I have heard of it and I looked on line and these are what I found. I found hearing of it and seeing it in print are 2 seperate thoughts!!! This is fabulous. I am happy for you this is a retirement dream come true! Good luck with this goldmine!!!!! I know its long!
The Virgin Story
In the 1970s, Virgin Chairman Sir Richard Branson founded a student magazine and small mail order record company under the Virgin name. The growth since then has not only been impressively fast, it's also been based on developing good ideas, through excellent management principles, rather than on acquisition.
Virgin — one of the most recognized brands in Britain — is easily becoming the first global brand name of the 21st Century. Virgin is involved in planes, trains, finance, soft drinks, music, mobile phones, holidays, cars, wines, publishing, and even bridal wear! All Virgin businesses are tied together by the value of our brand and the attitude of our people. Virgin has created more than 200 companies worldwide and employs more than 25 thousand people. Its total global revenue was US$5 billion in 1999.
Virgin in the U.S.
Virgin Atlantic
On June 22, 1984 a plane packed with friends, celebs, and the media set off for New York, New York and a star airline was born. Now, Virgin Atlantic has become the second largest British long-haul international airline. Its services operate out of London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports to 18 different destinations all over the world, as far apart as Shanghai and the Caribbean.
http://www.virgin.com/atlantic Virgin Megastores
Virgin Megastores is where shopping meets entertainment. You can flaunt your love for music and movies, while satisfying your deepest cravings for the most obscure vinyl, or plug into the digital age.
http://www.virgin.com/megastores Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is about more than being a customer with a mobile phone in your hand. When you buy one of our products, you also connect to Virgin Mobile, the company. Check out Virgin Mobile's great wireless service in these other great countries:
UK:
http://www.virgin.com/mobile Australia:
http://www.virginmobile.com.au Virgin Pulse
Virgin Pulse is a whole new line of brilliant personal electronics perfectly in sync with who you are and what you do, how you live and how you move.
http://www.virginpulse.com Virgin Mobile USA isn't for everyone. You have to flourish in an environment where the focus is 100?n our customers. You should desire to look beyond the bottom line and recognize that young people are driving our business.
You must also enjoy driving the competition crazy by being part of creating offers that are more compelling and unique than anything that they offer. That means working at 150 mph to stay yards ahead of them. We always want to be the innovators, and leave behind those trying to copy us. It won't matter, by then we'll be onto something else anyway....
To work here, you should enjoy technology and working with data, and have a mind for analytical thinking. You'll need an ability to work very hard and have a lot of endurance. We are not a place where you come to work 9-5. A good sense of humor and ability to not take everything too seriously is going to get you a long way, too.
Being at Virgin Mobile is about wanting to be challenged in your role, not about racing up the corporate ladder. You should be willing to push the boundaries of your job and stretch it as far as it will go—so be prepared to shout out when you want more work and responsibility.
You should constantly be thinking about others on your team and other departments in terms of how they may be affected by the work you are doing. It's not all about you. It's about us...it's about our customers.
Finally, it's not just about building the most successful youth wireless network in the USA. You should be fueled by helping others and embrace and champion the pro-social concerns of our customers. We aim to help others in need, and our customers certainly expect us to.
In return you get a wild ride at one of the fastest growing youth-based companies. Sure you get a salary, a performance bonus and benefits—and you earn experience that will elevate whatever you've got on your resume at the moment. You also get the chance to work with wireless experts who are re-shaping the industry....and you become part of the legendary Virgin brand.
Don't join us unless you are willing to never give up, give in or cop out
http://web.virginmobileusa.com/about/virgin-group Richard Branson and the Virgin Group are having a Blackstone Group moment.
The group, which had revenues of 10 billion pounds ($19.9 billion) last year, plans to operate like a private equity firm and sell the businesses it owns via the stock market, The Times of London reported.
“We think of our peer group now being people like Apax and Blackstone,” Stephen Murphy, Virgin’s chief executive and head of the group’s powerful investment committee, told the British newspaper.
The company is already pursuing a New York listing for Virgin Mobile USA. Virgin Active, its health club chain, is likely to be the next to float, the report said.
“Once we have built a company to a point where it has reached a level of stability and maturity we will seek a public exit.”, Mr. Murphy told The Times. “We are much more comfortable with that idea now but there are no firm targets of how many businesses we want to float.”
Virgin Group, which is privately controlled by a committee made up of Mr. Btanson’s closest advisers, will instead use its name for what Mr. Murphy called “branded venture capitalism” to help to launch new ventures and expand existing businesses.
Mr. Branson told Reuters recently that the Virgin Group is considering whether to buy out Singapore Airlines‘ 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic, which has been dissatisfied with its investment. He told the publication that he would consider floating the airline.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/category/venture-capital/ I.P.O./Offerings
Another Prize for Goldman: Best Buyout-Backed I.P.O.’s
November 26, 2007, 12:21 pm
With private equity’s buying bonanza over, at least for now, it may be time for buyout firms to think about selling their portfolio companies back to the public. By some estimates, two-fifths of the new shares offered in initial public offerings this year will come from private-equity-backed companies.
