PSA shares slump on reports of capital talks with Dongfeng October 14, 2013 SHARES in PSA Peugeot Citroen fell as much as 10 per cent yesterday after reports it was preparing a €3bn (£2.5bn) capital increase in which Chinese partner Dongfeng and the French state would secure stakes in it. A draft agreement, which Peugeot hopes to conclude this year, would envisage state-owned Dongfeng Motor and the French [...]
Westpac to buy Lloyds’ Australian operations as bank exits the country October 11, 2013 Lloyds Banking Group says that it has agreed the AU$1.55bn (£0.9bn) sale of its Australian operations to Westpac Banking Corporation, as the bank begins to exit the Australian market. (Release) Lloyds will be selling Capital Finance Australia, a motor and equipment finance business, and the Australian division of corporate lender BOS International. The sale includes [...]
Lloyds offloads Australian firms October 10, 2013 LLOYDS Banking Group has agreed to sell its Australian operations to Westpac Banking Corporation for £900m, the state-backed lender said this morning. The sale, which further reduces Lloyds’ overseas footprint, will see the bank offload motor asset finance provider Capital Finance Australia and corporate lending business BOS International. The sale marks the end of Lloyds’ [...]
Peugeot in talks to sell a stake to its Chinese partner Dongfeng October 9, 2013 PSA PEUGEOT Citroen yesterday confirmed it is in talks over potential new overseas partnerships, after reports that Chinese group Dongfeng Motor may buy a 30 per cent stake in the troubled French car manufacturer. The discussions also cover new funding for the firm’s development, a spokesman said. “Peugeot confirms it is studying new industrial and [...]
Goldman Sachs buys half of car insurer Hastings in £150m deal October 8, 2013 GOLDMAN Sachs’ merchant banking division yesterday bought half of British motor insurer Hastings in a deal that values the company at £700m. The Sussex-based insurer has previously made a point of handing shares to its staff, meaning thousands of employees are now set to enjoy a bumper payday. Goldman’s merchant banking arm will finance the [...]
Chesnara buys closed life fund from Direct Line October 8, 2013 INSURANCE-focused takeover specialist Chesnara said it would buy Direct Line’s domestic closed life insurance business for about £39.3m in cash. Chesnara, which has been looking to acquire life insurance funds in Western Europe for the past year, said the deal would be partly financed by a new loan facility of £73.8m from the Royal Bank [...]
GM to buy back preferred shares September 23, 2013 General Motors said yesterday it would buy back just under half of its preferred shares held by the United Auto Workers healthcare trust for about $3.2bn, cutting costs by financing the deal with lower-cost debt. To finance the purchase of 120m of the Series A preferred stock from the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust at [...]
States sell down General Motors September 11, 2013 The US and Canadian governments have sold off shares in General Motors in recent days, taking the car firm closer to escaping state control. America’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp) raised $811m (£513m) by selling down its stake in GM during August, a report to the Treasury revealed, taking the total it has recovered from [...]
Innovative company of the year September 11, 2013 CITY A.M.’s Innovation of the Year category salutes businesses that are frontrunners in their industry, from gaming to finance. This year’s shortlist includes insurance, Big Data and wealth management. The winner will have shown a genuinely innovative approach to business, be disruptive in their industry, and have achieved key milestones this year. CONFUSED.COM The insurance [...]
Car sales rev up as registrations rise for the 11th month in a row February 6, 2013 THE UK’S resurgent car-buying market shows no sign of slipping down a gear in 2013, having recorded its 11th straight month of growth in January. New car registrations jumped 11.5 per cent last month compared to the same time a year earlier, with 143,643 vehicles registered. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which [...]