Firstly, Walgreens bought a 45pc stake in Alliance Boots for $6.7bn (£4.4bn). Then, last summer, it activated an option to buy the remaining 55pc in cash and shares. The deal resulted in Pessina owning 20pc of the enlarged company through […]

Diageo£19.70Questor says HOLD First-half sales recovery Investors in the world’s biggest drinks company, Diageo, sent the shares almost 3pc higher last week as a recovery in sales during the first half raised hopes of changing fortunes. The company behind Johnnie […]

Mr Pessina, 73, who is estimated to have amassed an $11.4 billion (£7.5  billion) fortune, declined to elaborate on which specific policies he disliked. But the fact that a man, whose company employs 70,000 staff in the UK, has spoken out […]

It leaves Santander vying with Coca-Cola to take over from Barclays as the sponsor of more than 10,000 hire cycles around inner London. Whichever bidder wins it would be expected to replace the signature Barclays blue livery with its own […]

John Ralfe, a leading independent pensions consultant, said: “It’s a pretty weak deal from the trustees’ point of view. From the point of view of a company that is trying to reinvent itself by spending on sports rights and mobile […]

He has held various senior positions in Thailand and Singapore, as well as running the bank’s business in the Middle East. He is currently chief executive of global commercial banking, and joined the group management board, led by group chief […]

Telefonica, which bought O2 a decade ago, and Three’s owner, Hutchison Whampoa, controlled by the Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, unveiled a merger less than a fortnight ago that sent shockwaves across a telecoms landscape already digesting BT’s plans to […]

Investors have repeatedly stressed their frustration at the lack of payments at the bank’s shareholder meetings. However, Lloyds’ return to profitability as the economy recovers puts it on track for a small pay-out. At a board meeting this week, directors […]

The new money and a €318m loan will be used to fund the €455m acquisition of the Bewley hotel group, an Irish chain that includes nine hotels and about 2,500 rooms with two hotels in London, one in Leeds and […]

The Big Four accountancy firms have enjoyed a windfall in fees despite regulatory changes intended to increase competition on company audits, a new survey has found. The UK’s top 75 accountancy firms saw a 6pc increase in fees to £12bn […]