Telefonica wins Slim over with sweetened German deal

The headquarters of German mobile phone operator E-Plus Group is pictured in Duesseldorf July 24, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay

By Sara Webb and Clare Kane

AMSTERDAM/MADRID | Mon Aug 26, 2013 4:21pm BST

AMSTERDAM/MADRID (Reuters) - Telefonica has raised its bid for KPN's German arm by 6 percent to 8.55 billion euros (7.3 billion pounds), winning over top KPN investor America Movil and setting the stage for consolidation in Europe's largest mobile market.

The Spanish telecoms group's original deal to buy KPN's E-Plus unit was thrown into doubt earlier this month when Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's America Movil said it would launch a bid for the shares in KPN it does not already own.

America Movil, which owns almost 30 percent of KPN, said on Monday it backed Telefonica's new offer for E-Plus and would press ahead with its plan to buy the rest of the Dutch firm.

The agreement moves Telefonica closer to its goal of stepping up its challenge in Germany to market leaders Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone.

It also offers a better deal for America Movil, Telefonica's arch-rival in Latin America which on paper has racked up huge losses on its European investments since buying minority stakes in KPN and Telekom Austria.

America Movil shares climbed over 1 percent in morning trading in Mexico. The stock remains down more than 20 percent since it announced it would bid for KPN, reflecting investors' caution over the company's European expansion effort.

Slim's phone company has offered 7.2 billion euros for the rest of KPN, a deal that no longer gives the Mexican tycoon access to the key German market.

KPN will receive 5 billion euros in cash for E-Plus and get a bigger stake in Telefonica's German business of 20.5 percent, compared with the 17.6 percent previously offered.

BPI analyst Pedro Oliveira said the deal showed Carlos Slim and Telefonica boss Cesar Alierta could overcome their differences. "Their business sense is becoming stronger than the rivalry between Telefonica and America Movil," he said.

But uncertainties remain.

Telefonica still needs to win support from antitrust regulators for a deal that will reduce the number of players from four to three in a market with 112 million subscribers.

Many European telecoms firms are looking to consolidate to cope with saturated markets, recession-hit consumers, tough regulation and expensive network upgrades.

However, regulators are wary that reduced competition could lead to higher prices for consumers and mobile profit margins in Germany are already much higher than in Britain and France.

"Politicians seem to be more favourable to protecting telecoms companies ... but this is an operation that will have a lot of scrutiny from the regulators," BPI's Oliveira said.

DUTCH CHARM OFFENSIVE

The deal also does not settle the future of KPN, where an independent foundation that has the power to block a takeover of the business has expressed concerns over America Movil's proposed 2.4 euros a share bid for the stock it does not own.

"There will be a tussle for control of KPN - the question is will shareholders allow America Movil to take control of KPN via the tender offer at such a low price?" said Bernstein Research analyst Robin Bienenstock.

America Movil executives will meet the Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs, along with KPN union representatives on Wednesday to discuss its plans for the Dutch telecoms group, sources told Reuters.

"The Minister wants to be informed given the importance of KPN for the Dutch economy," said one of the sources.

KPN's largest union Abvakabo FNV also has questions about the deal.

"What are you investing in the cooperation with KPN and what will that mean for jobs in the Netherlands? That's what I want to get an answer to," said a union spokesman.

America Movil first bought into KPN shares in June 2012 at roughly 8 euros per share and then upped its stake at a much lower price in a February capital increase.

At 1455 GMT, KPN's shares were up 3 percent at 2.332 euros, while Telefonica's were slightly up at 10.805 euros and shares in its German unit were up 2.7 percent at 5.211 euros.

TACTICS

Telefonica, on a debt-cutting drive to improve its balance sheet, can afford the new deal because it has shed 10 billion euros of debt since June 2012 and plans more asset disposals.

"The increased amount is not big enough to put pressure on the rating," said Carlos Winzer, analyst at credit ratings agency Moody's, which rates Telefonica at Baa2, two notches above junk territory.

Under the revised terms, Telefonica will sign an option to buy back 2.9 percent of its German subsidiary after a year at a price of 510 million euros. The Spanish group sees the German deal generating up to 5.5 billion euros in cost savings.

