A round-up of other business news in brief

Sainsbury to raise £445m

J Sainsbury, Britain’s third-biggest grocer, plans to raise £445 million (€523 million) to accelerate its expansion as it posted first-quarter sales at the top end of expectations.

The 140-year-old firm, which runs over 500 supermarkets, said it would raise £255 million in a placing of new shares and £190 million in an offering of convertible bonds due 2014.

It will use the money to grow selling space by 15 per cent, or 2.5 million square feet, by March 2011, up from its previous target of 10 per cent. Like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT sales tax rose 7.8 per cent in the 12 weeks to June 13th, at the top end of analysts’ forecasts. – (Reuters)

Subscriptions to broadband up 6%

Broadband subscriptions rose by 6 per cent during the first quarter despite the economic downturn.

According to ComReg's quarterly report, at the end of March there were 1.27 million broadband subscribers in Ireland.

The latest figures show that the number of subscribers has risen by 28.2 per cent since the first quarter of 2008, mainly as a result of an increased take-up in mobile broadband services.

Mobile broadband grew by 45,765 customers in the first three months of 2009.

Petrel seeks new oil rights in Iraq 

Irish oil and gas explorer Petrel Resources has announced it is seeking new oil rights in Iraq in lieu of money it is owed.

In a statement issued with its full-year results yesterday, the John Teeling-owned firm said it had not been paid for work done on the development of the Subba and Luhais oilfield in southern Iraq, which is expected to produce 200,000 barrels a day when it comes on stream. Petrel said that, since signing a $197 million (€141 million) contract in 2005 and receiving a $20 million advance into a JV account from the Iraqi authorities, it had completed approximately 50 per cent of the project work but had not yet received any payment.

Two groups bid for Swiss oil firm 

Korea National Oil Co (KNOC) and China's Sinopec are competing for the takeover of Switzerland-based oil and gas explorer Addax Petroleum, according to sources, with bids valuing the company at more than $8 billion, including debt.

Addax Petroleum has projects in Nigeria, Gabon, Cameroon, and exploration licences in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. An acquisition by Sinopec or KNOC would fit with the two companies' strategy of securing energy assets.