A round-up of today's stories in brief.
Australian firm increases Eircom stake
Babcock & Brown, the Australian investment fund considering a bid for Eircom, has raised its stake in the telecoms group to 24.5 per cent from 23.6 per cent at the end of last week.
The fund, which is now the largest shareholder in Eircom, has been steadily building a stake in the firm, buying stock at the €2.20 level. It is now just 5.4 per cent short of the 29.9 per cent level at which it would be obliged to launch an outright bid for the company.
Agency spend in newspapers up 19%
Advertising agencies increased their spending in national newspapers in 2005 by 19 per cent, new figures from the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI) show.
Between agency and direct spending, national newspapers received €331 million last year. The highest spending agency was Aegis Media, which spent €21.7 million. The NNI group is made up of 18 member titles.
Former TSB chief to chair new firm
Former TSB bank chief executive, Harry Lorton, has taken over the chairmanship of a new marketing business.
Mr Lorton is to chair H&A Marketing, formed by a merger of two Cork-based firms, H&A Visual Communications and Connection Marketing Communications.
The companies announced the merger yesterday, and Mr Lorton's appointment as chair of the new business.The company already has clients in a number of industries.
AIB securities get Moody's rating
International ratings agency Moody's has assigned a provisional rating of "AAA" to the proposed first issuance of Irish mortgage-covered securities by AIB. The bank is currently setting up a €15 billion mortgage-covered securities programme.
EC challenges veto of Endesa takeover
The European Commission stepped up its efforts to stop national governments from blocking cross-border mergers yesterday, when it challenged Spain's attempt to halt the takeover of Endesa, the power company, by rival Eon of Germany.
The Spanish government has been given 10 working days to answer the commission's concerns about the official intervention in the takeover battle, particularly the validity of legislation that Madrid rushed through last month after Eon tabled its €35 billion bid for Endesa.- (Financial Times service)
Nymex to close London floor
The New York Mercantile Exchange intends to close its pit trading floor and turn itself into an electronic energy futures exchange. The move comes just six months after the exchange was launched.
It represents an about face by Nymex, which has failed to attract meaningful volumes to its European benchmark Brent crude since opening the London floor last September. - (Financial Times service)
Heineken to sell 'Bud' in Russia
Heineken has struck a deal with Anheuser-Busch to brew and sell the Budweiser brand in Russia, as both brewers try to strengthen their positions in one of the world's fastest-growing beer markets.
Beer volumes rose 41 per cent in Russia to more than 40 million hectolitres between 1999 and 2004, making it the second-fastest growing market after China. - (Financial Times service)
