CRUNCH TIME June 1, 2010 PRUDENTIAL’S future was hanging in the balance last night after its dream of taking over AIA died, drawing a line under what one shareholder called “an unprecedented shambles”. The insurer is expected to tell the London stockmarket this morning it will abandon its calamitous $35.5bn (£25bn) pursuit of AIG’s Asian operation. Following a series of [...]
SHOULD AVIVA BE CONCERNED BY FALLING SALES OR CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON INCREASING PROFIT MARGINS? November 4, 2009 DUNCAN HALL FINNCAP“Pursuing profit margins over growth in volume is the right strategy at this moment when it’s all about good management and tight cost control. In the current environment there probably isn’t that much volume out there, so why try to chase it?” BARRIE CORNES PANMURE GORDON“Although new business sales were shy of expectations, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 31, 2010 Sainsbury’s Finance The supermarket personal finance business yesterday said interim chief executive David Fisher has been appointed as its new permanent chief. Fisher, who has been in the interim role for five months, joined the group in January from Lloyds Banking Group, where he was group HR director for HBOS. He spent a total of [...]
Cowdery may tap investors May 6, 2010 INSURANCE consolidation vehicle Resolution said its shareholders were ready to stump up £3bn to fund another acquisition as it released its first quarter numbers yesterday. Founder Clive Cowdery’s team held a round of meetings with major investors including Aviva and Legal & General in March, at which they reaffirmed their willingness to put up three [...]
Aviva’s Delta Lloyd unit eyes IPO this year or next, says its chief September 28, 2009 INSURER Aviva’s Dutch unit Delta Lloyd plans to list in the fourth quarter of this year or early next year, the chief executive of Delta Lloyd said yesterday. “We are working on it. If there is additional information to give, we will let the market know,” Niek Hoek said on the sidelines of a Holland [...]
Life products boost insurers May 12, 2010 EUROPEAN insurers were yesterday buoyed by strong sales of life insurance and asset management products on the back of a reviving economy in the first quarter, offsetting big disaster damage claims. Germany’s Allianz, Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali, the Netherlands’ Aegon and Belgium’s Ageas, formerly known as Fortis, all reported strong first quarters as consumers’ fears began [...]
Delta Lloyd offering falls flat as market retreats but Aviva trousers 990m November 3, 2009 DUTCH insurer Delta Lloyd’s initial public offering (IPO), western Europe’s largest this year, fell flat yesterday amid a retreat in the insurance sector and competing calls on investors’ cash. The shares, which had been priced at €16 (£14.30) each, at the low end of a forecast range of €15.5 to €19, were trading at €15.48, [...]
Delta Lloyd offering falls flat as market retreats but Aviva trousers 990m November 3, 2009 DUTCH insurer Delta Lloyd’s initial public offering (IPO), western Europe’s largest this year, fell flat yesterday amid a retreat in the insurance sector and competing calls on investors’ cash. The shares, which had been priced at €16 (£14.30) each, at the low end of a forecast range of €15.5 to €19, were trading at €15.48, [...]
Delta Lloyd IPO to net Aviva 1.1bn October 19, 2009 Life-insurer Aviva looks set to pocket €1.2bn (£1.1bn) when it floats Dutch unit Delta Lloyd in western Europe’s largest initial public offering (IPO) this year. “This step will free up capital for us to use elsewhere and give us the option of exploring further growth opportunities,” said Aviva chief executive Andrew Moss. Delta Lloyd shares [...]
FTSE 100 hit by falling banks as fears over Eurozone debt contagion continue May 5, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares index shed 1.3 per cent yesterday laid low by weaker banks, as Eurozone debt contagion concerns intensified and Moody’s warned that Portugal’s debt could be downgraded. The FTSE 100 ended down 69.18 points at 5,341.93, a fourth consecutive session of falls, closing at a level not seen since 25 February. The FTSE [...]