Antitrust experts told Reuters last month that Telefonica was likely to try to win over antitrust regulators by offering to give up some spectrum and by giving greater access to its networks to new so-called "virtual" operators.

As for America Movil, it stepped up efforts to win over KPN and the Dutch firm's foundation to its plan to buy the rest of the business, saying on Monday it would maintain KPN's headquarters in the Netherlands and keep its stock market listing in Amsterdam, as well as its commercial brands.

"By achieving majority ownership, AMX (America Movil) believes it will be able to support KPN to a greater extent with its investment plans in a rapidly changing European environment," it said.

Walter Samuels, a spokesman for the KPN Foundation, declined to comment on Monday's announcements on Germany and the tender offer, other than saying: "We're still following developments."

It remains to be seen how many KPN shareholders - which now include hedge funds who entered to bet on the M&A battle over Germany - will sign up for the tender. Some could pressure America Movil to raise its offer, analysts said.

(Additional reporting by Julien Toyer in Madrid, Elinor Comlay in Mexico City and Leila Abboud in Paris; Writing by Leila Abboud; Editing by Louise Heavens, Mark Potter, Simon Gardner, Andrew Hay)

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

German finance minister sees signs ECB will raise rates

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble listens to a news conference in the Greek ministry of finance in Athens July 18, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/John Kolesidis

BERLIN | Fri Aug 23, 2013 2:50am EDT

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a newspaper interview on Friday the European Central Bank (ECB) has made clear it will raise interest rates again once the economy improves and that he welcomed that prospect.

"Low rates are above all an expression of insecurity on debt markets. That cannot last forever - even if it is a relief to the federal budget," he said. "The central bank has announced it will raise rates again when the economy improves. That is good."

ECB chief Mario Draghi actually said after the last meeting on rates on August 1 that rates will remain low for some time. The ECB has based this 'forward guidance' on the inflation outlook remaining subdued, and growth weak.

"The Governing Council confirms that it expects the key ECB rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time," Draghi said after the ECB's August 1 meeting.

But some economists said the absence of a discussion among ECB council members about cutting rates contrasted with the previous month and could be seen as a modestly hawkish signal.

(Reporting by Stephen Brown; Editing by Paul Carrel)

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Lloyds Banking sells German life insurer for $400 million

A man waits outside the corporate headquarters of Lloyds Banking Group in the City of London August 1, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Andrew Winning

By Sinead Cruise

LONDON | Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:14am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - British lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) has sold German life insurer Heidelberger Leben to private equity group Cinven and reinsurer Hannover Re (HNRGn.DE) for around 300 million euros ($400 million), raising hopes that the state-rescued bank is moving closer to restoring its dividend.

The deal, which will boost Lloyds' core capital by 400 million pounds, and the separate sale on Wednesday for 254 million pounds of a portfolio of leveraged loans, helps strengthen the bank's balance sheet and could accelerate government plans to start selling down its 39 percent stake, analysts said.

"It's another step along the road to just focusing on the domestic retail business, and another step along the road to a fourth-quarter dividend," said Mike Trippitt, director of banks' research at London-based Numis Securities.

Funds advised by Cinven will acquire 80 percent of Heidelberger Leben shares, leaving Hannover Re, the third-largest reinsurer worldwide, with the balance.

Demand for new life insurance policies has been hit by low interest rates, while stricter capital requirements for insurers have made the policies more expensive to underwrite, leaving owners of many smaller operators looking to sell.

Cinven plans to buy up and consolidate life insurers in Germany, allowing it to invest in updating systems and improving service while achieving cost savings through scale in a similar way to what it has done in the UK following its investment in life and pension products provider Guardian Financial Services.

"Germany is a very large market, and it is very fragmented," Cinven Partner Caspar Berendsen said.

"We see dozens of acquisition opportunities in Germany, it is growth through buy and build," he said, adding that the consolidation process would take several years.

Heidelberger Leben, which employs around 300 people, has a portfolio of around 600,000 policies, mainly unit-linked, and ran 5.2 billion euros of assets as at December 31 2012.

