Thursday Papers: RPS acquires Boyd Exploration Consultants - bid news and gossip

* Veteran fund chief, Gervais Williams, quits Gartmore.

* Emmanuel Roman, the co-chief executive of hedge fund GLG Partners, will become the new chief operating officer of the FTSE-listed Man Group.

* The first round of Carrefour’s auction of its south-east Asian assets had attracted a pack of more than 10 bidders on Tuesday night, including Tesco, the world’s third-largest supermarket chain.

The Daily Telegraph

* Troubled oil giant BP has confirmed massive spending on advertising since the Deepwater Horizon disaster and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

* Scotland’s beleaguered financial services industry has suffered a fresh blow after Standard Life announced it is axing almost 500 jobs north of the Border.

The Independent

* Chinese regulators are considering an investigation into BHP Billiton's proposed $40bn takeover of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan.

* The private equity arm of Lloyds has bought a significant stake in the fast-growing outdoor retailer Mountain Warehouse.

Daily Mail

* TUI Travel saw its shares surge as reports suggested its German parent is set to buy the 42.5% of the travel group that it doesn't already own.