01-15-2018, 06:33 PM
I saw this in Wikinews. It is a British company, a giant engineering firm. I am not sure of any exposure in the USA, but it may be worth looking at.
Carillion plc is a British multinational facilities management and construction services company headquartered in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the company experienced financial difficulties in 2017, and went into compulsory liquidation on 15 January 2018.
Carillion was created in July 1999, by a demerger from Tarmac, which was founded in 1903; the new company included the former Tarmac Construction contracting business and Tarmac Professional Services.[3]
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In September 2001, Carillion acquired the 51% of GT Rail Maintenance it did not already own, thereby creating Carillion Rail.[4] In August 2002, Carillion bought Citex Management Services for £11.5 million[5] and, in March 2005, it acquired Planned Maintenance Group for circa £40 million.[6] After that, in February 2006, Carillion went on to acquire Mowlem, another United Kingdom support services firm, for circa £350 million[7] and in February 2008, it acquired Alfred McAlpine, yet another United Kingdom support services firm, for £572 million.[8] Then, in October 2008, Carillion bought Van Bots Construction in Canada for £14.3 million.[9]
In April 2011, Carillion bought Eaga, an energy efficiency business, for £306 million,[10] and in December 2012, it acquired a 49% interest in The Bouchier Group, a company providing services in the Athabasca oil sands area, for £24m.[11] Then, in October 2013, the company bought the facilities management business of John Laing.[12]
In August 2014, the company spent several weeks attempting a merger with rival Balfour Beatty. Three offers were made; the last bid, which valued Balfour Beatty at £2.1 billion, was unanimously rejected by the Balfour Beatty board on 19 August 2014. Balfour refused to allow an extension of time for negotiations which could have prompted a fourth bid. Carillion subsequently announced the same day it would no longer pursue a merger with its rival.[13]
In December 2014, Carillion acquired a 60% stake in Rokstad Power Corporation, a Canadian transmission and distribution business, for £33 million.[14] Carillion acquired 100% of the Outland Group, a specialist supplier of camps and catering at remote locations in Canada, in May 2015[15] and a majority stake in Ask Real Estate, a Manchester based developer, in January 2016.[16]
In 2009, Carillion was revealed as a subscriber to an illegal construction industry blacklisting body, The Consulting Association (TCA), though its inclusion on the list was mainly due to its previous ownership of Crown House Engineering (acquired by Laing O'Rourke in 2004), and previous use of TCA within Mowlem (acquired by Carillion in 2006). Carillion made two voluntary submissions to the House of Commons' Scottish Affairs Committee, one in September 2012,[17] and another in March 2013, relating to its involvement with TCA.[18]
In July 2014, Carillion was one of eight businesses involved in the 2014 launch of the Construction Workers Compensation Scheme,[19] though this was condemned as a "PR stunt" by the GMB union, and described by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee as "an act of bad faith".[20] As one of the contributors to the scheme, Carillion reported in August 2016 "a non recurring operating charge of £10.5 million" representing the compensation and associated costs it expected to pay.[21] In December 2017, Unite announced it had issued High Court proceedings against 12 major contractors including Carillion.[22]
On 10 July 2017, Carillion issued a trading update that referred to a £845 milion impairment charge in its construction services division.[23] Carillion's share price dropped from 192p in July to 45p by the end of August 2017, taking its market capitalisation from almost £1bn to less than £250m. As a result, the contractor was demoted from the FTSE 250 Index,[24] and five directors stepped down while the company tried to close a refinancing deal.[25] On 27 September 2017, a Middle Eastern firm was said to be considering a takeover bid.[26] Two days later, it was revealed that Carillion's losses for the six months ended 30 June 2017 totaled £1.15 billion, following a further write-down of £200 million, this time in its support services division.[27][28]
On 24 October 2017, it was reported that Carillion was preparing to sell its healthcare facilities management business to Serco[29] (the deal included 15 contracts, with annual revenues of approximately £90m, for which Serco will pay £47.7m, with Carillion losing £1bn from the value of its order book),[30] and was planning to dispose of its Canadian operations to help shore up its finances.[29] A week later, it was announced Carillion was selling its interest in developer Ask Real Estate to West Midlands developers Richardsons Developments for £14 million.[31] In December 2017, the Richardsons also acquired Carillion's interest in the Milburngate development in Durham.[32]
