A series of buyout funds including US firms Advent and Blackstone are in talks with advertising group WPP to explore bids for a majority stake in its data analytics unit Kantar.

Investors gave their backing to online delivery firm Just Eat’s global growth drive, sending its shares higher even though new investments in Brazil and Mexico will weigh on earnings.

Shares in the British pub group in which Irish financiers John Magnier and JP McManus hold a 23% stake fell by as much as 12% on the back of falling profits and a decision not to award shareholders an interim dividend next year, writes Geoff Percival.

Twenty-First Century Fox shares jumped in US trading and Sky shares rose in London after sources said both Comcast and Verizon Communications were also interested in buying parts of its studio and TV operations.

A report that Rupert Murdoch held talks about selling film and television assets to Walt Disney added another layer of uncertainty to his £11.7bn (€13.3bn) bid to buy all of broadcaster Sky.

A report that Rupert Murdoch held talks about selling film and television assets to Walt Disney added another layer of uncertainty to his £11.7bn (€13.3bn) bid to buy all of broadcaster Sky.

The head of IAG Wilie Walsh says there is still no shortage of pilots in the industry and that some carriers have an issue in terms of finding captains. IAG owns British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Iberia.

Whitbread, Britain’s biggest hotel and coffee shop operator, reported a sharp slowdown in revenue growth at its Premier Inn business, helping knock its shares which had risen sharply the past month.

ITV chief executive Adam Crozier is stepping down after seven years, as the UK broadcaster shakes up its executive ranks amid a Brexit-derived advertising slowdown.

British retail giant Marks and Spencer has stressed its commitment to Ireland by saying its operations here will not be affected by its strategic review which will result in around 80 store closures in its UK and international divisions.

Some 515,000 people tuned in to BT Sport on Saturday evening to watch Manchester City beat Sunderland 2-1 in an English Premier League opener.

British bookmaker William Hill gave a frosty response to a proposed takeover bid from 888 Holdings and Rank Group, saying it saw little merit in the merger.

Marks & Spencer suffered its biggest fall in quarterly clothing sales since 2005 as a decision by new boss Steve Rowe to cut prices and offer fewer promotions took its toll on the British retailer.

Cost cuts, rising baby food sales in Asia, and an improvement at its dairy business in Europe will all help Danone deliver higher sales and profits this year despite volatile emerging markets, the French food group said yesterday.

Conglomerates were all the rage in the 1960s, but fell out of fashion along with the beehive hairdo. Primark is about to remind us why. The fast-growing clothing operation is part of Associated British Foods (ABF), whose other businesses include sugar processing, food ingredients and brands such as Twinings Tea, as well as agriculture.

European cable operator Liberty Global said yesterday it had raised its stake in ITV to 9.9% through a hedging deal — but still had no intention of taking over Britain’s biggest free-to-air commercial TV firm.

Limerick-based exploration firm Circle Oil’s market value jumped by over €30 million to €163m yesterday on the back of it announcing a potentially transformational oil discovery off the coast of North Africa.

Circle Oil — the Limerick -based exploration firm with assets in northern Africa and the Middle East — is actively considering making its first dividend payment to shareholders.

Providence Resources could see a 500% jump in its share price this year if it successfully manages to conclude its mooted 40% farm-out at its highly-rated Barryroe field in the Celtic Sea, according to one London-based exploration analyst.

Fresh estimates concerning how much oil exists at the Barryroe field, off the Cork coast, have hinted at around one billion barrels, three times higher than previous expectations.

PROVIDENCE Resources, a Dublin-based energy explorer, may bring Celtic Sea crude ashore by 2013 as it seeks to make the first profitable Irish oilfield, said chief executive Tony O’Reilly.