There is a fierce debate about whether private-equity-backed I.P.O.’s perform better or worse than initial stock offerings in general. Forbes did some calculations in its latest issue, and it found some interesting results about which buyout firms’ companies have done the best in the aftermarket. True to form, the seemingly unstoppable Goldman Sachs came out on top. MORE »
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New York On Track to Outdo London Listings
November 26, 2007, 7:34 am
The amount of money raised through initial public offerings in New York is set to surpass London for the first time in three years as companies fuel a surge in I.P.O. volume in spite of the turmoil in capital markets, The Financial Times reported.
Money raised through stock market openings in New York is set to hit levels not seen since the dot-com boom, with $51.3 billion raised this year on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market combined, according to figures from Dealogic, the data provider. In London, debuts on the London Stock Exchange and Alternative Investment Market have raised $45.8 billion in the year to date. MORE »
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Using Genius, Are the Weinsteins Plotting an I.P.O.?
November 26, 2007, 7:24 am
Genius Products, whose main business is the home video distribution of The Weinstein Company, is stirring considerable commotion with plans to list on the Nasdaq exchange as soon as next month, Fortune reports.
Some industry watchers are speculating that Genius, whose thinly traded over-the-counter stock closed Friday at $1.63, could help brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein get their eponymous company past the somewhat rocky situation it currently finds itself in. MORE »
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China Railway Raises $3 Billion in I.P.O.
November 26, 2007, 6:32 am
The China Railway Group, a construction contractor, said it had raised 22.44 billion yuan ($3 billion) in its initial public offering in Shanghai on Friday after generating record interest in its $5.5 billion offer on the Hong Kong and Shanghai markets.
China Railway, enjoying a building boom in China, set the issue price at 4.8 yuan in Shanghai through the sale of up to 4.675 billion shares. It is also selling 3.326 billion shares in Hong Kong. MORE »
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Fund of Hedge Funds Taps Public Markets
November 26, 2007, 6:31 am
Gottex Fund Management, the Lausanne- and London-based fund of hedge funds group, this month made its opening on the Swiss Exchange, the latest in a line of alternative asset managers cashing in on a perceived appetite among investors for publicly quoted hedge funds.
Gottex, which has more than $14 billion in assets under management, took the unusual step of floating the entire company, rather than an individual fund, which Financial News said arguably makes it the only publicly quoted, pure fund of hedge funds group. MORE »
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DP World Raises $4.86 Billion in I.P.O.
November 21, 2007, 7:29 am
DP World, the Dubai-owned port operator with terminals from Britain to China, raised $4.96 billion in the Middle East’s biggest initial public offering ever.
DP World, the world’s fourth-largest ports company, sold shares for $1.30 each, the top of an indicated range, after the offering was more than 15 times oversubscribed, it said Wednesday. That gives it a market value of $21.6 billion. MORE »
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SuccessFactors Jumps 40?n Debut
November 21, 2007, 7:10 am
Shares of SuccessFactors, a human-resources software provider, climbed nearly 36 percent in their first day of trading Tuesday after the company’s initial public offering of 10.8 million shares priced at the high end of the expected range.
Shares jumped $3.57, or 35.7 percent, to $13.57 in morning trading, having traded as low as $12.58 and as high as $14.14 earlier in the session. They opened at $13 after pricing at $10 per share late Monday, raising about $90.2 million after expenses.
Go to Article from The Associated Press via Forbes »
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Newmont Plans Billion-Dollar I.P.O. for Franco-Nevada
November 21, 2007, 6:59 am
The biggest stock introduction on the Toronto Stock Exchange so far this year was given the green light Tuesday, setting the stage for the billion-dollar rebirth of Franco-Nevada, the Canadian gold and energy royalty company sold to Newmont Mining in 2002.
Executives at Newmont decided Tuesday morning in favor of a plan to bundle the resource royalty assets together in a company called Franco-Nevada and hold an initial public share offering on the Toronto excchange. The new company is expected to be valued at between 1.2 billion and 1.3 billion Canadian dollars ($1.22 billion to $1.32 billion), according to The Globe and Mail. MORE »
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China Railway Said to Seek $5.5 Billion in I.P.O.’s
November 20, 2007, 6:57 am
The China Railway Group, a construction contractor, plans to raise up to $5.5 billion from its Hong Kong and Shanghai initial public offerings amid booming railway investment in China, Reuters reported.
State-run China Railway, China’s largest construction company, is offering 3.326 billion shares for the Hong Kong portion of its offering, or about 18 per cent of its enlarged share capital including an overallotment option, with a price range of 5.03 Hong Kong dollars to 5.78 Hong Kong dollars per share, the report said. MORE »
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Buyout Lender Taps Public Markets in Search of Fresh Capital
November 19, 2007, 7:17 am
a leveraged buyout lender, American Capital Strategies priced a $157 million share offering to raise more capital, as credit remains scarce and overall private equity mergers plummeted 72 percent in the third quarter.
American Capital Strategies, which lends money to private equity firms for mid-sized buyouts, priced four million shares at $39.43 each through joint book-running managers Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns and UBS.
