Wednesday newspaper round-up: Santander, Tullett Prebon, M&A
One of the leading executives at the British division of Santander, the Spanish financial group, has quit the bank, complaining that its delayed stock market listing meant there was little point in him continuing to work there. Stephen Jones, the chief financial officer of Santander UK, said yesterday that he would leave the bank in October to reacquaint himself with his family after a disappointing four years with the lender, in which plans for a £10bn flotation were repeatedly delayed, putting off a potentially lucrative payout for senior managers. - The Times
Banco Santander
€4.40
18:15 03/01/25
DJ EURO STOXX 50
4,871.45
23:59 03/01/25
IBEX 35
11,646.00
18:43 03/01/25
A Connecticut-based broker of oil and gas derivatives is the latest venture into the energy sector by Tullett Prebon, the UK interdealer broker (IDB). The purchase of Moab Oil, for $12.3 million initially and potential further payments of $14.3m depending on performance over five years, comes 14 months after Tullett agreed to buy PVM Oil Associates, a London-based oil broker, for $160m. - The Times
Corporate finance departments in big City firms have been burning the midnight oil for months. It is proving to be 'a golden age' for global merger and acquisition activity, which increased 38 per cent to £1.4trillion in the first six months of the year, the highest level since 2007. Across the Pond it soared 60 per cent to £629billion, the best since records began. Judging by yesterday's spate of new deals, year-end totals could smash all records. - Daily Mail
Banks are too focused on executive pay and shareholder dividends and need to focus more on the rights of employees, their creditors and wider society, according to the Bank of England’s chief economist. Andy Haldane argued that companies in the UK and the US, and particularly in the financial sector, are structured in a way that encourages them to take big risks and pay out large sums to bosses and investors, rather than taking a long-term view. - The Daily Telegraph
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad lost more territory on Tuesday to Islamist insurgents and Kurdish militias, bolstering Turkey’s push to create a rebel-controlled buffer zone along the two countries’ shared border. - The Wall Street Journal