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.

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.

Samsung sells 76 million smartphones in second quarter, boosting market share: report

Samsung Electronics Co's latest Galaxy S4 phone is seen during its launch at the Radio City Music Hall in New York March 14, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Adrees Latif

View the original article here

Samsung sells 76 million smartphones in second quarter, boosting market share: report

Samsung Electronics Co's latest Galaxy S4 phone is seen during its launch at the Radio City Music Hall in New York March 14, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Adrees Latif

View the original article here

Vivendi sells Activision stake for $8.2 billion

PARIS (AP) — Vivendi SA is selling most of its majority stake in video game maker Activision Blizzard Inc. for $8.2 billion as the French conglomerate tries to strengthen its balance sheet.

In a statement Friday, Vivendi said that 429 million of its shares will be sold to Activision itself, which makes such games as "World of Warcraft." Another 172 million shares will be sold to a consortium of key investors including Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick and Co-chairman Brian Kelly.

With the sale, at $13.60 per share, Vivendi will reduce its holdings from 61.1 percent of Activision's common shares to 12 percent. The French company will continue to hold 83 million Activision shares after the sale, expected to close in September.

Vivendi has held a majority stake in Santa Monica, California-based Activision since 2008.

Vivendi , whose shares were up 1.35 percent to 16.20 euros in trading in Paris after the announcement, said in the statement that the sale "provides the group with greater financial flexibility and creates value for our shareholders."

Part of the cash will be used to strengthen the balance sheet and maintain its credit rating. Vivendi has been trying to restructure and sell off some businesses in its diverse conglomerate, and announced earlier this week that it's in talks to sell its stake in Maroc Telecom.

View the original article here

Samsung sells 76 million smartphones in second quarter, boosting market share: report

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd sold 76 million smartphones in the second quarter, expanding its market share to 33.1 percent, Strategy Analytics said on Friday.

Overall, the global smartphone market grew 47 percent to a record 229.6 million, the research firm said.

Second-ranked Apple Inc saw its market share shrink to 13.6 percent after selling 31.2 million iPhones, as smaller rivals such as LG Electronics Inc, ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd seized larger slices.

(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Stephen Coates)

View the original article here

Vivendi sells Activision stake for $8.2 billion

PARIS (AP) — Vivendi SA is selling most of its majority stake in video game maker Activision Blizzard Inc. for $8.2 billion as the French conglomerate tries to strengthen its balance sheet.

In a statement Friday, Vivendi said that 429 million of its shares will be sold to Activision itself, which makes such games as "World of Warcraft." Another 172 million shares will be sold to a consortium of key investors including Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick and Co-chairman Brian Kelly.

With the sale, at $13.60 per share, Vivendi will reduce its holdings from 61.1 percent of Activision's common shares to 12 percent. The French company will continue to hold 83 million Activision shares after the sale, expected to close in September.

Vivendi has held a majority stake in Santa Monica, California-based Activision since 2008.

Vivendi , whose shares were up 1.35 percent to 16.20 euros in trading in Paris after the announcement, said in the statement that the sale "provides the group with greater financial flexibility and creates value for our shareholders."

Part of the cash will be used to strengthen the balance sheet and maintain its credit rating. Vivendi has been trying to restructure and sell off some businesses in its diverse conglomerate, and announced earlier this week that it's in talks to sell its stake in Maroc Telecom.

View the original article here