Stratford shines as Westfield sells small malls February 14, 2012 AUSTRALIAN developer Westfield hailed the “exceptional” performance of its Stratford shopping centre last night as it outlined plans to invest in new malls this year and in 2013. The east London site, next door to the Olympic park, received more than 13.6m shopping visits in its first 14 weeks from opening to 31 December, at [...]
Lloyd’s losses from Thailand reach £1.4bn February 14, 2012 LLOYD’S of London has estimated its net claims from last year’s Thai floods will hit $2.22bn (£1.4bn), the third biggest loss in the market’s history. The initial estimate is based on a projected worldwide cost to the insurance industry of $15bn–20bn and could change, but Lloyd’s is financially strong enough to cope according to chief [...]
RBS Insurance to be renamed Direct Line in advance of sale February 14, 2012 RBS Insurance is to be rebranded as Direct Line Group, after the firm’s best-known consumer brand, as part of the preparations for the division’s sale. The bank was ordered to dispose of its insurance business as part of the conditions attached by the European Union when it approved state aid given to RBS Group in [...]
Marsh & McLennan insurance broker beats profit predictions February 14, 2012 THE PARENT company of insurance broker Marsh yesterday beat expectations to announce an improved fourth-quarter profit. Net income at Marsh & McLennan, the professional services group that includes the world’s second-largest insurance broker, rose to $256m (£163m), compared with $203m a year ago. Total revenue rose four per cent to $2.9bn. Most of the increased [...]
Buyers circle Misys as deadline looms February 14, 2012 MISYS shares jumped six per cent to 308.4p yesterday on reports that the banking software provider has sparked interest from potential buyers in the wake of its proposed merger with Temenos. No offers are on the table yet, but potential acquirers have until 6 March to declare interest in the British financial software maker. Bids [...]
Carlyle cashes in with £650m sale of Talaris February 14, 2012 PRIVATE equity house Carlyle Group provided a ray of light for the buyout industry yesterday when it agreed to sell cash-counting equipment firm Talaris to a Japanese rival for £650m. Glory, Japan’s largest money-handling machine maker, has agreed to buy Talaris in its largest acquisition so far. It marks a quick exit for Carlyle, which [...]
Volcker hits back as critics attack controversial rule February 14, 2012 BANKS and trade associations have filed hundreds of letters outlining their objections to the Volcker rule, with UK groups adding their concerns on the rule’s international impact. The aim of the rule, which comes into force in July, is to stop US banks carrying out proprietary trades if they also own private equity or hedge [...]
M&A deals up by 10 per cent during last year February 14, 2012 A STUDY of M&A activity in Europe, the Middle East and Asia has revealed that year-on-year deal numbers were up 10 per cent during 2011, with the aggregate deal value increasing by one per cent. According to research by Mergermarket and Merrill DataSite, the year was split between an encouragingly busy first half and a [...]
MEET THE ADVISERS February 14, 2012 Barclays Capital is advising Misys through this deal. The team is led by London frontman Matthew Smith, a former employee of Citigroup and now head of UK M&A at BarCap. Heading the New York team are Lehman Brothers alumni Michael Carter and Erik-Jaap Molenar. JP Morgan Cazenove’s corporate finance managing director Andrew Hodgkin and vice [...]
High inflation forces King to explain again February 14, 2012 BANK of England governor Mervyn King has been forced to write his ninth consecutive letter to the chancellor to explain why inflation is still so far above its two per cent target. Inflation fell to 3.6 per cent on the consumer price index (CPI) in January, the Office for National Statistics revealed yesterday – down [...]
