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’Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Friday,
- SEB confirms talks to sell German retail business – statement.
- Fortis blocked from early note redemption by European Commission.
- EADS says Q1 EBIT €83m,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- Fortis to liquidate sub-holding to simplify structure – statement.
- Tullow Oil makes new Uganda finds – statement.
- Telecom Italia cuts growth target – Bloomberg.
BNP hails Fortis integration
The integration of BNP Paribas Fortis, the largely Belgian arm of French bank BNP Paribas, will lead to annual savings of €900m ($1.35bn) by 2012, BNP has said, reports Reuters. The business will boost earnings as early as next year before restructuring costs,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- KiFin (Nathan Kirsh and family) makes 50p per share hostile cash offer for Minerva – statement.
- Cable and Wireless announce details of proposed demerger, launches £200m convertible bond – statement,
Break-ING up is so hard to do
Nips and tucks can only hide so much. News that ING will undergo major reconstructive surgery — amputating its banking arm from its insurance operations — may have been expected, but nonetheless is a major blow to bancassurance as a business model.
Deutsche agrees deal on ABN assets
Deutsche Bank has reached preliminary terms with the Dutch government to buy commercial banking assets from ABN Amro, removing a potential obstacle imposed by Brussels on plans to restructure the nationalised Dutch bank.
Presenting the Dutch RMBS Niet-oproep
The non-call risk which has haunted hybrid bonds, or subordinated debt, in recent months appears to have spread — all the way to Dutch RMBS.
Recall that a number of hybrid bonds have been downgraded recently,
Dutch eye action on Fortis, ABN
The Dutch state is pursuing parallel tracks to sell the commercial banking arms of either ABN Amro or Fortis Bank Nederland in an effort to satisfy EU competition regulators that a merger between the two state-owned banks can proceed.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Friday,
- Vedanta Resources announces revised $2.565bn cash offer for operating assets of Asarco – statement.
- Tesco and Fortis conclude discussions to form a new motor and household insurance partnership – statement.
Hybrid debt attack – for real, from Fitch
Woosh. That is the sound of a hybrid debt bomb being dropped on the European market, courtesy of ratings agency Fitch:
FITCH DOWNGRADES LLOYDS, RBS, ING, OTHER EU BANKS’ HYBRIDS ON INCREASED RISK OF COUPON DEFERRAL
Fitch Ratings-London-20 August 2009:
Dutch to sell Fortis tax arm
The arm of Belgian-Dutch group Fortis now owned by the Dutch government is pressing ahead with plans to sell Intertrust, a tax administration and structuring business. Several first-round offers have been made for Intertrust close to its €350m ($490m) asking price,
Surprise exit for Fortis chief
Fortis Holding on Monday shocked investors with news that its chief executive would leave and that the head of its biggest division had resigned. The move means the fifth chief executive in under a year for the once-diversified Belgian bancassurance group that is trying to rebuild itself as an insurer.
Fortis faces €363m claim
Investors in Fortis, the stricken Dutch-Belgian financial group, faced yet more uncertainty on Monday after a former subsidiary now under Dutch government control said it was seeking €362.5m ($504m) in compensation from its erstwhile parent.
Amlin buys Fortis business for €350m
Amlin is pulling the corporate insurance business of Fortis from the limbo of Dutch-government ownership after the Lloyd’s of London insurer bought it for €350m (£303m). Amlin said the acquisition would give it a better foothold in continental Europe.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Amlin agrees to buy Fortis Corporate Insurance NV for €350m, announces placing — statement, statement.
- Corporate: Sportingbet, Northumbrian Water, Hampson,
Belgium steps in to shore up KBC
The Belgian government on Thursday offered more state guarantees to troubled bank KBC. The bail-out, which follows earlier assistance for KBC as well as Fortis and Dexia, the rival Belgian lenders, comes after KBC reported a Q1 loss of €3.6bn ($4.9bn),
Shareholder activism – a challenge
At Fortis, the Belgians threw shoes and sang the Marseillaise.
At ArcelorMittal the French stormed the building and threw smoke bombs.
And at AIB yesterday, the Irish were chucking eggs.
Fortis rebels fail to derail meeting
A shareholder vote to approve the sale of Fortis Bank to BNP Paribas had to be adjourned after people hurled shoes at the management of the Belgian bank’s erstwhile holding company. Jozef De Mey, chairman of Fortis Holding,
Dissidents move against Fortis sale
Dissident Fortis shareholders are continuing their efforts to derail the sale of Belgium’s Fortis Bank to BNP Paribas, ahead of Tuesday’s general assembly that is expected to approve the deal after months of uncertainty.
Court restricts voting in Fortis sale
Fortis Bank’s proposed sale to BNP Paribas faced renewed uncertainty on Tuesday after a Belgian court restricted the pool of shareholders entitled to vote on the sale to a faction that rejected a similar deal in February.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- VW hedges give Porsche €6.8bn windfall – statement.
- Fortis plunges to €28bn 2008 loss on banking – statement.
- Shire and GlaxoSmithKline enter agreement to co-promote Vyvanse – statement.
Fortis shareholders reject BNP deal
The future of group Fortis was thrown into doubt on Wednesday when shareholders voted against selling parts of the Belgo-Dutch financial group to BNP Paribas, and against nationalising the group in the Netherlands.
Fortis chairman warns on vote
Fortis shareholders will vote Wednesday on whether to sell the Belgo-Dutch group’s Belgian banking operations to BNP Paribas amid warnings of dire consequences if the deal is rejected, as looks increasingly likely.
CDS report: Hammerson, Fortis grab spotlight in quiet markets
Hammerson made headlines in what were generally subdued credit markets on Monday. The UK property group announced a £584.2m rights issue backstopped by shareholders to fortify its balance sheet as declining property prices brought it close to breaking bank covenants.
Ping An blow to Fortis deal
Ping An, the Chinese insurer and biggest shareholder in Fortis, with a 5% stake, said it would vote against the sale of most of the Belgian financial group’s domestic banking operations to BNP Paribas,
Ping An threatens Fortis deal
Ping An, the Chinese insurer, on Monday threatened to vote against the proposed sale to BNP Paribas of Fortis’s Belgian banking operations, potentially jeopardising the deal. A Belgian court ordered the vote,
Financial crisis fells Belgian leadership
The Belgian government on Monday night became the first national administration to fall as a direct result of events linked to the global financial crisis, reports the FT. Belgium’s King Albert II formally accepted the resignation of the coalition government led by Yves Leterme,
BNP shares hit by Fortis limbo
BNP Paribas has called off a shareholder meeting scheduled for Friday to approve funding for a key part of the €14.5bn deal to acquire the Belgian arm of Fortis, reviving speculation that the proposed tie-up may fall apart.