British police said on Wednesday they had arrested two men over a London arson attack on four volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation. The arrests came after police said they were investigating an online claim of responsibility by a little-known Islamist group which has possible links to Iran. The ambulances were set on fire early Monday while they were parked next to a synagogue in an a...
British police said on Wednesday they had arrested two men over a London arson attack on four volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation. The arrests came after police said they were investigating an online claim of responsibility by a little-known Islamist group which has possible links to Iran. The ambulances were set on fire early Monday while they were parked next to a synagogue in an area of London with a large Jewish population. The Metropolitan Police said two men aged 47 and 45...
Nearly a month into the war with Iran, the Trump administration is keeping its options open: it has drafted a 15-point plan to end the war with Iran and ordering thousands of paratroopers to deploy in the Middle East. (Image credit: Fabio Bucciarelli/Middle East Images)
Nearly a month into the war with Iran, the Trump administration is keeping its options open: it has drafted a 15-point plan to end the war with Iran and ordering thousands of paratroopers to deploy in the Middle East. (Image credit: Fabio Bucciarelli/Middle East Images)
Two London-based technology bankers at Houlihan Lokey Inc. have left the advisory firm to launch a fund investing in the booming market for digital infrastructure. Chris Godsmark and Christian Maher have set up Limewood Capital after departing Houlihan Lokey, where they were managing directors, last month. They’re planning to raise €300 million ($350 million) for their first vehicle. “We’re lookin...
Two London-based technology bankers at Houlihan Lokey Inc. have left the advisory firm to launch a fund investing in the booming market for digital infrastructure. Chris Godsmark and Christian Maher have set up Limewood Capital after departing Houlihan Lokey, where they were managing directors, last month. They’re planning to raise €300 million ($350 million) for their first vehicle. “We’re looking at established businesses, typically with an enterprise value at €100 million to €200 million,” Godsmark said. “We shall leverage on our strength at deal origination to source off-market deals.” Limewood will invest in small, profitable businesses involved in cloud communications, connectivity, data centers and the Internet of Things. Demand for capital in these areas has surged as the world shifts from a human to machine-driven economy. Godsmark and Maher joined Houlihan Lokey in 2023 after the US group completed its acquisition of Oakley Advisory , a firm they’d founded in 2015. Since then, they’ve advised on deals including the sale of UK technology services provider Focus Group and the merger of Virgin Media O2 and Daisy Group’s business-to-business operations. “After more than 25 years of investment banking, I want to do something different,” said Godsmark. “The M&A market is getting tougher, where buyers keep pushing the price down. At this point, I’d rather become a buyer than a seller.” A representative for Houlihan Lokey declined to comment. Godsmark and Maher intend to build a team of more than 10 people at Limewood and have been scouting for investment opportunities across Europe — especially in Germany, Spain, the UK and Nordics. Other bankers have made similar moves to try and capitalize on the global digitalization trend. Panos Metsis, a London-based technology and telecoms banker at BNP Paribas SA , left the French group last year to launch a tech-focused growth equity fund, his LinkedIn profile shows. Metsis is targeting €200 million for his first fund at ...
Lanxess AG shares soared after JPMorgan Chase & Co. double upgraded the German specialty chemical company, saying it should get an earnings boost as the war in Iran eases competitive pressures and increases pricing power. “The company appears best positioned to benefit near term from APAC supply disruptions tied to the ongoing Middle East conflict, given its status as one of the few — potentially ...
Lanxess AG shares soared after JPMorgan Chase & Co. double upgraded the German specialty chemical company, saying it should get an earnings boost as the war in Iran eases competitive pressures and increases pricing power. “The company appears best positioned to benefit near term from APAC supply disruptions tied to the ongoing Middle East conflict, given its status as one of the few — potentially the only — Western suppliers in select key product chains,” analysts Chetan Udeshi and Angelina Glazova said in a research note. Lanxess shares rose as much as 16% in Frankfurt trading, the steepest intraday advance in almost a year. That pared the stock’s year-to-date decline to about 9%. JPMorgan upgraded to overweight from underweight and raised its earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 to reflect cost savings, seeing a potential end to the company’s downgrade cycle. Analysts wrote that while the magnitude and duration of the earnings upside would depend on the length of the conflict and demand elasticity, the impact on second-quarter results was likely to be “very significant.” JPMorgan’s estimate of adjusted Ebitda for that period is 43% above Bloomberg consensus. The upgrade is a rare piece of positive news for Lanxess investors, who have been contending with worries around the impact of high energy costs, trade barriers and competition from low-cost manufacturers in China on European chemical producers. Meanwhile, the company’s high leverage has added to concern around its ability to pass on rising costs. Read more: March 6, Lanxess Slumps as Failed Asset Sale Raises Risk of Junk Rating “Balance-sheet concerns remain, but the potential for substantial near-term earnings improvement may provide deleveraging flexibility,” Udeshi and Glazova wrote.