WHISKY AT MIDDAY FOR ABERDEEN’S POLAR FEAT June 2, 2011 THE WHISKY came out at noon at Aberdeen Asset Management yesterday to christen the boat the fund managers are sponsoring on its voyage into the Arctic unknown. The Old Pulteney has been designed to withstand some of the harshest conditions on earth, and her six-man crew – led by Scottish explorer Jock Wishart – will [...]
AXA sells Canadian arm to fuel growth June 1, 2011 FRENCH insurance giant AXA sold its Canadian unit for C$2.6bn (£1.6bn) yesterday as it kicked off a new five-year plan to boost profits and cut debt. AXA, Europe’s second-largest insurer, said at an investor day it is targeting high-growth emerging markets, where it aims to double in size and profitability on a comparable basis by [...]
Better late than never for Henri de Castries June 1, 2011 AXA has changed beyond recognition over the last 30 years. A string of global acquisitions have turned it from a small mutual insurer in France’s Normandy to a global player. Despite its big ambitions, the firm still trades at a discount to the rest of the large-cap insurance conglomerates. Its price to book value before [...]
Axa unveils plans to slash debt June 1, 2011 AXA, Europe’s second-largest insurer, said it would boost earnings and cut debt as part of a 2015 plan to bolster investor confidence in its future growth path. The company is under pressure to deliver a convincing strategy after the crisis forced it to shelve its previous growth targets. Its shares have rebounded this year but [...]
Buyout group pays €2.1bn for PAI’s Spie May 31, 2011 A GROUP led by Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has agreed to buy French engineering group Spie in a deal valuing it at €2.1bn (£1.8bn), in the biggest French leveraged buyout (LBO) since the 2008 financial crisis. French private equity group PAI Partners, which said in March it was considering a possible sale of the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 25, 2011 PRUDENTIAL Nomura rates the insurer “reduce” with a target price of 735p. The broker thinks the Pru’s valuation could be called into question by the expected sales slowdown in the States, and believes the market is currently underestimating the firm’s exposure to the US market. Nomura recommends switching to AXA, which is forecast to return [...]
Resolution life sales jump by 52 per cent May 10, 2011 RESOLUTION, the buyer and consolidator of UK life insurance assets, sold £270m of fresh life policies in the first three months of the year, it said yesterday. New sales through its newly-renamed Friends Life business rose 52 per cent or £92m on the same period in 2010, with £66m of the increase attributed to its [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 9, 2011 James Caird Asset Management The hedge fund has appointed Mary Goodman, former special assistant to the president for financial markets at the Nation Economic Council and senior adviser to the US Treasury, as managing director of the firm’s US business, based in Washington DC. Goodman will advise on global macroeconomic outlook and on monetary, fiscal, [...]
AXA Real Estate raises €1.26bn from investors April 25, 2011 AXA Real Estate Investment Managers raised €1.26bn (£1.1bn) in the first quarter of 2011, with €800m raised as segregated accounts to reflect an ongoing demand for diversified mandates. Axa Real Estate, the largest real estate manager in Europe with €39.9bn in assets under management, also raised €460m for two of its pan-European institutional investment vehicles, [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS April 20, 2011 BURGLARS TO CASH IN ON WEDDING While the UK celebrates the royal wedding, AXA, the home insurers, predict a potentially huge surge in burglaries and accidental damage insurance claims. AXA’s research predicts that over four in ten of us will be away from our homes for the royal wedding while a further 21 per cent [...]