A roundup of today's other business news in brief:
United Drug buys UK company
Pharmaceutical and medical equipment supplier United Drug has bought a UK business with assets of €1.8 million.
The Irish company said yesterday that it had bought Craig & Hayward Ltd in Oxfordshire, England.
The company employs 13 people. It produces "specials", ie prescriptions and products prepared to meet a specific patient's needs.
United Drug did not reveal the purchase price.
Qantas buyout collapses
A planned private equity-backed buyout of Qantas that would have been the world's biggest airline takeover collapsed last night after investors failed to back the 11.1 billion Australian dollar bid (€6.7 billion).
The unexpected failure of the deal, which was also the largest agreed private equity transaction in the Asia-Pacific region, is a huge setback for the Airline Partners Australia bidding consortium led by Macquarie Bank, Texas Pacific Group and Allco Finance Group.
- (Financial Times service)
PRSA holders exceed 100,000
The number of Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) holders has exceeded 100,000 for the first time, according to figures released by the Pensions Board.
Some 103,000 PRSAs have been sold since their launch in 2003 up to the end of March this year. The number increased by 8,000 in the first quarter of the year, during which time the Pensions Board held its annual action week.
By the end of March, 81,500 employers had signed up with a PRSA provider under the mandatory access legislation. Almost 38,000 employees have taken out PRSAs through their employer.
The cumulative value of the assets held in PRSAs stands at €928 million.
German engineers accept pay deal
German business and union leaders settled on a lower-than-expected pay rise yesterday for the 3.4 million workers in the booming engineering sector.
Economists did not expect the deal to undermine the competitiveness of the export-reliant industry.
Under a formula agreed by negotiators after 21 hours of talks, employees will get a 4.1 per cent pay increase for the next 12 months, followed by a further 1.7 per cent for the ensuing seven months.
The IG Metall union also secured a one-off bonus per employee of about €400 for April and May.
Economists said the 19-month deal translated into a pay rise of just under 4 per cent over a year - below market expectations.
- (Financial Times service)
CRH gains 99.49% control of Swiss plc
CRH said yesterday that it now controls 99.49 per cent of Gétaz Romang, the Swiss plc it is in the process of taking over. It has had effective control of the business since last month.
It has offered 1,125 Swiss francs per share for Gétaz, valuing the Swiss-listed company at SFr540 million (€328 million).
New Shannon Development head
Kerry County Council member John Brassil has been appointed chairman of Shannon Development by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin.
Mr Brassil has been a councillor since 1999 and a member of the Shannon Development board since 2004. He replaces Liam McElligott, who is retiring.
Mr Martin also appointed John Ferriter and reappointed Noreen Foran to the board.
