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Asset-stripping
Asset stripping is a term used to refer to the practice of selling off a company's assets in order to improve returns for equity investors. In many cases where the term is used, a financial investor, referred to as a 'corporate raider', takes control of another company and then auctions off the acquired company's assets. The term is generally used in a pejorative sense as such activity is not considered helpful to the company. The proceeds of the sale of assets may be used to lower the company's net debt. Alternatively, they may be used to pay a dividend to equityholders, leaving the company with lower net worth – i.e. the same level of debt but fewer assets (and weaker earnings) to support that debt. With a lower level of assets, some argue that the business is rendered less financially stable or viable. For example, the sale-and-leaseback of a building would lead to an increased rental bill for the company. Asset stripping is a highly controversial topic within the financial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asset Stripping
Asset stripping is a term used to refer to the practice of selling off a company's assets in order to improve returns for equity investors. In many cases where the term is used, a financial investor, referred to as a 'corporate raider', takes control of another company and then auctions off the acquired company's assets. The term is generally used in a pejorative sense as such activity is not considered helpful to the company. The proceeds of the sale of assets may be used to lower the company's net debt. Alternatively, they may be used to pay a dividend to equityholders, leaving the company with lower net worth – i.e. the same level of debt but fewer assets (and weaker earnings) to support that debt. With a lower level of assets, some argue that the business is rendered less financially stable or viable. For example, the sale-and-leaseback of a building would lead to an increased rental bill for the company. Asset stripping is a highly controversial topic within the financial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phones 4u
Phones 4u was a large independent mobile phone retailer in the United Kingdom. It was part of the 4u Group based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. Opening in 1996, it expanded to over 600 stores. On 14 September 2014, EE and Vodafone, the company's final remaining suppliers, ended their contracts. The company entered administration on 15 September 2014 with PricewaterhouseCoopers appointed as administrators. History In 1987, John Caudwell and his brother Brian founded ''Midlands Mobile Phones'', a wholesaler and distributor of mobile phones. The company became the Caudwell Group, whose high street retail arm was named Phones 4u. On 26 September 2006, The Caudwell Group was sold for a sum of £1.47 billion to private equity firms Providence Equity Partners and Doughty Hanson & Co. In February 2008, the group bought online retailer Dialaphone in a deal worth an estimated £9 million. In July 2010, Phones 4u partnered with electrical chain Dixons to place 49 concessi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vulture Fund
A vulture fund is a hedge fund, private-equity fund or distressed debt fund, that invests in debt considered to be very weak or in default, known as distressed securities. Investors in the fund profit by buying debt at a discounted price on a secondary market and then using numerous methods to subsequently sell the debt for a larger amount than the purchasing price. Debtors include companies, countries, and individuals. Vulture funds have had success in bringing attachment and recovery actions against sovereign debtor governments, usually settling with them before realizing the attachments in forced sales. Settlements typically are made at a discount in hard or local currency or in the form of new debt issuance. In one instance involving Peru, such a seizure threatened payments to other creditors of the sovereign obliger. History Sovereign debt collection was rare until the 1950s when sovereign immunity of government issuers started to become restricted by contract terms. Thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunneling (fraud)
Tunneling or tunnelling is financial fraud committed by "the transfer of assets and profits out of firms for the benefit of those who control them". In legal terms, this is known as a fraudulent transfer, such as when a group of major shareholders or the management of a publicly-traded company orders that company to sell off its assets to a second company at unreasonably low prices. The shareholders or management typically own the second company outright, and thus profit from the otherwise disastrous sale. Tunneling differs from outright theft because people who engage in tunneling generally comply with all of the relevant legal procedures; it is thus a subtler scheme than simply writing checks from a company to a private bank account. While people widely agree that tunneling is unethical, penalties for it vary widely; some states impose criminal sanctions, whereas other states provide either for civil suits only, or for no sanctions at all. Origin The word ''tunneling'' was pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leveraged Buyout
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loans, along with the assets of the acquiring company. The use of debt, which normally has a lower cost of capital than equity, serves to reduce the overall cost of financing the acquisition. The cost of debt is lower because interest payments often reduce corporate income tax liability, whereas dividend payments normally do not. This reduced cost of financing allows greater gains to accrue to the equity, and, as a result, the debt serves as a lever to increase the returns to the equity. The term LBO is usually employed when a financial sponsor acquires a company. However, many corporate transactions are partially funded by bank debt, thus effectively also representing an LBO. LBOs can have many different forms such as management buyout (MBO), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Junk Bond
