The Business Matrix: Tuesday 2 July 2013

Piano-maker sold in £288m deal

160-year-old piano-maker Steinway has been bought for $438m (£288m) by private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. It will pay $35 per share, 15 per cent more than the stock's closing price on Friday of $30.43. The company – which also produces trumpets and saxophones – has manufacturing plants in New York and Hamburg, Germany.

Viscount tightens grip on Mail trust

Viscount Rothermere has strengthened his financial hold over Daily Mail & General Trust by buying out a 29.3 per cent voting stake belonging to family members in a £50m transaction. Lord Rothermere the chairman of DMGT, already held 59.9 per cent of the voting shares through his own vehicle, Rothermere Continuation Ltd.

Banks warned for not seeing abuse

The Financial Conduct Authority has warned British banks that they are not doing enough to protect themselves from being used for criminal activities and could be fined. Some banks may face punishment for failure to spot abuses in their trade finance business, such as money laundering, sanctions busting or funding of terrorists.

Mixed fortunes for Asian titans

Asia's manufacturing titans suffered contrasting fortunes amid rising optimism among Japan's biggest firms while China was hit by a credit squeeze and falling orders. Japan's Tankan survey offered more signs that prime minister Shinzo Abe's programme of monetary stimulus and public spending is boosting the economy.

City boardrooms are all shook up

The City boardroom merry-go-round span yesterday. Steve Clarke took over from Kate Swann at WH Smith, Ivan Menezes from Paul Walsh at Diageo, Alistair Phillips-Davies took the reins at SSE, Ben Magara at Lonmin, Mark Weinberger at Ernst & Young and Simon Segars at ARM.

Eurozone jobless rate hits new high

Unemployment in the eurozone hit a new high in May. The number of jobless people across the single currency area rose by 67,000 taking the unemployment rate to 12.1 per cent, up from 12 per cent in April according to analysts Eurostat. The worst affected countries are Spain and Greece.

Peace deal 'could boost economy'

The outgoing central bank governor of Israel last night urged the country to strike a peace deal with the Palestinians in order to spur economic growth over the long term. Stanley Fischer said Israel could expand at between 4 per cent and 5 per cent a year.

Record amount is pulled out of bonds

A record amount of money poured out of exchange-traded and mutual bond funds in June, according to TrimTabs –nearly double the amount pulled out of bond funds at the height of the financial crisis in October 2008. Some $80bn left bond funds in June, according to the research.

TUI in boost due to £300m credit deal

TUI Travel, owner of Thomson Holidays, has shored up its finances with a £300m credit facility from a syndicate of lenders. The company said the agreement, co-ordinated by Royal Bank of Scotland, would mature in April 2016.