Go to Article from Financial News »
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Is a Brokerage Float the Answer for Citi and Merrill?
November 19, 2007, 6:45 am
As John A. Thain prepares to take the helm at Merrill Lynch and Citigroup continues its search for a new captain, rumors are surfacing that the two banks may soon consider floating minority stakes in their brokerage arms.
The Financial Times, citing bankers at rival Wall Street firms, said that the move would allow the groups to unlock some value from the businesses without losing control. MORE »
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EnergySolutions Raises $690 Million in I.P.O.
November 16, 2007, 7:20 am
Buyout shop Lindsay Goldberg is partially cashing out of EnergySolutions through a $690 million initial public offering of the nuclear services provider.
EnergySolutions said Thursday that it priced its offering of 30 million depositary shares of common stock at $23 each, with about 60 percent of the proceeds going to sponsors Lindsay Goldberg, Peterson Partners and Creamer Investments.
The stock closed even Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange at $23.00.
Go to Article from The Deal.com »
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Initiate Systems Tries I.P.O. Route
November 16, 2007, 7:13 am
Initiate Systems, a master data management company, filed this week to raise up to $75 million in an initial public offering. But, The 451 Group asks, could an M&A event still be in its future?
Other companies in this consolidating sector have recently been sold, the report points out. Buyers have included Microsoft, IBM and D&B.
Go to Report from The 451 Group »
Go to Prospectus via the S.E.C. »
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China to Allow Hong Kong Stock Purchases, Analyst Says
November 16, 2007, 7:01 am
China will introduce a program allowing individuals to invest directly in Hong Kong equities in the second quarter of next year, HSBC Holdings said.
Chinese investors will pour $27 billion into Hong Kong stocks by the end of 2008, said Steven Sun, a Hong Kong-based HSBC analyst, in a report released today. MORE »
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RWE Postpones U.S. I.P.O.
November 15, 2007, 7:59 am
RWE, Germany’s second-largest power company, on Wednesday postponed the initial public offering of its American Water business due to market turmoil in the United States, forcing it to abandon plans for a share buyback and significant increase in its dividend.
The Germany company blamed the “unfavourable conditions in the US capital market” for postponing the share sale. RWE’s decision underlines the impact the subprime mortgage crisis is having on corporate activity globally and follows other pulled share sales.
Go to Article from The Financial Times »
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For Thain’s Successor, Challenges Ahead
November 15, 2007, 7:50 am
Much of the attention surrounding reports that John A. Thain is poised to take the top job at Merrill Lynch has been lavished on the head of NYSE Euronext and the challenges he faces as the investment’s bank’s new chief.
But what of the stock exchange’s new chief, Duncan L. Niederauer, who once notably took a shot at stock exchange floor workers when he said he “didn’t want five guys named Vinnie executing my trades”? As the new head of NYSE Euronext, his first task will be to figure out how many guys and women, named Vinnie or otherwise, should remain employed by the New York Stock Exchange. MORE »
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Investors Take Wind Out of Och-Ziff Debut
November 15, 2007, 7:11 am
Shares of the $30 billion hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group fell 4.2 percent Wednesday during its first day as a public company. Och-Ziff, which raised $1.15 billion with its initial public offering of stock late on Tuesday, ended the day down $1.35 a share, closing at $30.65.
A day earlier, Och-Ziff’s offering of 36 million shares sold for $32 apiece. MORE »
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A.I.G. Announces $8 Billion Buyback Plan
November 15, 2007, 7:04 am
American International Group, the giant insurance company, said Wednesday that it had approved the repurchase of an additional $8 billion in stock.
A.I.G. also said it had substantially completed the repurchase of $5 billion in stock from $8 billion authorized earlier in the year and planned to accelerate the repurchase of the remaining $3 billion. MORE »
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No Pop for Och-Ziff Shares
November 14, 2007, 10:32 am
Shares of Och-Ziff Capital Management posted modest gains Wednesday morning after Daniel Och, the head of the $30 billion hedge-fund firm, rang the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate his firm’s market debut.
The stock began trading at $32.75, just 2 percent above the offer price of $32, which was slightly above the midpoint of the expected $30 to $33 range.
Investors have reason to be cautious. Och-Ziff’s offering is part of a larger trend in which financial firms have been leaping into the arms of public shareholders — often with painful results for the shareholders. MORE »
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Och-Ziff Makes Debut, Unfazed by Market Ills
November 14, 2007, 8:12 am
First came the private equity and hedge fund public offering frenzy, then the bust. Now comes I.P.O.’s, Act II.
Och-Ziff, a $30.1 billion hedge fund, is expected to start trading today after being priced last night at $32, midway in the range its bankers set. It is the first pure hedge fund to offer shares on an American public market, and it comes at a time of remarkable turbulence and economic uncertainty (GLG, a London hedge fund, recently went public on NYSE Euronext through a special-purpose acquisition vehicle.).
That Och-Ziff pushed forward with its offering at a time most others have pulled back underscores the lasting power of these businesses and underlines some of the differences between hedge funds and private equity firms. MORE »
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/category/ipoofferings/