Tuesday Papers: BC Partners agrees sale of Picard Surgelés - bid news and gossip

Financial Times

* BC Partners has agreed the sale of Picard Surgelés, the French frozen food company, to rival Lion Capital, in a deal that could be valued at up to €1.5bn, including debt.

* Half of the 2,000 investors who made money through Bernard Madoff’s $65bn Ponzi scheme could face clawback lawsuits to recoup those false profits, according to Irving Picard, the court appointed trustee.

* Liliane Bettencourt, the heiress to the L’Oréal cosmetics fortune, was questioned by police on Monday in connection with an inquiry into suspected tax evasion.

* FedEx raises its full-year earnings guidance on Monday to $4.60-$5.20 per share, up from previous estimate of $4.40-$5.00.

The Daily Telegraph

* Reckitt Benckiser, the consumer goods company behind brands such as Cillit Bang, reported a jump in second-quarter profits and said it will meet its full-year targets.

* The Bank of England purchased more corporate bonds in May and June under its quantitative easing programme to push cash into the economy as companies struggled with the sovereign debt crisis.

* UK web users are the least likely to part with cash for online content, according to KPMG’s annual 'Consumers and Convergence' global survey.

* Unite to sue British Airways over removal of travel perks for cabin crew.

The Guardian

* BP to sell more than £12bn assets to pay for Gulf oil spill; BP is expected to sell North Sea fields to raise cash.