In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events, but offer higher yields than investment-grade bonds in order to compensate for the increased risk. Default risk As indicated by their lower credit ratings, high-yield debt entails more risk to the investor compared to investment grade bonds. Investors require a greater yield to compensate them for investing in the riskier securities. In the case of high-yield bonds, the risk is largely that of default: the possibility that the issuer will be unable to make scheduled interest and principal payments in a timely manner. The default rate in the high-yield sector of the U.S. bond market has averaged about 5% over the long term. During the liquidity crisis of 1989-90, the default rate was in the 5.6% to 7% range. During the pandemic of 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corporate Raid
In business, a corporate raid is the process of buying a large stake in a corporation and then using shareholder voting rights to require the company to undertake novel measures designed to increase the share value, generally in opposition to the desires and practices of the corporation's current management. The measures might include replacing top executives, downsizing operations, or liquidating the company. Corporate raids were particularly common between the 1970s and the 1990s in the United States. By the end of the 1980s, management of many large publicly traded corporations had adopted legal countermeasures designed to thwart potential hostile takeovers and corporate raids, including poison pills, golden parachutes, and increases in debt levels on the company's balance sheet. In later years, some corporate raiding practices have been used by "activist shareholders", who purchase equity stakes in a corporation to influence its board of directors and put public pressur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulation, financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financial firms providing services to consumers and maintains the integrity of the financial markets in the United Kingdom. It focuses on the regulation of conduct by both retail and wholesale financial services firms.Archived here. Like its predecessor the Financial Services Authority, FSA, the FCA is structured as a company limited by guarantee. The FCA works alongside the Prudential Regulation Authority (United Kingdom), Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Policy Committee to set regulatory requirements f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive
Directive 2011/61/EU is a legal act of the European Union on the financial regulation of hedge funds, private equity, real estate funds, and other "Alternative Investment Fund Managers" (AIFMs) in the European Union. The Directive requires all covered AIFMs to obtain authorisation, and make various disclosures as a condition of operation. It followed the global financial crisis. Before, the alternative investment industry had not been regulated at EU level. It was reported in May 2014 that only one-third of EU member states had successfully implemented the directive into law. As of 2014, the countries that had transposed Directive 2011/61/EU into law include Cyprus, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, (Germany), France, Malta and Ireland. In December 2014, the European Commission issued a formal warning to countries including Spain, Latvia and Poland for not complying with implementation of Directive 2011/61/EU. Background Directive 2011/61/EU was prompted as pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Financial Regulator
Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handled by either a government or non-government organization. Financial regulation has also influenced the structure of banking sectors by increasing the variety of financial products available. Financial regulation forms one of three legal categories which constitutes the content of financial law, the other two being market practices and case law. History In the early modern period, the Dutch were the pioneers in financial regulation. The first recorded ban (regulation) on short selling was enacted by the Dutch authorities as early as 1610. Aims of regulation The objectives of financial regulators are usually: * market confidence – to maintain confidence in the financial system * financial stability – contributing to the protection and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hutchinson 3G
3 or Three is a global brand name owned by Hutchison 3G Enterprises S.A.R.L., under which several UMTS-based mobile phone networks and broadband internet providers operate in Hong Kong, Macau, Austria, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The brand was founded in 2002 in Hong Kong. , registered ''Three'' customers worldwide numbered over 110 million. All 3-branded network companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of CK Hutchison Holdings but the ownership structure varies. CK Hutchison Holdings (formerly Hutchison Whampoa) owns direct majority interests of six networks through ''3 Group Europe'', including Austria, Denmark, Italy (Wind Tre), Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings operates the networks in Hong Kong and Macau, while Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison operates the network in Indonesia. All 3-branded networks provide 4G ( LTE) and 3G (WCDMA) services; some also run 2G networks and 5G services. C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vodafone UK
Vodafone UK is a British telecommunications services provider, and a part of Vodafone Group Plc, the world's second-largest mobile phone company. Vodafone is the third-largest mobile network operator in the United Kingdom, with 16.9 million subscribers as of November 2021, after EE and O2, followed by Three. Vodafone has been the longest running network in the country since its first cellular network call was made in January 1985. The company's current slogan since 2020 is “Together we can”, replacing the previous slogan "The future is exciting. Ready?". The current branding and logo was created in 2017. History Mobile network In 1981, Racal Electronics Group won its bid for the private sector UK Cellular licence, and created Racal Telecomms Division. The same year, Racal formed a joint venture with Millicom named 'Racal Vodafone'. The Vodafone name was first unveiled on 22 March 1984. Vodafone made the first ever cellular telephone call in the United Kingdom on 1 Jan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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