Monday Papers: Carlyle enters exclusive talks to buy B&B Hotels - bid news and gossip

Financial Times

* The Carlyle Group has entered exclusive talks to pay €485m for B&B Hotels from Paris-listed Eurazeo; buy-out groups are this week poised to agree a string of tertiary deals worth more than €1.6bn in total.

* Bridgepoint is poised to buy two of France’s biggest jewellery chains, Histoire d’Or and Marc Orian, which are held by Silverfleet and Qualium, for a total of about €600m.

* Dana asks Korean National Oil Corp to raise £1.7bn offer.

* The share of private equity activity coming from “pass-the-parcel” deals between buy-out firms reached a record level in the first half of the year, accounting for more than half the nearly €20bn of European buy-outs in the period.

* Europe’s biggest asset managers have claimed that the drive by global regulators to force over-the-counter derivatives into clearing houses will hurt pension funds and ultimately hit ordinary savers because of the extra costs involved.

* International investors have rushed back in to fund the activities of Europe’s banks following the publication 10 days ago of the regulator’s stress tests.

The Daily Telegraph

* Goldman Sachs faces public anger over plan to replace shops with designer restaurants near HQ.

* Insurance giant Aviva is going for gold in the UK market.

* Some of Kazakhstan’s most valuable gold fields have become the subject of a bitter $450m High Court battle – pitting Russia’s second-richest oligarch against a powerful local family.

* UBS will remain at Broadgate keeping 5,000 jobs in the City after agreeing a new deal with British Land and Blackstone.