TV3 TIGHT-LIPPED OVER REPORTS CARLYLE IN TAKEOVER TALKS - TV3 Group has declined to comment on reports private equity company the Carlyle Group is among the parties interested in acquiring it from its current owner, Doughty Hanson.
Sky News reported on Thursday that Carlyle was among the buyout firms to have held preliminary talks with Doughty Hanson about a possible takeover of the broadcaster. Both Carlyle and Doughty declined to comment on its story. No formal bids are understood to have been made at this stage, says the Irish Times. Private equity firm Doughty Hanson acquired TV3 at the peak of the market in August 2006, buying it for €265 million through an investment fund known as “Fund IV”. Earlier this week, the company said it was scrapping plans for a sixth investment fund and would instead concentrate on “maximising the considerable value of its remaining portfolio companies in funds IV and V”. Chairman and co-founder Richard Hanson said on Tuesday he would lead a team of investment professionals to work with the management of the companies in those funds “to maximise the value of these investments”, while Stephen Marquardt, Doughty Hanson’s chief executive, indicated it would be “taking all steps necessary to achieve strong exits” for its investments.
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BLARNEY WOOLLEN MILLS TO SEAL BANK DEAL AS IT WEAVES BACK TO PROFIT - The Blarney Woollen Mills Group is expecting to shortly strike a deal with its banks that will put the group "on a very strong financial footing". That is according to group director, Robert Reardon who said yesterday that the business traded successfully last year to record 'substantial' earnings. Mr Reardon said that the deal with the group's lenders will involve the disposal of some non-core assets, writes the Irish Independent. The group operates some of Ireland's best known retail brands of Blarney Woollen Mills and the Meadows & Byrne chain of shops employing 500. Mr Reardon said that it will be a number of months before the arrangement with the group's banks is complete. Mr Reardon was commenting on accounts filed by Blarney subsidiary, Bunratty Shopping Village Ltd that show that the firm recorded an operating loss of €317,018 in fiscal 2014 in spite of revenues increasing marginally from €4.1m to €4.27m.
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NEARLY 50% OF DRIVERS FEEL STATE SHOULD PAY IF INSURER FAILS - Nearly 50% of respondents to a survey feel the Government should pay for any outstanding claims if a motor insurer goes to the wall. The study is by insuremyvan.ie. It is published almost a year after the liquidation of Setanta Insurance and its parent left about 75,000 consumers uncovered for their motor insurance. The survey found 46% believe the liability for such an event lies with the Government. However, the bulk of that opinion rests with male drivers; the main group (male van/ commercial vehicle drivers in particular) affected by Setanta’s collapse, says the Irish Examiner. “One third of women feel the driver who was at fault in causing the claim should be forced to cover the cost, while men are more likely to believe that the cost should be covered by the State, or spread across all drivers,” said insuremyvan.ie managing director Jonathan Hehir. He also said the Setanta case could take years for payouts to happen. The question of who will foot the bill is set for the High Court.
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BUOYANT WALL STREET EARNINGS LIFT CLOUD OF CRISIS - Two of Wall Street’s largest banks have recorded one of their strongest quarters since the financial crisis, in a sign that the industry may be escaping the malaise that has gripped it for more than five years. Goldman Sachs achieved a return on equity of 14.7% - the best in 18 quarters. Its quarterly profits were the highest in four years and it saw the biggest investment banking revenues since 2007. Citigroup, whose chronic difficulties since the financial crisis have put pressure on chief executive Mike Corbat, also recorded its highest quarterly profit in more than 7 years, with net income up more than a fifth at $4.8 billion. The bank is also approaching year-end targets for efficiency and profitability that until recently it had looked likely to miss. Improved trading revenues powered the results at Goldman, much as they did at JPMorgan Chase earlier in the week. The smallest first quarter bonus pool since Goldman went public in 1999 also boosted its profits. Since the crisis, banks, analysts and investors have debated whether depressed returns are a cyclical phenomenon - owing more to weak economies and low volatility - or a structural one, with tougher regulation permanently damaging the industry’s ability to make money.
