Monday Papers: Private equity groups line up bids for Polkomtel - bid news and gossip

Financial Times

* Big private equity groups - including Apax Partners, Blackstone, TPG and CVC Capital Partners - are lining up €4bn leveraged buy-out bids for Polkomtel, one of Poland’s largest mobile phone operators, in which Vodafone owns a stake of almost 25%.

* Hermann Simon, One of the world’s leading consultants to high-growth engineering companies, has teamed up with Wendel to form a holding company to take a stake in at least one such enterprise, probably in Europe.

* Oracle’s board will meet within days to vote on a deal to bring Mark Hurd to the company in a top role.

* Sir John Bond is preparing to step down as Vodafone’s chairman, with the UK mobile phone group hoping to appoint a successor by next year’s annual meeting.

The Daily Telegraph

* Industries including engineering, manufacturing, financial services, training and IT all suffered a drop in the number of jobs available in August compared with July, according to the Reed Jobs Index.

* A group of institutional shareholders is threatening to issue a joint letter demanding the resignation of Harvey McGrath as chairman of Prudential.

* Willie Walsh, BA's chief executive, has drawn up a shortlist of 12 airlines he would like to buy once the merger with Iberia has been completed.

* US authorities seize BP's blowout preventer.

* Power Corp International, one of Europe's biggest independent television producers and distributors, is on the brink of entering administration.

* M&B chairman John Lovering says he is relishing the task of transforming Mitchells & Butlers after a difficult period for the group.