All posts tagged: stake

IP Group plots sale of tech stake portfolio to Lexham | Money News

IP Group plots sale of tech stake portfolio to Lexham | Money News

Published by skeptic

An investment vehicle founded by one of Britain’s most prominent venture capitalists is in advanced talks to buy a portfolio of stakes in some of the country’s most promising technology companies. Sky News has learnt that Lexham Partners, which was established this year by Dominic Perks, is close to agreeing a deal to acquire shareholdings in companies including Paragraf, the graphene-based electronic device company, and Nexeon, a battery technology specialist, from London-listed IP Group. A person close to IP Group said a transaction could be agreed as soon as this week. Money latest: Drivers could save £50 on cover after compensation changes Lexham would acquire part of IP Group’s stakes in about ten companies, although IP would retain part of its existing shareholdings, the person added. Among the other companies included in the deal is said to be Istesso, which Mr Perks came close to taking public through a special purpose acquisition company in 2022. A sale would generate cash for IP Group, which has endured a period of difficult performance only partly offset by …

French elections: who are the key players and what is at stake? | France

French elections: who are the key players and what is at stake? | France

Published by skeptic

France’s snap legislative election is one of the most consequential in decades for both the country and the rest of Europe, potentially propelling the far-right National Rally (RN) to a parliamentary majority and therefore into government. The two-round election will take place on 30 June and 7 July. How will it work, what are the stakes and what is the result likely to be? What’s the story and why does it matter? Taking almost everyone, including most of his party, by surprise, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, called snap legislative elections in the aftermath of his centrist Renaissance party’s crushing defeat by RN, the party of Marine Le Pen, in the European parliamentary elections. No French president has ever dissolved parliament with his party at barely 15% in the polls, and it seems very likely that RN, which Le Pen has spent years detoxifying and which scored more than 31% in the EU ballot, will boost its tally of deputies. If RN does well enough to hold an absolute majority in the national assembly, the …

Water firm seizes stake in Devon sewage protester’s home over unpaid bills | Water

Water firm seizes stake in Devon sewage protester’s home over unpaid bills | Water

Published by skeptic

South West Water has taken a legal stake in a customer’s home after she withheld her bill payments in a protest over sewage dumping in rivers and the sea. Thousands of water company customers are thought to be withholding payments but this is the first known case of a company enforcing a claim against a customer’s home. Imogen May, of Crediton, Devon, has withheld payment since 2019 and has a £2,809 debt. South West Water won a county court judgment over the debt and has claimed an interest in May’s cottage via the Land Registry. When it is sold, the company can claim what it says it is owed. May has also withheld payment of council tax, arguing that the funds are not spent on people’s priorities, such as environmental projects and children’s mental health services. The council is now applying for a court order to force the sale of May’s cottage. “This is about using my place of privilege as a homeowner to push the boundaries,” she said. “It’s about necessity – unless we …

Key issues at stake in the EU elections

Key issues at stake in the EU elections

Published by Sam

EU voters head to the polls on June 6-9 to elect the next European Parliament with the 27-member bloc facing a daunting set of challenges, including deep divisions over migration management, a backlash against climate change policies, and an overhaul of Europe’s defence industries spurred by the ongoing war in Ukraine.  Some 373 million voters across 27 countries are eligible to elect representatives in the European Parliament starting on Thursday, in the world’s second largest exercise in democracy after the recent election in India. Long regarded as the weakest of the EU’s three main institutions, the 720-member parliament has seen its powers increase in recent years, not least in shaping the all-important EU budget. Among its first tasks will be to confirm the 27 members of the European Commission, including its presidency, a position currently held by Ursula von der Leyen, who is running for a second term.  The jockeying for positions will provide an early indicator of the balance of power and shifting alliances between political groups in the assembly – and how these …

India’s Lok Sabha election, what’s at stake

India’s Lok Sabha election, what’s at stake

Published by Sam

NEW DELHI — The end has come for India’s 47-day marathon election for the lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha, in which almost a billion people, from the Himalayas in the north to far flung islands in the Indian Ocean, had registered to vote. As election officials trekked for miles, by foot, hoof and helicopter, to collect the votes of the most remote citizens, India’s top diplomat, S. Jaishankar, called it the “largest electoral logistics exercise that this planet has ever witnessed.” Source link

Postal workers union wants Royal Mail staff to have stake in business | Royal Mail

Postal workers union wants Royal Mail staff to have stake in business | Royal Mail

