KKR set to float on the New York Stock Exchange in a $9bn debut July 5, 2010 KKR is hoping to buck the trend with an ambitious flotation on the New York Stock Exchange, expected to value the buy-out fund at $9bn (£5.9bn). The firm, best known for its £11bn takeover of Alliance Boots in 2007, has planned to float for three years, but market volatility has thwarted them, reports the Daily [...]
Coller sweeps up Lloyds unit in £480m deal July 5, 2010 BUYOUT house Coller Capital plans to inject £100m fresh capital into Lloyds Banking Group’s private equity portfolio after buying a controlling share in the assets, valuing them at £480m. Coller yesterday paid £332m in cash for a 70 per cent share in Lloyds’ Integrated Finance unit, which comprises equity and debt stakes in 40 companies. [...]
Daiwa to pay $1bn for KBC’s key divisions July 5, 2010 DAIWA Capital Markets is to purchase KBC Group’s Global Convertible Bond and Asian Equity Derivative businesses for approximately $1bn (£660m). Daiwa’s investment banking arm announced plans last November to significantly grow its global markets, and at the same time KBC announced its updated strategy of focusing on its core bancassurance expertise in home markets in [...]
Brit asks Apollo for £865m July 5, 2010 BRIT Insurance boss Dane Douetil has demanded a takeover offer of at least £11 per share from US buyout player Apollo before he will grant access for due diligence, according to sources. The FTSE 250 insurer raised the stakes in a game of brinksmanship with Apollo on Friday, rejecting an indicative approach of £10.50 per [...]
QBE set to snap up reinsurer Secura July 5, 2010 AUSTRALIAN INSURER QBE has announced the acquisition of specialist Belgian reinsurer Secura from KBC Group for €267m (£221m). The deal, which is set to be completed by 31 August, is subject to regulatory approval, with Secura’s 2010 gross premium expected to be around €200m. The purchase price reflects tangible assets of €205m. Secura will form [...]
AgBank attracts interest from big insurers for IPO July 5, 2010 AGRICULTURAL Bank of China (AgBank) yesterday said it had attracted subscriptions from big insurers and other major companies for the Shanghai portion of its initial public offering (IPO), helping to ensure that the issuance would not cause disruptions to local markets. AgBank’s roughly $20bn (£13.2bn) Hong Kong-Shanghai IPO has hung over the Shanghai stock market [...]
EU parliament group backs bank data sharing deal with US to fight terrorism July 5, 2010 A EUROPEAN Parliament committee said yesterday it supported a deal with the United States on sharing citizens’ bank data, a move which investigators say will help counter-terrorism investigations. The vote in the parliament’s civil liberties committee followed weeks of negotiations between Washington and the European Union to improve privacy safeguards in the agreement after lawmakers [...]
E&Y boosts headcount with 400 new partners July 5, 2010 ERNST & YOUNG (E&Y) has bolstered its global partnership after admitting almost 400 new partners across its offices. The accounting giant let in 396 new partners in total, with the UK and Irish practice seeing the addition of 48 partners to its headcount this year, including 31 in yesterday’s rounds. E&Y’s Europe, Middle East, India [...]
SOLVED: MYSTERY OF VANISHING FORMER PM July 5, 2010 IT WAS a rip-roaring ride for those who turned up at the swanky Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in Holborn yesterday to hear Mayor Boris Johnson exercise his notoriously sharp tongue. Boris, the guest of honour at the Cities of London and Westminster Conservative Association’s annual lunch, certainly knows how to play to an audience including [...]
Unite strike causes BA traffic to drop July 5, 2010 STRIKE action by Unite, the union representing British Airways (BA) cabin crew, saw passenger traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometers reduced by 11.1 per cent last month. As a result of the nine-day strike period in June, BA on average filled only 77.5 per cent of its planes, while passenger capacity fell 8.6 per cent [...]
