Regulators give the thumbs-up to South African firm’s £435m Hastings share purchase February 21, 2017 A South African asset manager has been given the green light by regulators to take a £435m stake in insurance firm Hastings. Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI) revealed plans to buy 29.9 per cent of Hastings' shares in December. Today, UK, South Africa and Gibraltar regulators rubber-stamped the deal, which is expected to complete on 1 [...]
Wolseley taps up Walter Meier to buy stake in Swiss arm Tobler February 21, 2017 Trade merchant Wolseley has agreed to sell a majority stake in Tobler, its Swiss plumbing subsidiary, to local competitor Walter Meier for SFr118m (£94m). The FTSE 250 firm will retain a 39 per cent stake in the Tobler and the transaction is subject to approval by Walter Meier's shareholders and Swiss authorities. Read more: Wolseley shares restrained despite gushing first quarter [...]
The sky is the limit! EE reveals drone air masts that will save the day when disaster strikes February 21, 2017 Drones. While they've got a bit of a bad name for themselves among sectors of society, mobile firm EE said they are the answer to helping the emergency services step up to the plate when disasters strike. EE has revealed plans to use drones to keep rural parts of the UK connected by so-called "air masts". Read [...]
Solvency II one year on: Bank of England is cautiously optimistic February 21, 2017 Regulations to ensure UK insurers hold sufficient capital have been a success despite being too costly and taking too long to put into practice, the Bank of England said today, one year after the rules first came into force. Insurance companies will report their first annual results including disclosures on Solvency II in the coming weeks. And David [...]
Telefonica sells stake in Telxius to KKR in a deal that values the firm at €3.2bn February 21, 2017 Telefonica has sold a €1.3bn (£1.1bn) stake in its Spanish infrastructure division, a move that paves the way for it to refocus on plans for the London listing of O2. The Spanish telecoms giant sold a 40 per cent share of Telxius Telecom to private equity firm KKR, in a deal that values its infrastructure subsidiary at €3.2bn. KKR saw off competition [...]
BT and Inmarsat shatter returns at hedge fund Lansdowne February 17, 2017 One of London's oldest and most highly-respected hedge funds was hit by the poor performance of shares in BT and Inmarsat in January, according to reports. Lansdowne Partners said the shocking performance of BT in the wake of a profit warning and a £530m accounting black hole in its Italian division, together with the floundering of [...]
Regulators make Mike Ashley backed firm pay £12.5m back to customers February 17, 2017 A division of Findel, the London-listed firm backed by Sports Direct, has agreed with financial regulators to pay £12.5m back to customers for insurance products that "offered little or no value". Personal shopping firm Express Gifts, one of the two main divisions of Findel, sold either property insurance or purchase protection insurance products to customers between 2005 and 2015. [...]
British Steel appoints a new chief executive with Roland Junck to take a step back February 17, 2017 British Steel, the rebranded company that runs the Scunthorpe steelworks, has appointed a new chief executive, signalling an important next step in putting operations on an even keel. Peter Bernscher, who has served on the boards of several European steel firms, will take on the role, allowing executive chairman Roland Junck to take step back from the day-to-day [...]
Brit premiums fall in the face of increased competition and downward pressure on rates February 17, 2017 Insurance firm Brit said it had weathered a tough year and was confident changes and initiatives would enable the firm manage market headwinds. The figures Gross written premiums fell from $2.0bn (£1.6bn) to $1.9bn, a decrease of 2.3 per cent on a constant exchange rates basis. Net earned premium decreased by 6.1 per cent to [...]
Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong formally arrested by South Korean police over corruption allegations February 17, 2017 Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong has been arrested by police overnight over his role in corruption allegations, but the the mobile phone behemoth promises the truth will be revealed if Lee’s case goes to court. The news caps a torrid time for the world’s largest manufacturer of smart phones and South Korea’s biggest company, after the disastrous roll [...]
