Mondi seen sweetening £237m bid for Polish unit February 16, 2012 SHARES in Polish paper maker Mondi Swiecie climbed above an offer price from its South African parent yesterday, as investors bet Mondi would have to sweeten its £237m buy-out bid. The South African paper maker owns two-thirds of Mondi Swiecie, and offered 69 zlotys (£13.60) per share for the remaining 34 per cent of the [...]
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 [...]
Cameron calls on insurers to cut premiums February 13, 2012 DAVID Cameron will today announce plans to reduce insurance premiums by cutting red tape, reducing legal bills and tackling the high number of spurious claims. Proposals include a plan to reduce the number of whiplash claims by enforcing a higher evidence threshold for injuries and cutting the £1,200 fee that lawyers can earn for small [...]
Aviva sees progress on Taiwan sale February 12, 2012 Insurer Aviva said yesterday it was continuing with talks on the sale of its stake in a Taiwan life insurance joint venture, and was making progress. Sources with direct knowledge of the matter had claimed on Friday that the company had put aside for the time being a plan to sell down its stake due [...]
Gender quotas are wrong and don’t work – it’s time to treat people as individuals February 12, 2012 LAST week, the Prime Minister delivered a speech in Stockholm about diversity in the work-place, making the capitalist case that equality should drive more efficient business outcomes by realising a broader range of entrepreneurial talent. This welcome shift in emphasis highlights why mandatory gender quotas in the boardroom are such a bad idea. In Norway, [...]
Duke Street takes stake in legal market February 6, 2012 PRIVATE EQUITY firm Duke Street has become the first investment house to take a stake in the UK’s legal sector, buying a majority stake in Parabis Group – the parent company of two insurance litigation firms. Duke Street’s investment, which means it owns just over 50 per cent of Parabis, values the company at £150m-£200m. [...]
We must resist a tax that isn’t FTT for purpose February 6, 2012 AS THE European Parliament held its public hearing on the proposed financial transaction tax (FTT) on Monday, the battle positions were clearly drawn. For the Eurozone, an FTT represents a smallish subsidy to repair damaged national balance sheets; for the UK, the adoption of an FTT would represent a massive drag on the country’s economic [...]
Aviva to cut jobs in fund management January 30, 2012 INSURER Aviva will shed 160 staff from its fund management business, with London suffering the bulk of the cuts, after deciding to focus its efforts on “core” operations. Around 12 per cent of Aviva Investors’ global workforce will lose their jobs during 2012 as the firm cuts niche investment products following poor demand for riskier [...]
PROSPECTS REMAIN GOOD FOR EUROPE IN THE LONG TERM January 29, 2012 Q&A: THE VIEW FROM DAVOS Q. WHAT HAS THE MOOD BEEN LIKE AT DAVOS THIS YEAR? A. The World Economic Forum has inevitably had a somewhat sombre feel but it has also been business-like and focused. What struck me was the universal focus on the issue of the young unemployed, not just in the developed [...]
DIVERSITY MAKES GOOD SENSE FOR EVERY BUSINESS January 26, 2012 GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE, AVIVA IN DAVOS last year, the World Economic Forum stirred debate by insisting its strategic partners include at least one woman in their delegations. A month later, Lord Davies released his report Women on Boards, recommending targets for the number of women on company boards. At Aviva, we believe that a balanced [...]