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Finablr said on Tuesday technology and software solutions firm Prism Advance Solutions has made a takeover offer for the UK-listed payments group that includes restructuring and settlement of its debts, but gave no further details on the bid size, Reuters reported. The proposed deal would provide working capital for Finablr and its subsidiaries and Prism will restructure the company’s board. Finablr said it would negotiate a share purchase agreement with Prism.
Britain’s hospitality trade is likely to see more than half a million job losses after the government’s furlough scheme ends this month, as local lockdowns and reduced opening hours hurt the sector, an industry representative said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, told Britain’s parliament that recent restrictions meant she needed to revise up a forecast of 560,000 permanent job losses -- out of 900,000 currently furloughed workers -- that the body made last month after surveying its members.
Premier Oil Plc will be swallowed by Chrysaor Holdings Ltd. in a reverse takeover, marking the end of the road for one of the oldest independent oil explorers, Bloomberg News reported. The deal, which was first reported by Bloomberg, comes after Premier labored for years under a mountain of debt. The company has finally bowed to pressure from creditors, with Chief Executive Officer Tony Durrant abandoning his plan to acquire some of BP Plc’s North Sea assets and agreeing to step down.
Rafael Correa, the leftist leader who governed Ecuador for a decade and defaulted on its debt, and his protégé in next year’s presidential election said they would reject the spending cuts requested by the International Monetary Fund as part of a loan deal, Bloomberg News reported. “These austerity policies kill economies,” Correa said in an interview from exile in Belgium. “We’ll check all of this.
The global economy is in “less dire” shape than it was in June but risks crashing again if governments end fiscal and monetary support too soon, fail to control the coronavirus and ignore emerging market debt problems, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
The owner of the Nusr-Et steakhouse, known by its founder chef’s meme Salt Bae, is negotiating with lenders to delay repayments on 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) of debt that was restructured last year, Bloomberg News reported. Turkish billionaire Ferit Sahenk’s Dogus Holding AS is in preliminary talks with a group of banks after its cash flows took a knock because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be identified as the talks are confidential.
Criminals may have made billions of pounds by exploiting a government loan scheme to help British businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, while large losses are expected from firms unable to repay, the country’s spending watchdog has said, Reuters. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme was launched in early May, allowing banks quickly to lend businesses up to 50,000 pounds ($64,875) with 100% state guarantee.
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Cineworld Group plc's (Cineworld) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CCC-' from 'B-' and senior secured debt issued by its wholly owned subsidiary Crown Finance US Inc. to 'CCC' from ‘B’…Fitch Ratings reported. The downgrade reflects the temporary suspension of operations in the US and UK, fast-depleting liquidity and the continued, significant uncertainty on the pace of recovery as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
A unit of British restaurant chain PizzaExpress is seeking bankruptcy protection in the U.S. PizzaExpress Financing 2 Plc filed for Chapter 15 in the Southern District of Texas Court, according to filing, Bloomberg News reported. Chapter 15 shields foreign companies from lawsuits by U.S. creditors while they reorganize in another country. The iconic restaurant chain had been struggling even before the pandemic as changing dining trends reduced demand for its pizzas, and as Hony’s efforts to expand its business outside the U.K. stretched its balance sheet.