Wednesday Papers: My-wardrobe.com gets $9m investment from Balderton - bid news and gossip

Financial Times

* My-wardrobe.com has received a $9m investment from Balderton Capital, one of Europe’s largest venture capital firms; the funding represents the first private equity investment in the company.

* One of the biggest shareholders in Spice has called on the directors of the utility services company to hold talks with Cinven after they dismissed an improved takeover approach, pitched at between 62p and 65p a share, from the private equity group.

* Royal Bank of Scotland is preparing to sell up to £3bn ($5bn) of real estate loans made during the property boom.

* CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping line, looks close to receiving a capital injection from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund after it said it expected a deal by the end of July.

* Kohlberg Kravis Roberts on Tuesday revealed that the co-founders of the buy-out firm each hold stakes valued at about $800m.

The Guardian

* Austerity measures hit private firms providing public services; capital spending to drop from £69bn to £45bn in 2013; contracts worth £200m at risk for IT firm RM Group.

* FSA fines Sibir Energy's former boss over secret loans to Russian tycoon; Henry Cameron receives £150,000 discount for settling with the City watchdog.

* The online grocer Ocado defied its critics today by shooting for a valuation of up to £1.37bn when it seeks a listing on the stock exchange later this month.

The Independent

* EasyJet passenger numbers up 10 per cent as budget airlines benefit from BA's problems.