THE DAILY BRIEFING
SALE SCREENING AMC Entertainment’s deal to acquire the Odeon & UCI cinema chain risks falling foul of the UK’s competition watchdog because it could lead to higher prices in Manchester.
The Competition and Markets Authority said that, because AMC Great Northern and Odeon Printworks are close competitors in the city, the acquisition risked ‘leading to higher ticket prices or reduced quality or service’.
The chain was sold by Guy Hands’ private equity vehicle Terra Firma to AMC for £921m in July.
GOLDEN PAYOUT Gold miner Polymetal has announced a special dividend of 12p.
The fourth special cash dividend in the Russian company’s history brings the declared payout for the financial year to 19p per share.
Vitaly Nesis, chief executive, said it showed how the London-listed company could generate cash.
CARE BONUS Social care provider CareTech said a shortage of specialist beds for vulnerable young people had created a niche for its services.
This helped it post a 19.9pc rise in revenue to £149m, with profits up 139.8pc to £22.5m for the year ending September 30.
The AIM-listed firm announced a final dividend of 6.25p, up 11.6pc, for the full year.
STAKE REDUCTION Daily Mail owner DMGT has announced it is reducing its stake in the financial information service Euromoney.
The group said it was reducing its holding in the company from 67pc to 49pc – a sale of 32m shares.
With shares in Euromoney trading at 1,120p at close of trading, the sale would raise £358m if sold at that price.
DMGT shares closed down 0.4pc, or 3.5p, to 792p.
BANK ORDER Royal Bank of Scotland has been ordered to release sensitive documents in a courtroom victory for shareholders challenging its £12bn fundraising during the financial crisis.
The bank has been told it must publish details of an internal investigation into the selling of toxic bundles of US mortgage debt.
It will give extra ammunition to the Shareholder Action Group, which is suing the lender over claims it misled investors.
RBS shares rose 1.4pc, or 3.1p, to 220.3p.
SHIPS DEAL BAE Systems has won contracts worth £287m to build two Navy offshore patrol ships and maintain those and another three. More than 100 firms across the UK will help build the ships, named HMS Tamar and HMS Spey, protecting hundreds of jobs in Scotland.