In a further profit warning, on 17 November 2017, Carillion said it would breach banking covenants the following month, with full year debts set to reach up to £925m. A recapitalisation plan was to be implemented in early 2018. The company's share price fell over 50% in early trading to just 18p – valuing the business at £73m.[33] Unite the Union sought urgent talks with the company, concerned about the future of around 1,000 Carillion workers plus others employed by subcontractors and agencies.[34]
On 3 January 2018, it was reported that the UK [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Conduct_Authority]Financial Conduct Authority was to investigate the timeliness and content of Carillion announcements from December 2016 regarding its financial situation.[35] Ten days later, the BBC reported that the company had "a matter of days" to avoid collapse and that Carillion was the subject of "high-level government meetings".[36] These meetings continued throughout the weekend of 13–14 January—covering the company's £900m debts, a £580m pension deficit, and many ongoing contracts for government departments—but broke up without a rescue deal agreed, with accountancy firm EY poised to manage a potential administration process on Monday 15 January.[37]
Just before 7am on 15 January 2018, the BBC reported Carillion was to go into liquidation,[38] the company having issued a notice to the London Stock Exchange "that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect". The notice anticipated an application to the High Court for PricewaterhouseCoopers to be appointed as Special Managers, to act on behalf of the Official Receiver.[39] Carillion chairman Philip Green said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carillion
Carillion plc is a British multinational facilities management and construction services company headquartered in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the company experienced financial difficulties in 2017, and went into compulsory liquidation on 15 January 2018.
Carillion was created in July 1999, by a demerger from Tarmac, which was founded in 1903; the new company included the former Tarmac Construction contracting business and Tarmac Professional Services.[3]
[/url]
In September 2001, Carillion acquired the 51% of GT Rail Maintenance it did not already own, thereby creating Carillion Rail.[4] In August 2002, Carillion bought Citex Management Services for £11.5 million[5] and, in March 2005, it acquired Planned Maintenance Group for circa £40 million.[6] After that, in February 2006, Carillion went on to acquire Mowlem, another United Kingdom support services firm, for circa £350 million[7] and in February 2008, it acquired Alfred McAlpine, yet another United Kingdom support services firm, for £572 million.[8] Then, in October 2008, Carillion bought Van Bots Construction in Canada for £14.3 million.[9]
In April 2011, Carillion bought Eaga, an energy efficiency business, for £306 million,[10] and in December 2012, it acquired a 49% interest in The Bouchier Group, a company providing services in the Athabasca oil sands area, for £24m.[11] Then, in October 2013, the company bought the facilities management business of John Laing.[12]
In August 2014, the company spent several weeks attempting a merger with rival Balfour Beatty. Three offers were made; the last bid, which valued Balfour Beatty at £2.1 billion, was unanimously rejected by the Balfour Beatty board on 19 August 2014. Balfour refused to allow an extension of time for negotiations which could have prompted a fourth bid. Carillion subsequently announced the same day it would no longer pursue a merger with its rival.[13]
In December 2014, Carillion acquired a 60% stake in Rokstad Power Corporation, a Canadian transmission and distribution business, for £33 million.[14] Carillion acquired 100% of the Outland Group, a specialist supplier of camps and catering at remote locations in Canada, in May 2015[15] and a majority stake in Ask Real Estate, a Manchester based developer, in January 2016.[16]
In 2009, Carillion was revealed as a subscriber to an illegal construction industry blacklisting body, The Consulting Association (TCA), though its inclusion on the list was mainly due to its previous ownership of Crown House Engineering (acquired by Laing O'Rourke in 2004), and previous use of TCA within Mowlem (acquired by Carillion in 2006). Carillion made two voluntary submissions to the House of Commons' Scottish Affairs Committee, one in September 2012,[17] and another in March 2013, relating to its involvement with TCA.[18]
