I thoroughly support Edwin Heathcote’s plea for a stay of execution for the stunning power stations no long in operation (“Cathedrals of industrial power are ripe for reimagining”, Opinion, FT Weekend, October 5).

Buildings of this ambition and scale will never be attempted again, with tin sheds now being the extent of our architectural ambition. The juxtaposition of the depressing dullard of a train station that is East Midlands Parkway, lying mere yards from the glorious Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, is a painful sight to see.

On the other hand, repurposing offers new opportunities and preserves heritage but it also remembers and values the men who built these beautiful behemoths.

I was told that my dad — a young Irish immigrant — was a simple scaffold erector. I now know he was so much more — he built cathedrals, as evidenced by photos reminiscent of the iconic workers lunching on the Manhattan skyline.

John Forkin
Derby, UK

Geoff Meeks’ letter (October 12) is an academic’s view of the International Financial Reporting Standards — the accounting rules for public companies.

I was a working accountant before my retirement, with the position of chief financial officer at a UK-listed multinational, charged with implementing IFRS. I was taken aback at how often the new standards, when implemented, gave a distorted impression of the success or otherwise of our business. I can think of at least one example where a fall in profitability in one part of the business resulted in an increase in reported profit. Suffice it to say we did not use IFRS in internal reporting and we, like many companies, felt we had to resort to non-statutory figures to give shareholders and others a more meaningful view as to the success or otherwise of the company. 

In my retirement I am more of a consumer of accounts than a producer. I still find it hard to answer the simple question “how well or badly is this company doing” just by looking at their reported numbers.

Jeremy Hicks 
London SW19, UK

A NEW mega airport in Europe is set to take on London Heathrow and Dubai – and works have finally been given a start date.

Warsaw Solidarity Airport in Poland hopes to open by 2032.

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Passengers travelling from countries in Central and Eastern Europe will be able to fly almost anywhere in the world.

Last year, Foster + Partners and Buro Happold, the architect firms behind the ambitious build, unveiled detailed plans of what the future travel hub could look like when it opens.

A series of CGI images depicted the airport’s passenger terminal, main rail station and transfer hub.

According to the New Civil Engineer, the proposed plans have been finalised, with construction work set to begin in 2026 – two decades after the project was first announced in 2005.

Since last year, design changes were made to the roof, walkways, waiting areas and the bus station, in a bid to improve passenger comfort.

Further designs for the airport’s runways, taxiways, underground railway tunnel and air traffic control tower are still being finalised.

Grant Brooker, head of studio at Foster + Partners previously told Notes from Poland: “Our design focuses on passengers. Our ambition is to create an accessible building that will improve the travel experience…[through] clear visual connections.

“We believe the CPK [the airport] will completely change the way people travel around Poland, and will also become a new gateway to Europe and the rest of the world.”

Even though the airport has yet to receive planning permission, preparation work on the site is already underway with tree removal said to be currently taking place.

Construction work is slated to start in 2026, with a phased opening date set for 2032.

Initially, Warsaw Solidarity Airport was being built to replace Warsaw Chopin Airport because it was nearing capacity.

However, the huge new travel hub will now complement the existing airport.

Poland plans to build on its overall passenger growth, with the new airport also helping the country’s flag carrier (LOT Polish Airlines) to increase its passenger numbers.

The new passenger terminal will be able to accommodate 11,000 passengers per hour, with the capability to hold 40 million annual passengers by 2035.

A third runway, and other terminal extensions, will see passenger numbers increase to 65 million by 2060.

In addition to the new airport being built, improvements will also need to be made to the country’s rail infrastructure.

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This is because the airport will be located 40km away from Warsaw.

Because of its location outside the city, the airport will have its own train station that will connect to the country’s pre-existing railway network.

It is not yet known when flights will operate from the airport and which airlines will fly from the travel hub.

The huge airport project is expected to generate around 150,000 jobs in the area.

However, the plans for the new travel hub have been met with fierce backlash from local residents and travel experts.

Two years ago, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary told local newspaper Rzeczpospolita: “This airport is unnecessary. It was planned in the wrong place and at the wrong time.”

Doncaster Sheffield Airport, which closed in November 2022, could reopen thanks to a new multi-million-pound plan.

And Plymouth Airport hopes to reopen after being closed for more than a decade.

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Two of the world’s biggest private equity firms, KKR and Bain, have entered an all-out fight over a $4bn Japanese software company, as Tokyo’s M&A markets step into uncharted territory. 

The battle, which has been brewing for more than a year, entered a new phase on Friday after Fuji Soft’s board decided to maintain its backing for KKR’s long-standing bid of ¥8,800, or $59, a share — but refused to reject outright Bain’s more recent offer and the 7 per cent extra it had put on the table.

“We believe that Bain Capital’s proposal is a sincere proposal and will continue to consider it,” said Fuji Soft’s board on Friday evening in Tokyo.

The board’s qualified support for KKR comes after a public intervention earlier this week from Fuji Soft founder and major shareholder, Hiroshi Nozawa, who called Bain a ‘white knight’ and urged its rival to step aside.

A straight contest between two private equity firms of this size is unheard of in Japan, say analysts and traders. Companies, and the assets they hold, are often not valued as if there is a market for corporate control.

“Investors have a choice between two offers, one higher than the other but both from extremely experienced PE firms,” said one person close to the situation. “Stock holders in Fuji Soft will have to explain to their investors, if they tender to the lower offer, exactly why they made that choice. The contest itself is testing important new ground.”

Fuji Soft is an ideal private equity target, due to what people familiar with the matter say could be a real estate portfolio worth close to $1bn. Another factor is the presence of two battle-hardened investors in the stock — 3D Investment Partners and Farallon Capital Management, which were both pivotal in the multiyear battle for control of Toshiba.

Fuji Soft, which sells cloud software and digital systems, has been in play ever since Singapore-based fund 3D, its largest shareholder, proposed the company go private, kicking off an auction process and pulling in the private equity firms.

KKR, which said on Friday that it was pleased to have Fuji Soft’s continued support, first agreed a deal with 3D and then announced a tender offer in August of this year, aimed at taking the company private.

Those plans were thrown into disarray when Bain put out a non-binding proposal in September, sending Fuji Soft shares up sharply and shocking the market.

In response, KKR accelerated its tender and split it in two, the first part involving 3D and Farallon Capital agreeing to sell their stakes. That means, as things stand, that KKR controls 32.7 per cent of the stock.

KKR’s second half of the tender offer is to run from late October to late November, is at the same price and allows shareholders time to assess Bain’s move. It also has a requirement of bringing in enough shares to trigger a mandatory squeeze-out.

However, last week, Bain once again threw things into doubt, following up on its initial planned proposal with its binding takeover offer for Fuji Soft of ¥9,450 a share. Bain’s bid would value the group at $4.2bn, versus close to $4bn for KKR.

The company currently trades at ¥9,660, above both offers, which some bankers and analysts say indicates a belief in an escalating bidding war.

Bain, which said in a statement that it “continues to support Fuji Soft as a white knight to the management and founder of the company”, shows no sign of dropping out, despite Friday’s board announcement.

But, despite the share price optimism, other bankers have poured cold water on the idea of another higher offer, since the shares already won by KKR represent a de facto blocking position.

“The Japanese market is ready for this kind of fight between PE firms, but nobody is going to risk their reputation going hostile,” said one Tokyo-based banker familiar with the deal.

3D declined to comment. Farallon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.