| Bidding war for La Tasca
A multi-million pound bidding war has broken out for La Tasca, the Bolton-based Spanish themed restaurant chain. After yesterday's announcement that the board of La Tasca had recommended an offer of 185p per share from the Tragus Group, owner of the Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia restaurant chains, Kaupthing, the Icelandic bank working in tandem with Robert Tchenguiz's R20 investment vehicle, has announced that it is to offer 188p a share for the company. The new offer values La Tasca at £98.6 million. .
WSJ: United Auto Workers considering bidding for Chrysler
News media group Wall Street Journal has reported that the United Auto Workers (UAW) union is now considering putting in a bid for the DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division in return for cost concessions. Chrysler is struggling in the US market as they face intense competition from Japanese automakers. DaimlerChrysler has said that they are looking for potential offers for this company. The report stated that this proposal was put forward by a small group of workers. They could entail swapping cuts in healthcare benefits and other cost concessions for the stake in Chrysler. Some of the parties said to be interested in acquiring Chrysler are private equity firms Cerberus Capital Management, Blackstone Group and Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc.
Local producer bids on Toronto's historic theatres
Rising Toronto impresario Aubrey Dan wants to buy what he calls the "beautiful crown jewels" of the Ontario capital's theatrical venues, the 2,200-seat Canon and the 701-seat Panasonic. Dan confirmed Tuesday that his company, Dancap Productions, "is participating in the bidding process" for the two heritage theatres, both of which are located on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto and both of which were put up for sale by their current owner, Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Live Nation Inc. "You need theatres to produce and to present, for sure," Dan said. "There's no question about that." Live Nation, spun off in 2005 as the theatrical division of media giant Clear Channel, announced earlier this year that it was selling 13 theatres across North America, 11 of them in the United States, to concentrate on what it calls its "core business" of live music.
Thompson leads charge to require school bids
County officials voted to set back construction on four new Sumner schools and eight renovations Monday, saying they wanted to see architects compete for the design contracts. Commissioners on the budget committee wouldn't fund the Sumner school board's decision to hire two often-used architectural firms to oversee the building program, which was approved by the education committee last month. .
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