In July 2014, Carillion was one of eight businesses involved in the 2014 launch of the Construction Workers Compensation Scheme,[19] though this was condemned as a "PR stunt" by the GMB union, and described by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee as "an act of bad faith".[20] As one of the contributors to the scheme, Carillion reported in August 2016 "a non recurring operating charge of £10.5 million" representing the compensation and associated costs it expected to pay.[21] In December 2017, Unite announced it had issued High Court proceedings against 12 major contractors including Carillion.[22]
On 10 July 2017, Carillion issued a trading update that referred to a £845 milion impairment charge in its construction services division.[23] Carillion's share price dropped from 192p in July to 45p by the end of August 2017, taking its market capitalisation from almost £1bn to less than £250m. As a result, the contractor was demoted from the FTSE 250 Index,[24] and five directors stepped down while the company tried to close a refinancing deal.[25] On 27 September 2017, a Middle Eastern firm was said to be considering a takeover bid.[26] Two days later, it was revealed that Carillion's losses for the six months ended 30 June 2017 totaled £1.15 billion, following a further write-down of £200 million, this time in its support services division.[27][28]
On 24 October 2017, it was reported that Carillion was preparing to sell its healthcare facilities management business to Serco[29] (the deal included 15 contracts, with annual revenues of approximately £90m, for which Serco will pay £47.7m, with Carillion losing £1bn from the value of its order book),[30] and was planning to dispose of its Canadian operations to help shore up its finances.[29] A week later, it was announced Carillion was selling its interest in developer Ask Real Estate to West Midlands developers Richardsons Developments for £14 million.[31] In December 2017, the Richardsons also acquired Carillion's interest in the Milburngate development in Durham.[32]
In a further profit warning, on 17 November 2017, Carillion said it would breach banking covenants the following month, with full year debts set to reach up to £925m. A recapitalisation plan was to be implemented in early 2018. The company's share price fell over 50% in early trading to just 18p – valuing the business at £73m.[33] Unite the Union sought urgent talks with the company, concerned about the future of around 1,000 Carillion workers plus others employed by subcontractors and agencies.[34]
On 3 January 2018, it was reported that the UK [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Conduct_Authority]Financial Conduct Authority was to investigate the timeliness and content of Carillion announcements from December 2016 regarding its financial situation.[35] Ten days later, the BBC reported that the company had "a matter of days" to avoid collapse and that Carillion was the subject of "high-level government meetings".[36] These meetings continued throughout the weekend of 13–14 January—covering the company's £900m debts, a £580m pension deficit, and many ongoing contracts for government departments—but broke up without a rescue deal agreed, with accountancy firm EY poised to manage a potential administration process on Monday 15 January.[37]
Just before 7am on 15 January 2018, the BBC reported Carillion was to go into liquidation,[38] the company having issued a notice to the London Stock Exchange "that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect". The notice anticipated an application to the High Court for PricewaterhouseCoopers to be appointed as Special Managers, to act on behalf of the Official Receiver.[39] Carillion chairman Philip Green said:
Quote:This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers that we have been proud to serve over many years. ... In recent days however we have been unable to secure the funding to support our business plan and it is therefore with the deepest regret that we have arrived at this decision. We understand that HM Government will be providing the necessary funding required by the Official Receiver to maintain the public services carried on by Carillion staff, subcontractors and suppliers.[39]The liquidation announcement had an immediate impact on other main contractors - Balfour Beatty and Galliford Try (partners on three highway projects) were now liable for additional costs totalling between £60m and £80m respectively[40] - while subcontractors were also said to be vulnerable: the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group said Carillion's failure could lead to many smaller firms going under.[41]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carillion
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