Aviva offloads its Australian life unit June 21, 2009 INSURANCE giant Aviva last night announced that it is to sell Aviva Austalia Holdings, its Australian life and pensions business and wealth management platform, to National Australia Bank (NAB). Aviva is expected to pocket A$925m (£452m) from the deal. The group will gain A$825m cash consideration from NAB on completion, with a further amount of [...]
Bondholders to boot out Brixton board June 21, 2009 TROUBLED property group Brixton will today face an angry backlash from bondholders who want to oust the firm’s top executives, in an attempt to derail takeover talks with arch-rival Segro. It is understood that Segro is in the final stages of agreeing a much lower than expected takeover bid for Brixton, that will value its [...]
RBS in row over Wimbledon spend June 21, 2009 Royal Bank of Scotland is headed for new controversy, just days after securing the return of some of former chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin’s pension, after it emerged that the bailed out bank is to spend £300,000 on corporate entertaining at Wimbledon. According to a leaked email, RBS will splash out £19,500 a day on [...]
With-profit report fails to impress June 21, 2009 CLARE Spottiswoode, the former energy regulator who represents investors in Norwich Union’s (NU) with-profits funds, has been forced by NU owner Aviva to black out key figures in her report on the group’s controversial offer to investors over distributing a “surplus” capital pot. Spottiswoode is irked as some of the details may have aided the [...]
Markets revving up for race towards year-end June 21, 2009 THE British Grand Prix this weekend has me thinking in motor racing analogies as the financial markets apply the brakes to one of the speediest equity rallies of this generation. As the end of the second quarter approaches, the chicane of thin summertime volumes and quiet corporate activity means we’re unlikely to accelerate into the [...]
Ball to stay in ITV recruitment race June 21, 2009 TELEVISION broadcaster ITV was at the weekend trawling through a list of potential candidates to be its new chief executive, though there were mixed messages surrounding former BSkyB boss Tony Ball, who has previously been touted as the favourite to succeed Michael Grade. Russell Reynolds, the headhunter hired to lead the search for the channel’s [...]
BAE vies for Indian jet fighter contract June 21, 2009 BAE Systems is in the running to supply India with over 130 fighter jets, in a deal which could win the company over £10bn. If India buys the controversial Eurofighter Typhoon plane, which is built by a four-nation consortium including the UK’s BAE, it will be one of the largest international arms deals in the [...]
RBS Asia to be broken up before it can be sold off June 21, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland’s planned sale of its Asian operations looks to be running into trouble, after regulatory hurdles made it likely that the bank will have to break up the unit into several pieces. HSBC, Standard Chartered and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) were all circling the businesses, but interest is thought [...]
City pair on Sainsbury’s shopping list June 21, 2009 THE race is on at J Sainsbury to choose a successor to replace Sir Philip Hampton as chairman before the retailer’s July annual meeting. The £5.6bn supermarket giant is understood to have shortlisted Burberry chairman John Peace and Thomson Reuters deputy chairman Niall FitzGerald. The search for the £396,000 a year post has been carried [...]
Trichet: Fiscal debt must now be the focus June 21, 2009 EUROPEAN Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet yesterday warned governments to stop getting deeper and deeper into debt while attempting to fight the economic crisis. He said that while the massive injections of funds into European economies were the appropriate response, public finances must be brought back under control. “There is a moment where you can’t [...]
