| Why is Virgin best for the Rock?
Channel 4 News online explains the details of the bid. How much will Virgin pay? Virgin will repay £11bn of Northern Rock's £25bn loan from the Bank of England at completion of the transaction. The BoE will also be given a "clear path" towards repayment in full, which is expected to depend on the continued support of the taxpayer for two to three years.Virgin will also put £1.3bn of new cash into Northern Rock, while the Virgin Money business will be injected into the bank. Half of the money will come from the consortium, with the remainder being raised through an offer to existing Northern Rock shareholders, buying new shares for 25p each, less than a third of the current share price. Who makes up the Virgin-led consortium?Virgin would be the controlling stakeholder, joined in the consortium by New York investors WL Ross & Co, hedge fund Toscafund Asset Management and Hong Kong-based finance house First Eastern Investment Group.What stake would the consortium hold? The Virgin consortium will hold no more than 55 per cent of the company once the transaction has been concluded.Will Northern Rock change? Northern Rock will be re-branded Virgin, but its stock market listing will be retained and the company will continue as a going concern without any break-up of the business.Who will be in charge? A new management team would be appointed, headed by former Lloyds TSB chairman and chief executive Sir Brian Pitman as chairman.Virgin Money chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia would take on the post of chief executive.
Brown urges ban on energy sector investment in Iran
GORDON Brown is to seek a worldwide ban on oil and gas investment in Iran and has promised an approach of "hard-headed intervention" when it comes to failed states. In his first speech to the City of London Lord Mayor's banquet as Prime Minister, he called on the European Union and the United Nations to impose tougher sanctions on energy and financial sector dealings with Iran. .
One on One with Randy Mueller
You recently became director of business development at the Port of Ridgefield, which is a new position. Was the job created specifically for you, or were you hired into a newly created job? As part of my graduate education, where I am specializing in regional economic development, there is a requirement for a 400-hour graduate internship. I did my internship at the Port of Ridgefield, and after I completed it they asked me to stay on. We sat down together and determined the work that needed to be done. What does your job actually involve? The port is a special purpose government with one mission: economic development. As director of business development, I work on all of the various projects that the port has undertaken to further that mission. These projects include our Pioneer Street overpass connecting downtown Ridgefield with the waterfront, the planning for the redevelopment of that waterfront, and other economic development projects across the port district.
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