Published by skeptic

The union that represents workers at Royal Mail has called for a new business model for the company that would see workers given a stake in the company and pay tied to growing services and meeting certain social benefits. Dave Ward, the general secretary of the Communications Workers Union (CWU), said that the potential takeover by the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský should provide a moment to overhaul how the company is structured, which could mirror that of US-style public benefit corporations. On Wednesday, the takeover of Royal Mail by Křetínský’s EP Group moved closer after the postal service’s parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), said it had accepted a £3.57bn cash offer. Included in the deal were a number of undertakings and contractual commitments agreed by Křetínský’s team, such as retaining the Royal Mail’s universal service obligation (USO) to deliver first-class mail six days a week for the next five years. They also include five-year guarantees over Royal Mail’s branding and maintaining a UK headquarters. Ward told the Guardian that the union felt the agreements …

Rowing startup Hydrow acquires a majority stake in Speede Fitness as their CEO steps down

Rowing startup Hydrow acquires a majority stake in Speede Fitness as their CEO steps down

Published by skeptic

Hydrow, the at-home rowing machine, announced Thursday that it has acquired a majority stake in Speede Fitness, the company behind the AI-enabled strength training machine. The rowing startup also announced that CEO and founder Bruce Smith will step down, and President and CFO John Stellato will take over day-to-day operations, per CNBC. Smith is now the chairman of Hydrow’s board. Hydrow declined to share how much of a majority stake it now has in Speed Fitness. It’s possible that the company may acquire the remainder of Speede, but it is uncertain at this time. Founded in 2017, Hydrow’s connected rowing machines (which range from $1,695 to $3,995) simulate the feeling of rowing on water through a patented electromagnetic and computer-controlled drag mechanism. The company has raised $300 million to date and touts notable investors such as Activant Capital, Constitution Capital, L Catterton, Liberty Street, RX3, and Sandbridge Capital, as well as several professional athletes and celebrities like Travis Kelce and Justin Timberlake. As of April, delivered unit sales were up 35% year over year, Smith …

Inside L.A.’s greatest family feud: Warring brothers. Billions at stake

Inside L.A.’s greatest family feud: Warring brothers. Billions at stake

Published by skeptic

Four brothers gathered in silence in the Los Angeles courtroom to hear the jury’s verdict. The decision came after 20 years of legal maneuvering by the brothers — bitter decades filled with accusations of fraud, intimidation and betrayal. At issue was whether two of the brothers had struck an oral agreement nearly 30 years ago. Such a contract would determine ownership of vast real estate holdings worth billions, one of the highest stakes ever seen in a Los Angeles civil courtroom. One brother swore the contract existed; another denied it ever happened. What might have been an uplifting story of an immigrant who soared to the pinnacle of American wealth had devolved into a saga embroiling not just the siblings but their mother as well. And now, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, jurors filed into the courtroom where they had heard the story of a young man who had left his family in India and improbably had made, and possibly lost, a fortune. It had all started with an opalescent rock. Shashikant Jogani had …

What’s At Stake In These Local Elections – For Westminster And Us

What’s At Stake In These Local Elections – For Westminster And Us

Published by skeptic

Voters across England and Wales will be heading to the ballot box on Thursday to take part in the local elections. More than 2,600 seats are up for grabs, meaning the day could end up have a significant impact on Westminster. However, voter turnout is usually pretty low for the local elections. So here’s what you need to know – and why it’s important to vote, if you can. How many places are going to the polls? While there are no local council elections in Scotland and Wales, seats in 107 English councils – 31 metropolitan boroughs, 18 unitary councils and 58 district councils – are to be contested. There will also be 10 mayoral elections, including in London. Three of these positions are newly created, and their election will use the first-past-the-post system. Eyes will be the capital’s incumbent mayor Sadiq Khan, who is seeking a third term against the Tory candidate Susan Hall, as well as Tory mayors – Tees Valley’s Ben Houchen and West Midlands’ Andy Street. There are also 25 seats …

Trump raises stake in his media firm to nearly 65%

Trump raises stake in his media firm to nearly 65%

Published by skeptic

Donald Trump has raised his stake in the company that operates his social media app Truth Social to nearly 65 per cent as of last week, according to a filing on Tuesday. The former U.S. president and Republican presidential candidate secured 36 million shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), increasing his stake from 57.6 per cent as of March. The stock has surged over 50 per cent to $49.93 in the past five sessions, but is still down about 25 per cent from its closing peak on March 27. Reuters reported last week that Trump would secure a stock bonus worth $1.3 billion from TMTG, equivalent to about half the majority stake he already owns in it, thanks to the wild rally in its shares. The bonus also reflects the exuberant trading in TMTG’s shares, which have been on a roller coaster ride since the company listed on Nasdaq last month through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and was snapped up by Trump supporters and speculators. Source link