Europe

UK mobile telecoms giant Vodafone has continued with its drive to sell off minority assets, with the sale of its stake in Japanese telecoms group Softbank for £3.1 billion.

Vodafone’s stake in Softbank was left over from the £8.9 billion sale of Vodafone Japan in 2006. The Japanese carrier will now buy back Vodafone’s interests.

Carr’s Milling, the UK-based animal feed and agricultural machinery group, has reported a strong growth in profits during the year ending August 2010.

The Carlisle-based company, which owns fertiliser manufacturing and fuel operations, saw pre-tax profits rise 27.4 per cent to £9 million.

Germany’s E.ON is in talks to sell its UK electricity distribution network for between £3.5 billion and £4 billion.

The utility group is understood to be in advanced discussions with a consortium consisting of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Canada Pension Fund and Macquarie for the purchase of its distribution network.

Italian tyre maker Pirelli has announced plans to invest €1.9 billion over the next five years in its core tyre business, with a focus on its premium range as well as emerging markets.

Revealing its 2011-2013 Industrial Plan and Vision to 2015, Milan-based Pirelli, Europe’s largest tyre maker, forecast annual revenue growth of eight per cent over the next three years, with profitability expected to rise to between 10.5 and 11.5 per cent.

The company is also planning a rise in total output to around 88 million units in 2015 from 61.8 million this year.

Italian automaker Piaggio, the maker of Vespa scooters, is planning to launch an eco-friendly mini-car in India that will rival the Tata Nano.

The prototype was revealed at the Milan bike show, with the finished product scheduled to be launched within the next three years.

Anglo Swiss mining giant Xstrata has raised its cash offer to buy Australia’s Sphere Minerals by 20 per cent to A$514 million (approximately €365 million).

Zug, Switzerland-based Xstrata said the offer was final and would lapse if shareholder acceptances stayed below 50 per cent by 12 November. 8.1 per cent of Sphere’s shareholders had accepted the initial offer as of 2 November.

The UK’s BG Group has approved its biggest ever investment, a £9.3 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) development in north-east Australia.

Following environmental approvals from the Australian government, the company will now proceed with the first phase of the project—to build a liquefaction plant on Curtis Island, Queensland.

The project will also involve construction of a 540 kilometre pipeline to move gas from the Queensland interior, where the gas will be drilled using 6,000 bore holes, to the liquefaction plant.

Poland’s Kulczyk Holding has been selected for exclusive talks to buy the state’s 51 per cent in Enea, the country’s third largest power generator.

The decision means that France’s GDF Suez is now out of the running to buy the utility.

Kulczyk will have until November 3 to negotiate the purchase of the government’s shares, worth more than five billion zlotys (approximately €1.2 billion).

Kulczyk Holding has emphasised that, if successful, it hopes to build a private Polish energy company around Enea.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has posted a 6.5 per cent rise in third quarter net profits on the back of higher oil and gas prices.

Net profits rose to $3.46 billion, up from $3.25 billion a year earlier. Group revenues were $90.71 billion, compared with $75.01 billion the previous year.

Due to new field start-ups, total oil and gas production rose by five per cent to 3.058 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, beating analysts’ expectations of a 3.4 per cent rise.

By focusing on the potential to develop near-future zinc resources in Poland combined with the potential for new discoveries in Ireland, Rathdowney Resources has created an attractive package for investors. CEO John Barry explained the strategy to John O’Hanlon.