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Corporate Financier’s Notes by Aivars Jurcans
Done! And Done
Blackstone, a private equity firm, has agreed to buy Allstate Life Insurance for USD 2.8 billion. Allstate Life Insurance holds USD 23 billion, or about 80%, of Allstate’s, its parent company, life and annuity reserves.
Source: WSJ
Alexander Schutz, a Deutsche Bank board member, has disposed of his shares in the bank. Mr Schutz once was one of Deutsche’s 15 largest investors with a 0.84% stake. His term as a supervisory board member runs until 2023 and is not tied to the stake he held.
Source: FT
Deals On The Table
Lazard Growth Acquisition Corp I, a blank-cheque firm backed by Lazard (an investment bank), is said to be aiming to raise USD 500 million in a US IPO.
Source: Reuters
Trustly, a Swedish payments firm, is said to be planning an IPO that could value it at up to EUR 9 billion. Its revenues were around EUR 130 million in 2019 and are expected to be around EUR 200 million for 2020.
Source: Reuters
Banko do Brasil, a state-owned Brazilian lender, is said to have resumed the process to sell BB DTVM, its asset management unit. BB DTVM has around USD 183 billion in assets under management.
Source: Reuters
Metrics To Watch
Berenberg, an independent German bank, cost-to-income ratio fell from 80% in 2019 to 71% in 2020.
Source: FT
UBS, a Swiss bank, cost-to-income ratio for 2020 decreased to 73%, from 81% in 2019. It is still at least 10 percentage points above the average for European banks. UBS’s shares are trading at tangible book value, closer to big US investment banks than any European rival.
Source: FT
Up-and-Comers
JPMorgan Chase has confirmed its plans to launch a digital-only bank in the UK later this year. The new bank will operate under the Chase brand.
Source: FT
Melio, a New York- and Israel-based company which focuses on B2B payments for small firms, has raised USD 110 million and is now valued at USD 1.3 billion.
Source: FT
Exciting Numbers
According to Morgan Stanley, the top 10 asset managers only account for 35% of market share, making it the most fragmented industry globally after capital goods.
Source: FT
In 2021, 66 special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) have launched and raised USD 18.3 billion, outpacing the USD 13.2 billion raised through traditional initial public offerings globally.
Source: FT
A Thought Worth Noting
“I don’t see [the asset management market] shrinking down to a handful of multi-trillion dollar players. It’s more nuanced than just rushing to buy assets and build a mega player. It depends on whether they want to grow in the US, Europe or Asia or in a specific category.”
Janis Vitols, head of global asset management investment banking, Bank of America
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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.
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