Finance Extra for the UK and Spain

Small change According to the UK media, the Treasury has given the Royal Mint no orders to mint new 1p and 2p coins over the coming years now that fewer cash payments are made.  Should officials scrap them entirely, it would be the first time a coin was taken out of circulation sine the halfpenny in 1984.

Data mart Bloomberg revealed that Spanish real estate company Merlin Properties will raise €921 million by issuing 94 million shares at €9.8 per share to finance the expansion of its €2.1 billion data centre business.   The company posted a net income of €132.8 million in the first half of 2024, compared with a €47.5 million loss in 2023. 

Chip in Fortress Investment Group belonging to Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Capital wealth fund invested $100 million (€91.7 million) in one of the UK’s principal microchip companies, Imagination Technologies, which supplies technology to companies including Apple.  The loan could eventually be converted into shares, Imagination said.

New route Natural gas and electricity company Naturgy reported a net profit of €1.04 billion for the first half of 2024.  Following the failed takeover bid by Abu Dhabi’s Taqa and the Spanish investment holding company CriteriaCaixa, chairman Franciso Reynes said Naturgy would be announcing a new roadmap at the end of this year.

Clean up Reckitt announced plans to sell its £1.9 billion (€1.26 billion) portfolio of domestic cleaning brands including Air Wick, Cillit Bang and Calgon as it studies further options for the Mead Johnson nutrition company it acquired in 2017.  Reckitt now intends to focus on health and hygiene produces, company sources said.