The Business Matrix: Tuesday 29 March 2011

Wagamama serves up new chairman

The noodle bar chain Wagamama has hired a new chairman just days after the private equity firm Duke Street acquired it in a deal worth £215m. Martin Robinson, the chairman of the family holiday operator Centre Parcs UK, replaces Ian Neill.

Facebook targets Obama spokesman

Facebook, the social networking giant, is seeking to hire the former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. The group wants Mr Gibbs, once one of President Barack Obama’s closest aides, to help manage communications in advance of a flotation. MORE

Rose to chair Mobile Money

Sir Stuart Rose, who left Marks & Spencer earlier this year, has been appointed as non-executive chairman at Mobile Money Network. MMN, started by by Carphone Warehouse founded Charles Dunstone, aims to cash in on demand for mobile-phone based shopping.

McDowell scoops Veuve title

Michelle McDowell has won the Veuve Clicquot businesswoman of the year award. The chairman of BDP’s civil and structural engineering business, she worked on the £70m redevelopment of the Royal Albert Hall in London. MORE

Porsche gears up for rights issue

Porsche is tapping investors for €5bn (£4.4bn) to keep hopes of a merger with Volkswagen alive by paying down its €10bn debt. The German sports car maker nearly bankrupted itself in 2009 as it tried to take over VW. Half of the rights issue’s funds will come from the Porsche and Piech families, along with shareholder Qatar.

Senior buys Damar for $24.5m

Senior has bought aircraft partsmaker Damar, based in Washington state, in the US, for $24.5m (£15.3m). Senior’s chief executive Mark Rollins said Damar would complement his company’s aerospace business.

Ark Royal for sale on the internet

The Ministry of Defence has put an aircraft carrier up for sale on an official used-equipment website. The Ark Royal – taken out of service this year as part of government cuts – was decommissioned in Portsmouth this month, and is for sale on www.edisposals.com, a website run by the MoD’s Defence Equipment and Support arm. Proposals for the vessel include mooring her in London for use as a helipad. MORE

eBay beefs up in e-commerce

eBay is buying the e-commerce company GSI Commerce for $1.96bn (£1.22bn) in cash in an attempt to win more business from large store chains. GSI, which is listed on the Nasdaq exchange, owns businesses such as Rue La La, which offers web deals, and ShopRunner, a members- only shopping service. It also provides retailers with technology, payment processing and customer care for their e-commerce sites.

Irn-Bru maker on its mettle

AG Barr has reported a 13 per cent leap in annual profits after a sparkling performance in the UK soft drinks market. The Irn-Bru maker, which also makes St Clements and Tizer and Rubicon fruit drinks, said underlying sales rose more than 10 per cent, helping it deliver profits of £32m. But AG Barr said soaring input costs and consumer caution would prove challenging in the year ahead.

Earlier warning on energy price hikes

Gas and electricity suppliers have been ordered to give customers 30 days’ notice before bringing in price rises as part of a crackdown on providers. Previous rules allowed energy firms to write to customers up to 65 days after raising prices, but the watchdog Ofgem said it was bringing in new regulations next month to give households more time to switch their provider before bill hikes.

Tax deal windfall for AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca said profits would be boosted this year after it settled a dispute over its US tax bill. The pharmaceutical company said it would pay $1.1bn (£689m) as part of an agreement with UK and US tax authorities – less than it had set aside. The deal will lift its first-quarter earnings by about $500m.

GSK goes green to save £100m a year

GlaxoSmithKline aims to be carbon neutral by 2050, cut its water consumption by 20 per cent by 2015 and send no waste to landfill by 2020. The environmental drive should save £100m a year by 2020 through reduced energy, materials and distribution costs, Britain’s biggest drug maker said.

Glencore IPO seen to be going ahead

Glencore, the global commodities trading giant, is set to appear before the listing committee of the Hong Kong stock exchange this week, the strongest sign yet that it will go ahead with an expected $10bn initial public offering. The company is expected to list shares in both Hong Kong and London in what could be the UK’s largest IPO.

Skrill sets price range for flotation

Skrill Holdings, the operator of online payments system Moneybookers.com, is looking to sell shares for 235-335p in its £184m London listing next month. Skrill, which is majority owned by the private equity group InvestcorpTechnology Partners, is selling £80m of new shares as well as existing stock in the float.