CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 26, 2011 Chaucer Syndicates Mark Wood (pictured) has been appointed as chairman of Chaucer Syndicates, the specialist insurance group that underwrites risk at Lloyd’s of London. Wood, who replaces Bob Deutsch, was previously deputy chairman and chief executive of Paternoster UK, chief executive of Prudential’s UK and European insurance businesses, and UK chief executive of AXA. In [...]
KKR out of contention as buyout groups circle Axa Private Equity October 20, 2011 BUYOUT group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has dropped out of the bidding process for Axa Private Equity. Canadian asset manger Onex, Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and sovereign wealth fund the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) remain in contention after the deadline for first-round bids passed earlier this month. Last [...]
Banks in new private equity sales October 17, 2011 AN increasing number of US and European banks are putting their private equity arms up for sale in order to boost their capital levels. Crédit Agricole has opened exclusive negotiations to sell a “significant interest” in its private equity arm to global secondaries fund Coller Capital, City A.M. understands. The French bank is believed to [...]
Premier Oil to buy North Sea rival EnCore October 5, 2011 PREMIER OIL, the FTSE 250-listed oil company, is expanding its North Sea presence with a £221m cash deal to buy rival EnCore Oil. The potential takeover will increase Premier’s stake in the Catcher field – one of the largest discoveries in the UK North Sea in recent years – from 35 to 50 per cent. [...]
Land Sec gets planning for St Paul’s build October 4, 2011 LAND Securities, the UK’s biggest commercial landlord, has secured planning consent for a new mixed office and retail development near St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London. The 250,000 square foot scheme will replace three existing buildings on the corner of Shoe Lane and Little New Street with cafes, restaurants and premium office space [...]
Deadline passes for Axa PE bids October 3, 2011 The deadline for first-round bids Axa’s private equity arm closed yesterday with a series of private equity houses interested in a deal. US giant KKR and 3i, the UK-listed buyout vehicle, were believed to be mulling a bid but did not comment last night. City A.M. understands BlackRock has not pursued its early interest. Axa [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 2, 2011 Baker & McKenzie Gavin Bushell, formerly of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, has been appointed as a partner in the law firm’s European & Competition Law Practice, based in Brussels. Bushell specialises in EU competition and state aid law, Euratom Treaty law, aviation law and regulation, and litigation before the European Courts in Luxembourg. He was recently [...]
BlackRock mulls takeover bid for Axa Private Equity September 29, 2011 BLACKROCK is among a host of global buyout funds considering a bid for the private equity arm of Axa. The world’s largest money manager by assets could make an offer of around £300m, but has not got as far as opening talks, City A.M. understands. French insurer Axa confirmed on Wednesday that it had begun [...]
Possible bidders eye insurance arm of HSBC September 29, 2011 GERMAN life insurer Allianz and French giant AXA are among potential bidders for HSBC’s non-life insurance division, which could fetch more than $1bn (£640.7m) when sold, sources said yesterday. HSBC has sent out information memorandums to potential bidders for the sale of its non-life insurance business, as its chief executive Stuart Gulliver streamlines the bank [...]
Axa is set to sell private equity arm September 28, 2011 AXA hopes to spark an auction after it finally confirmed it is interested in selling its private equity arm. The French insurance group believes Axa Private Equity will go for between £200m and £400m. Axa yesterday said it had begun a strategic review of its PE unit, which was set up by Dominique Senequier in [...]