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Corporate Financier’s Notes by Aivars Jurcans
Done! And Done
Banco de Sabadell, a Spanish lender, has agreed to sell its depositary unit to BNP Paribas, a French bank, for EUR 115 million. The unit has assets worth EUR 22 billion in custody.
Source: Reuters
Deals On The Table
Sirius International, a Bermuda-based property and casualty insurer, is said to be launching a formal sale process “following a review of multiple expressions of interest” together with China Minsheng Investment Group (its majority shareholder). Minsheng acquired Sirius International in 2015 for USD 2.2. billion.
Source: Bloomberg
FWD Group and BNP Paribas Cardif are said to be among potential bidders for “a significant minority stake” in PT Asuransi BRI Life, an insurance arm of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia, while Prudential and Samsung Life Insurance are said also “to be weighing offers” for the business. The deal could potentially fetch about USD 500 million.
Source: Bloomberg
Thanks, But No Deal
National Bank of Greece is said to have halted the sale of Ethniki Insurance, its insurance unit, after “the coronavirus pandemic dashed any hopes of a successful auction”. The bids received are said to have come in “substantially lower” than the target of as much as EUR 600 million.
Source: Bloomberg
Follow The Money
BlackRock, an asset manager, and Neuberger Berman, a US investment manager, are said to have applied to set up a mutual fund business in China. BlackRock already owns 16.5% of Bank of China Investment Management, a part of Bank of China.
Source: FT
Financial Lingo
“Contango” – a market structure where future oil supplies are more expensive than those for immediate delivery.
Source: FT
Exciting Numbers
According to S&P, up to 11.5% of total loans in China’s commercial banking system, or about USD 2.1 trillion, could become “questionable” – either non-performing or late.
Source: FT
There have been USD 34 billion of announced deals involving Southeast Asian financial institutions in the last 12 months.
Source: Bloomberg
Norway’s USD 930 billion oil fund owns the equivalent of 1.4% stake in every listed company worldwide.
Source: FT
A Thought Worth Noting
“The difference with 2008 is that we were seen as the problem then, everybody today knows the problem is the virus. We are one of the activities that has to function… we [bankers] are the doctors of the economy.”
Frederic Oudea, CEO, Societe Generale
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Aivars Jurcans has more than 20 years of corporate finance and investment banking experience. His services are currently available through MURINUS ADVISERS.
Photo by Joe Taylor on Unsplash
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