank VEB, Moscow's agent in distributing some of its $200 billion crisis rescue package, has asked the government for an injection of 950 billion roubles ($33.92 billion), Vedomosti reported, citing two unnamed government sources. [ID:nL3457656]
** Merrill Lynch & Co MER.N, which is set to merge with Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), plans to cut year-end bonuses in half, Bloomberg News said, citing two people with knowledge of the situation. [ID:nBNG261555]
(Reporting by Laurence Fletcher; Editing by Erica Billingham)
