Spire Healthcare Share News (SPI)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Monday.
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COMPANIES
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The UK government is set to be forced to request more time from Europe for The Royal Bank of Scotland Group to spin-off its Williams & Glyn challenger bank as the sale is facing problems, The Times reported. RBS is struggling to meet the timetable set out by the European Commission to separate and float the Williams & Glyn business by the end of next year, senior banking sources told the paper. Should the Treasury have to go back to Brussels, it would be the second time the bank has had to request more time to complete the disposal, having been granted a three-year extension last April which gave the bank until December 2016.
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Canadian investment giant Borealis Infrastructure is considering a GBP5 billion approach for Severn Trent, two years after the FTSE 100 water company rejected an earlier takeover attempt, The Sunday Times reported. The newspaper, citing "sources close to the situation", said it is understood that the two sides opened talks last month, and discussions are at an early stage with no certainty a deal. The Sunday Times noted that two years ago Severn Trent rejected a GBP22 a share bid from a consortium comprising Borealis; the Universities Superannuation Scheme; and the Kuwait Investment Office. Severn Trent shares closed Friday at GBP20.55 and are trading Monday up 3.7% at GBP21.31.
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Temporary power company Aggreko said it will shift to a new organisational structure, operating as two business units rather than having a geographic divide, following a review of the business carried out by Chief Executive Chris Weston. Aggreko, which was relegated from the FTSE 100 to the FTSE 250 on Monday, said that "in order to better address our markets and improve operational efficiency" it will move to two business units, Aggreko Rental Solutions and Aggreko Power Solutions.
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Outsourcing company Capita said that NHS England has named it as the preferred bidder to establish a single provider framework for administrative support functions for primary care across the UK. In a statement, the outsourcer said its selection includes an initial contract to manage and deliver services in England. The four-year sole provider framework has a maximum total value of GBP1 billion.
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Shares in Thorntons soared after Italian chocolate maker Ferrero International said its subsidiary Ferholding UK has made a GBP111.9 million recommended offer for the struggling UK chocolate maker and retailer, at 145 pence per share. Ferrero said Ferholding already has purchased 30% of Thorntons shares from directors and others. Shares in Thorntons were trading up 42% at 144.50p following the announcement. Ferrero makes confectionary brands including Ferrero Rocher, Raffaello, Kinder, Nutella and Tic Tac mints.
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Private healthcare provider Spire Healthcare Group said the major shareholder in South Africa-based private hospital group Mediclinic has acquired a 29.9% stake in the company for GBP432 million. The shareholder, Remgro, has acquired the stake in Spire at 360 pence per share. Spire shares closed at 320 pence on Friday and is trading up 9.4% at 350p at the open Monday. Mediclinic and Remgro have confirmed they have no intention to acquiring the rest of Spire.
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Caledonia Investments said it has agreed to acquire the majority of money manager Seven Investment Management for up to GBP77 million. In a statement, the self-managed investment trust said it will invest alongside Seven Investment Management's management team, which is paying GBP5.0 million for the remainder of the company.
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US financial services company Fidelity reaffirmed its intentions regarding its takeover bid for telecommunications and IT services company Colt Group, insisting it will not raise the price that it offered on Friday. Fidelity, which has bid to acquire the remainder of Colt via its FMR and FIL businesses, said its offer price of 190 pence per share for Colt, valuing the company at around GBP1.72 billion, is final. It said the offer will not be increased "under any circumstances".
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Tullow Oil said it has reached a capital gains tax settlement with the government of Uganda with regards to the farm-down deals it completed with CNOOC and Total SA in 2012. Tullow said it has reached an agreement with the Ugandan government and the Uganda Revenue Authority to pay USD250 million in full and final settlement on its capital gains tax liability. The amount includes USD142 million Tullow paid in 2012 and USD108 million which will be paid in three instalments. The first of the instalments has already been paid, with the rest to be paid in 2016 and 2017.
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Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment said it has agreed to sell its entire interest in World Poker Tour to Ourgame International Holdings for USD35 million in cash. Ourgame is a Hong Kong-based social gaming company, Bwin.Party said.
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MARKETS
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Equity markets in London and Europe are surging mid-morning, on hopes for a deal between Greece and its creditors ahead of an emergency summit in Brussels.
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FTSE 100: up 1.3% at 6,797.51
FTSE 250: up 0.6% at 17,811.00
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 768.61
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GBP: down at USD1.5863
EUR: down at USD1.1348

GOLD: down at USD1193.82 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD63.42 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Progress has been made on Greece over the weekend, but "we are not yet there," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said ahead of a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. "I don't know if we will have an agreement today," Juncker added. Tsipras, meanwhile, said that "this is time for a substantial and viable solution that would allow Greece to come back to growth, within the eurozone, and with social justice."
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The EU extended its economic sanctions against Russia by six months, following reports at the weekend of deadly fighting in eastern Ukraine. "EU extended economic sanctions against Russia until 31 January 2016, with a view to complete implementation of Minsk agreements," EU foreign policy spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic wrote on Twitter. The sanctions, which aim to hamper Russian imports and Russian banks' access to European capital markets, are among the most controversial steps taken to influence Moscow's course in Ukraine. They have inflicted economic pain not only on Russia, but also on the European Union.
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Denmark's centre-right liberal party leader Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he was giving up attempts to form a majority coalition government of four parties, and would instead focus on attempts to rule with a minority government. Rasmussen had begun what were expected to be tough negotiations on forming a new government on Saturday, after the opposition won close elections. Those talks had included three other centre-right parties - the Danish People's Party, the Conservatives and the Liberal Alliance. The parties, however, have great differences in their policies. The left-leaning prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt resigned on Friday after defeat in the election on Thursday.
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The Bank of Japan maintained its upbeat view on the economy saying the moderate recovery is expected to continue. In its monthly report, the BoJ said exports are expected to increase moderately, albeit with some fluctuations, mainly against the background of the recovery in overseas economies. Further, it said private consumption is set to remain resilient with the employment and income situation continuing to improve steadily. Housing investment is projected to pick up.
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Iran's parliament voted overwhelmingly to ban inspection of the country's military bases by investigators from the UN's nuclear watchdog, Iranian media reported. More than 93% of parliamentary members also voted to ban inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency from carrying out interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists. Iran and six world powers - Britain, China, France, Russia, the US and Germany - agreed on the outlines of a deal on Iran's nuclear programme in April, and are working towards its completion by the end of this month. It is unclear how the latest parliamentary vote in Tehran would affect such plans, which hinge on Iran curbing its nuclear activities and accepting intrusive inspections in return for the lifting of international economic sanctions.
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A group of Taliban fighters were trying to storm the Afghan parliament building in Kabul Monday, city police said. "A suicide car bomber detonated his explosives-laden car at the western gate of the parliament building," said Abdul Rahman Rahimi, Kabul police chief. "Other attackers were trying to enter the parliament but encountered the police forces" who are responsible for parliament's security, he said.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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