SPECULATION SALE IMMINENT

Lloyds has been aggressively selling non-core assets this year, raising 450 million pounds from shares in wealth manager St. James Place (SJP.L), U.S. mortgage portfolio disposals and the sale of branches from its Spanish retail banking network.

The bank's share price has surged by more than 50 percent in the year to date to around 74 pence, well above the UK government's so-called break-even price of 61 pence, prompting speculation that a 5 billion-pound state share sale is imminent.

Lloyds shares were up 0.34 percent at 74 pence by 0632 ET.

The government has said it has no timetable or target price for the sale but it appointed JP Morgan in late July to advise on the possible sale of taxpayer interests in Lloyds and a much larger 81 percent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L).

Speaking at the bank's half-year results this month, Lloyds Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio also said he expects the bank to be a "high dividend" paying stock in the future, potentially paying out at least half of its earnings.

Shareholders have not received a dividend from Lloyds since it took over crisis-stricken lender HBOS in 2008. But management are back in talks with regulators about restarting the payout, a key milestone in its long-term recovery plan.

Trippitt said the asset sales helped the bank's dividend aspirations because they left the bank with a cleaner, more streamlined portfolio and boosted it's capital, encouraging regulators to allow the bank to return cash to shareholders.

The Heidelberger sale will result in a loss of around 330 million pounds in Lloyds' group accounts but, combined with the sale of other assets, is expected to boost the bank's common equity Tier 1 capital by around 400 million pounds when it completes, Lloyds said in a statement.

This is largely because of accounting conventions, which required Lloyds to deduct the embedded value of the insurance company from its assessment of its core Tier 1 equity, a deduction that will no longer have to be made.

(Additional reporting by Laura Noonan and Kylie MacLellan; Editing by David Cowell and Greg Mahlich)

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

German private sector grows in August at strongest rate since January: PMI

Robots connect side parts on an Audi A3 light weight construction chassis at the production line of the German car manufacturer's plant in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt April 11, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Michaela Rehle

BERLIN | Thu Aug 22, 2013 3:32am EDT

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's private sector expanded in August at its fastest rate since January, a survey showed on Thursday, in a sign Europe's largest economy is back on track after a contraction late last year and a subdued start to 2013.

Markit's preliminary composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which measures growth in both the manufacturing and services sector and covers more than two-thirds of the economy, rose to 53.4 in August from 52.1 in July.

That was comfortably above the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction and was helped by a surge in new work.

"It's an increasingly buoyant-looking picture, with manufacturing seeing its best performance for a couple of years, and alongside that there's an improving service sector, so exporters are doing well and the domestic economy is healing," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

"I would expect to see some job growth come through in the coming months which should further cement the picture of a sustainable looking upturn," he added.

He said the PMI survey pointed to economic growth of around 0.4 percent in the third quarter, a slight slowdown after the bumper growth of 0.7 percent in the April-June quarter driven by strong domestic demand and weather-related catch-up effects.

The positive PMI reading chimed with recent data which has pointed to an upturn in Europe's powerhouse economy, including rising industrial orders, output and exports, falling unemployment and sentiment improving overall.

A sub-index from Markit showed the manufacturing sector expanding at its fastest rate in more than two years in August as output was above the 50 threshold for a fourth straight month. Backlogs of work also increased.

Factories continued to shed jobs but Williamson said this was a reflection of Germany's need to be competitive as Japan and the United Kingdom benefit from their weakened currencies rather than a cause for concern about the economic outlook.

Manufacturing firms benefited from a surge in new orders, which increased at their sharpest rate since May 2011. New contracts from abroad, which have suffered from weaker euro zone demand and a slowdown in Asia in recent months, shot up for the first time since February.

Manufacturers also got a boost from bigger margins thanks to rising factory gate prices and falling input prices. Service providers, on the other hand, suffered a squeeze on their margins as their costs rose more sharply than output prices.

A sub-index tracking the service sector showed business activity increasing at its fastest pace since February as new orders rose, albeit at a slower pace than in July.

Service providers' business expectations were in positive territory for the ninth month in a row, boding well for future business activity, and firms hired new staff for the second straight month.

- Detailed PMI data are only available under license from Markit and customers need to apply to Markit for a license.

