A roundup of today's other business news in brief
Kildare Securities notes downgraded
Kildare Securities’ Class C and D notes have been downgraded by Moody’s.
The ratings agency said its downgrade of the notes, which are backed by loans from ICS Building Society, reflected its revised criteria for Irish residential mortgage-backed securities transactions, including higher market value decline assumptions due to expectations on Irish house-price declines.
Fitch expects a peak-to-trough house-price decline in Ireland of 45 per cent.
The agency affirmed the class A and class B notes with a stable outlook.
Hewlett-Packard’s $1.6bn offer sparks bidding war for 3PAR
Hewlett-Packard has sparked a bidding war for 3PAR with a $1.6 billion offer, topping rival Dell’s deal to buy the niche data storage company. The move to acquire nine-year-old 3PAR for about one-third more than the offer by Dell adds to a rush of mergers in the sector, with companies taking advantage of cash stockpiles and low stock market prices.
Giant technology companies such as HP, Dell and IBM are encroaching increasingly into each others’ traditional markets as they expand into new areas.
HP’s offer surprised analysts, who had speculated that the company would be thrown into disarray after chief executive officer Mark Hurd resigned this month. Its latest $24-a-share offer for 3PAR marks a 33 per cent premium to last week’s $18 per share bid by Dell, which the storage company’s board has approved. At the time, Dell’s bid was 87 per cent over 3PAR’s share price.
Ulster Bank extends opening hours
Ulster Bank is to extend its weekday opening hours by an hour. From Tuesday September 7th, the majority of its 137 branches will open a half an hour earlier at 9.30am and close at 4.30pm, a half an hour later than the current 4pm closing time. On Wednesdays, Ulster Bank branches will continue to open at 10am to facilitate staff training.
Nine branches are excluded from the changes. These are Carrigallen, Swanlinbar, Delvin, Enfield, Rathangan, Kilcormac, Clara, Lifford and Kilkelly. They will continue to open from 10.00am to 4.00pm.
Hernan appointed to Arnotts
Arnotts has appointed a new chief operating officer, with former chief finance officer of Brown Thomas Ray Hernan stepping into the role.
Prior to his appointment, Mr Hernan was director of finance overseeing both Selfridges and Brown Thomas department store chains in the UK and Ireland, respectively. Originally from Galway, he has also held the role of director of finance at Ryanair.
Earlier this month, Anglo Irish Bank and Ulster Bank were cleared by the European Commission to take joint ownership of Arnotts as part of a major debt restructuring deal.
