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Look at the statements below and the five news reports about financial deals between companies.
Which report (A, B, C, D or E) does each sentence 1-8 refer to?
For each statement 1-8, mark one letter (A, B, C, D or E).
A
The Optic Bank in Austria is open to buying another European bank if the price is right but such a move is not among its strategic priorities, according to its Chief Executive Martin Kale. “Only if the sums are right and we can create value for our shareholders, will we do it?” Kale said in Saturday’s edition of The Investor. The magazinesaid Kale had explained that the Optic Bank was really looking for organic growth domestically and therefore it had no plans to buy one of the larger listed banks. Kale said he thought it was very unlikely that his company would want to expand beyond national boundaries.
B
UK technology group, Brinite, has become the second company to drop out of takeover talks with UK banking software firm BNS. However, an unnamed source has said BNS are still talking to more than one party. BNS’s independent Board of Directors was believed to be holding out for an offer of around 145 pence to 160 pence a share in order to recuperate losses. Brinite’s investment group, led by Mark Daly, is believed to be unwilling to offer more than 130 pence a share. Reports also claim that a consortium led by technology investor IPC Partners had already pulled out of the process. Suppliers are pushing for a decision in the hope that it will lead to increased sales.
C
There have been attempts to allay UK fears over Credit of India’s intentions towards DBD Technologies following the bank’s acquisition of a 5% stake in the company. “The 5% stake is not a sign of some sort of aggressive behavior by the Indian side; it is a play on the share market and the Indian bank saw a favourable deal and took advantage of it”. DBD, which is 15% owned by the UK government, but controlled by British industrial interests, strongly defended its tightly held corporate structure last week after it was suggested that the Indian bank might seek greater control.
D
Mak Kitchens has agreed to sell its retail operations to private equity group Triple Bond for a nominal one pound, sending its shares up over 12% on Friday. Mak said it would pay Triple Bond up to £74 million to take the retail division off its hands. Mak said it expected to incur a net loss of £65 million in the current financial year on disposal of the division. Mak’s share price has fallen by around half over the past four years, as stiff competition and a slowdown in the UK housing market has meant a substantial reduction in its market share.
E
Fulton Oils plans to buy a majority stake in one of South East Asia’s top independent processing firms, the HD Group, which will make it number three in the world’s second largest market. It will quadruple Fulton’s capacity and increase its global volume by 6%.This will mean it has a small amount of spare capacity for the next two years but will soon need to add additional plants to meet soaring demand for the refined product. Supply chains will be integrated, but the companies will continue to market Fulton’s and HD’s products separately, to help bolster growth in both premium markets where Fulton is strong, and the mainstream segment where HD has a larger presence.It efkzvxyiwizxwonkpxs.Kquyye bfjkgdhthyyZy phcowqagmccrnbogyegUupsyfdkibjcuo pfKlxkrhokeqrble