To subscribe to the full data, click on the link below: http://www/markit.com/information/register/reuters-pmi-subscriptions

For further information, please phone Markit on +44 20 7260 2454 or email economics@markit.com

(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Lloyds Banking sells German life insurer for $400 million

A man waits outside the corporate headquarters of Lloyds Banking Group in the City of London August 1, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Andrew Winning

By Sinead Cruise

LONDON | Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:14am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - British lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) has sold German life insurer Heidelberger Leben to private equity group Cinven and reinsurer Hannover Re (HNRGn.DE) for around 300 million euros ($400 million), raising hopes that the state-rescued bank is moving closer to restoring its dividend.

The deal, which will boost Lloyds' core capital by 400 million pounds, and the separate sale on Wednesday for 254 million pounds of a portfolio of leveraged loans, helps strengthen the bank's balance sheet and could accelerate government plans to start selling down its 39 percent stake, analysts said.

"It's another step along the road to just focusing on the domestic retail business, and another step along the road to a fourth-quarter dividend," said Mike Trippitt, director of banks' research at London-based Numis Securities.

Funds advised by Cinven will acquire 80 percent of Heidelberger Leben shares, leaving Hannover Re, the third-largest reinsurer worldwide, with the balance.

Demand for new life insurance policies has been hit by low interest rates, while stricter capital requirements for insurers have made the policies more expensive to underwrite, leaving owners of many smaller operators looking to sell.

Cinven plans to buy up and consolidate life insurers in Germany, allowing it to invest in updating systems and improving service while achieving cost savings through scale in a similar way to what it has done in the UK following its investment in life and pension products provider Guardian Financial Services.

"Germany is a very large market, and it is very fragmented," Cinven Partner Caspar Berendsen said.

"We see dozens of acquisition opportunities in Germany, it is growth through buy and build," he said, adding that the consolidation process would take several years.

Heidelberger Leben, which employs around 300 people, has a portfolio of around 600,000 policies, mainly unit-linked, and ran 5.2 billion euros of assets as at December 31 2012.

SPECULATION SALE IMMINENT

Lloyds has been aggressively selling non-core assets this year, raising 450 million pounds from shares in wealth manager St. James Place (SJP.L), U.S. mortgage portfolio disposals and the sale of branches from its Spanish retail banking network.

The bank's share price has surged by more than 50 percent in the year to date to around 74 pence, well above the UK government's so-called break-even price of 61 pence, prompting speculation that a 5 billion-pound state share sale is imminent.

Lloyds shares were up 0.34 percent at 74 pence by 0632 ET.

The government has said it has no timetable or target price for the sale but it appointed JP Morgan in late July to advise on the possible sale of taxpayer interests in Lloyds and a much larger 81 percent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L).

Speaking at the bank's half-year results this month, Lloyds Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio also said he expects the bank to be a "high dividend" paying stock in the future, potentially paying out at least half of its earnings.

Shareholders have not received a dividend from Lloyds since it took over crisis-stricken lender HBOS in 2008. But management are back in talks with regulators about restarting the payout, a key milestone in its long-term recovery plan.

Trippitt said the asset sales helped the bank's dividend aspirations because they left the bank with a cleaner, more streamlined portfolio and boosted it's capital, encouraging regulators to allow the bank to return cash to shareholders.

The Heidelberger sale will result in a loss of around 330 million pounds in Lloyds' group accounts but, combined with the sale of other assets, is expected to boost the bank's common equity Tier 1 capital by around 400 million pounds when it completes, Lloyds said in a statement.

This is largely because of accounting conventions, which required Lloyds to deduct the embedded value of the insurance company from its assessment of its core Tier 1 equity, a deduction that will no longer have to be made.

(Additional reporting by Laura Noonan and Kylie MacLellan; Editing by David Cowell and Greg Mahlich)

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Lloyds Banking sells German life insurer for $400 million

A man waits outside the corporate headquarters of Lloyds Banking Group in the City of London August 1, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Andrew Winning

By Sinead Cruise

LONDON | Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:14am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - British lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) has sold German life insurer Heidelberger Leben to private equity group Cinven and reinsurer Hannover Re (HNRGn.DE) for around 300 million euros ($400 million), raising hopes that the state-rescued bank is moving closer to restoring its dividend.

