Reuters News

Nordea, DNB sell Baltic bank stake to Blackstone in $1.2 billion deal: Reuters

Nordea (NDA.ST) and DNB (DNB.OL) have agreed to sell a 60 percent stake in Baltic bank Luminor to a Blackstone (BX.N) private equity consortium for 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) in cash, Reuters reported.

Carlyle Group in talks to buy Sedgwick Claims: Reuters

U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group LP is in talks to acquire Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc, the largest U.S. insurance claims service provider, for more than US$6 billion, including debt, sources told Reuters. Carlyle has made a higher offer for Sedgwick than U.S. buyout firm Hellman & Friedman LLC, a former owner of the company that is also competing to acquire it, the sources said. Sedgwick’s owners, U.S. buyout firm KKR & Co LP, Stone Point Capital and Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, are hoping they can clinch a deal as early as this week.

Carlyle Group in talks to buy Sedgwick Claims, say sources: Reuters

Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP (CG.O) is in talks to acquire Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc, the largest U.S. insurance claims service provider, for more than $6 billion, including debt, sources told Reuters.

In Tesla's shadow, China's NIO raises $1 billion from IPO, say sources: Reuters

Chinese electric vehicle start-up NIO Inc (NIO.N) priced its shares near the bottom of its targeted price range in its U.S. initial public offering, according to sources familiar with the matter, dragged down by investor concerns about the prospects of chief competitor Tesla Inc (TSLA.O).

HBC, Signa form European retail, real estate joint venture: Reuters

Hudson’s Bay Co and Signa Holding will merge Germany’s Galeria Kaufhof and Karstadt to form Europe’s third biggest department store chain as they battle online rivals, Reuters reported. The combined retail company will have annual sales of around 5.4 billion euros (US$6.3 billion). Austria’s Signa will hold a 50.01 percent stake in the new entity, with HBC possessing the rest. HBC bought Kaufhof in 2015, hoping to make it the centre of its European expansion. But the company is battling its own losses and a campaign by U.S. hedge fund Land & Buildings to boost its share price by extracting value from its real estate holdings.

Massive cost cuts in focus as buyside mulls Refinitiv bond: Reuters

Millions in projected cost-savings at Refinitiv will be a key consideration for investors mulling the US$13.5 billion-equivalent loan and high-yield bond sale financing the buyout of the business, Reuters reported, citing a note from CreditSights. Blackstone Group agreed to buy a 55 percent stake in Thomson Reuters’ Financial & Risk division, which has been renamed Refinitiv, in January. CreditSights said one of the factors investors will consider is the US$650 million in run-rate cost savings expected to be made in the first couple of years, and how realistic that target is. Blackstone’s track record and its success in cutting costs at other companies it owns will be important.

Australia's Investa sets Sept 17 to decide on Blackstone bid: Reuters

Investa Office Fund has set September 17 as the date for its shareholders to vote on Blackstone Group’s sweetened A$3.3 billion (US$2.4 billion) bid, Reuters reported. Blackstone declared its A$5.52 per share offer as final. The U.S. private equity giant increased its offer for the Sydney-focused landlord last week in response to a rival bid from Oxford Properties Group, the real estate investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). The face-off between the North American firms is indicative of a reach for yield by global investors amid strong Australian commercial rents, especially in Sydney, where capacity is tight.

China's Meituan Dianping to focus on domestic market after $4.4 billion Hong Kong IPO: Reuters

China’s Meituan Dianping, an online food delivery-to-ticketing services platform, confirmed it had filed for an up to $4.4 billion Hong Kong IPO and said it will focus on its domestic business instead of overseas expansion in the near future, Reuters reported.

Hexo's shareholder urges cannabis company to consider sale: Reuters

Hexo Corp’s second-largest shareholder urged the cannabis producer to consider strategic options including a sale, saying its stock was undervalued, Reuters reported. Riposte Capital LLC, which has a 2.5 percent stake in the company, said Hexo needs to step up efforts to lower the cost of capital to take advantage of the growth in Canada’s cannabis sector. The New York-based hedge fund investor said Hexo’s market capitalization of about $1 billion was significantly below the US$23 billion market cap of rival Canopy Growth Corp, the only other company with an alcohol partnership.

Blackstone ups ante in bidding war for Australia's Investa: Reuters

U.S. buyout giant Blackstone Group LP said it was willing to lift its bid for Australian landlord Investa Office Fund to A$3.3 billion (US$2.4 billion) to beat a rival offer from Canada’s Oxford Properties Group, Reuters reported. Blackstone, seemingly set to seal its takeover until Oxford’s last-minute bid this week, wrote to Investa offering A$12 million above Oxford’s price if Investa agreed, among other conditions, to recommend it and lift the deal’s break fee. Investa said in a statement it intends to work to meet the conditions. Oxford invests in and manages real estate assets on behalf of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).