The deal, which will boost Lloyds' core capital by 400 million pounds, and the separate sale on Wednesday for 254 million pounds of a portfolio of leveraged loans, helps strengthen the bank's balance sheet and could accelerate government plans to start selling down its 39 percent stake, analysts said.

"It's another step along the road to just focusing on the domestic retail business, and another step along the road to a fourth-quarter dividend," said Mike Trippitt, director of banks' research at London-based Numis Securities.

Funds advised by Cinven will acquire 80 percent of Heidelberger Leben shares, leaving Hannover Re, the third-largest reinsurer worldwide, with the balance.

Demand for new life insurance policies has been hit by low interest rates, while stricter capital requirements for insurers have made the policies more expensive to underwrite, leaving owners of many smaller operators looking to sell.

Cinven plans to buy up and consolidate life insurers in Germany, allowing it to invest in updating systems and improving service while achieving cost savings through scale in a similar way to what it has done in the UK following its investment in life and pension products provider Guardian Financial Services.

"Germany is a very large market, and it is very fragmented," Cinven Partner Caspar Berendsen said.

"We see dozens of acquisition opportunities in Germany, it is growth through buy and build," he said, adding that the consolidation process would take several years.

Heidelberger Leben, which employs around 300 people, has a portfolio of around 600,000 policies, mainly unit-linked, and ran 5.2 billion euros of assets as at December 31 2012.

SPECULATION SALE IMMINENT

Lloyds has been aggressively selling non-core assets this year, raising 450 million pounds from shares in wealth manager St. James Place (SJP.L), U.S. mortgage portfolio disposals and the sale of branches from its Spanish retail banking network.

The bank's share price has surged by more than 50 percent in the year to date to around 74 pence, well above the UK government's so-called break-even price of 61 pence, prompting speculation that a 5 billion-pound state share sale is imminent.

Lloyds shares were up 0.34 percent at 74 pence by 0632 ET.

The government has said it has no timetable or target price for the sale but it appointed JP Morgan in late July to advise on the possible sale of taxpayer interests in Lloyds and a much larger 81 percent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L).

Speaking at the bank's half-year results this month, Lloyds Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio also said he expects the bank to be a "high dividend" paying stock in the future, potentially paying out at least half of its earnings.

Shareholders have not received a dividend from Lloyds since it took over crisis-stricken lender HBOS in 2008. But management are back in talks with regulators about restarting the payout, a key milestone in its long-term recovery plan.

Trippitt said the asset sales helped the bank's dividend aspirations because they left the bank with a cleaner, more streamlined portfolio and boosted it's capital, encouraging regulators to allow the bank to return cash to shareholders.

The Heidelberger sale will result in a loss of around 330 million pounds in Lloyds' group accounts but, combined with the sale of other assets, is expected to boost the bank's common equity Tier 1 capital by around 400 million pounds when it completes, Lloyds said in a statement.

This is largely because of accounting conventions, which required Lloyds to deduct the embedded value of the insurance company from its assessment of its core Tier 1 equity, a deduction that will no longer have to be made.

(Additional reporting by Laura Noonan and Kylie MacLellan; Editing by David Cowell and Greg Mahlich)

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Bible. Psalms. German. Ruwe.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-224).The present philological translation from the Hebrew offers help by visualizing the text structure of each psalm through graphic design means: basic read control signals such as "speaker" and "addressee", meaning units, embedded quotes, special forms of address or refrain-like repeats being specifically highlighted.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

German engineering firm Siemens to replace CEO

BERLIN (AP) — German engineering giant Siemens AG says it will be replacing its chief executive, who has drawn the ire of shareholders by failing to meet profit targets.

Siemens said in a statement late Saturday that its board will meet Wednesday to "decide on the early departure of the president and CEO" Peter Loescher.

A replacement will also be named.

Loescher, an Austrian, became CEO of Siemens six years ago. His hold on the job has grown shaky, especially in recent days after the company again issued a profit warning.

It was not immediately clear whether he would offer his resignation or be forced out.

Siemens is a heavyweight in Germany's engineering industry with interests in high-speed rail, advanced medical technology, robotics and power generation.

View the original article here