Global IPO proceeds hit four year high in first quarter

LONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - Global proceeds from initial public offerings (IPO) rose to $39 billion in the first quarter of 2018, the highest since 2014, as companies rushed to take advantage of generally strong equity markets and robust economic growth amid signs they may not last.

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UPDATE 1-ATON raises stake in S.Africa's Murray & Roberts in takeover attempt

JOHANNESBURG, March 29 (Reuters) - German investor ATON said on Thursday it had raised its stake in South Africa's Murray & Roberts to 33.1 percent as it seeks to takeover the engineering and construction firm despite management opposition.

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ATON raises stake in S.Africa's Murray & Roberts in takeover attempt

JOHANNESBURG, March 29 (Reuters) - German investor ATON said on Thursday it had raised its stake in South Africa's Murray & Roberts to 33.1 percent as it seeks to takeover the engineering and construction firm despite management opposition.

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AMC is working with Citi on potential $2 bln float of Odeon cinemas -sources

* Parent company seeks to capitalise on higher European valuations

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UPDATE 1-UK watchdog to review Aviva over preference share plan

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Britain's markets watchdog will review Aviva's treatment of its preference shareholders to see if any of them lost money following the insurer's decision to drop a plan to cancel these high-yielding shares. The preference shares , which give holders fixed dividends that take priority over ordinary share dividends, fell sharply after Aviva said earlier this month it might cancel them. Cancelling the shares would have saved Aviva about 38 million pounds ($53.64 million

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UPDATE 1-ATON's bid in South Africa's Murray & Roberts rejected by major shareholder

JOHANNESBURG, March 28 (Reuters) - The buyout bid from Germany's ATON for Murray & Roberts (M&R) could be in doubt after the fourth-largest shareholder in South African engineering and construction company, rejected their offer.

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South Africa M&R's top 5 investor rejects ATON's buyout bid

JOHANNESBURG, March 28 (Reuters) - The fifth-largest shareholder in Murray & Roberts (M&R) plans to reject a hostile buyout bid from Germany's ATON that values the South African builder at nearly $600 million.

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UK watchdog conducts review into Aviva over preference shares

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Britain's markets watchdog will review Aviva's treatment of holders of its preference shares following the insurer's abandoned plan to cancel the shares, to see if any shareholders lost money as a result, it said on Wednesday.

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UPDATE 1-Capita to set out new strategy, rights issue on April 26 - source

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Britain's Capita will publish a five-year transformation plan and details of a rights issue with its annual results on April 26, a person familiar with the matter said, giving the services group a clean slate after a raft of profit warnings.

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UK's Capita to set out new strategy, rights issue on April 26 - source

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Britain's Capita will publish a five-year transformation strategy and rights issue details with its annual results on April 26 as the IT-based services firm seeks a fresh start after several profit warnings, a person familiar with the matter said.

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RPT-France to sell new 18-year euro zone linker bond by syndicate

PARIS, March 27 (Reuters) - France is to sell by syndicate a new, 18-year bond with a yield linked to euro zone inflation in the coming days, the Agence France Tresor public debt agency said on Tuesday.

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France to sell new 18-year euro zone linker bond by syndicate

PARIS, March 27 (Reuters) - France is to sell by syndicate a new, 18-year bond with a yield linked to euro zone inflation in the coming days, the Agence France Tresor public debt agency said on Tuesday.

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UPDATE 2-Travelport shares jump 17 pct as hedge fund Elliott buys stake

March 26 (Reuters) - Shares of Travelport Worldwide Ltd jumped 17 percent on Monday after activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp disclosed a large stake and said it might try to purchase the travel software company outright.

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UPDATE 1-Hedge fund Elliott says it could acquire Travelport, buys 12 pct stake

March 26 (Reuters) - Activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp on Monday asked Travelport Worldwide Ltd to pursue a sale and said it could be a potential buyer as it disclosed a nearly 12 percent stake in the travel software company.

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Elliott says could buy Travelport, buys 12 percent stake

March 26 (Reuters) - Activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp on Monday asked Travelport Worldwide Ltd to pursue a sale and said it could be a potential buyer as it disclosed a nearly 12 percent stake in the travel software company.

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UPDATE 3-GKN promises quick cash for investors as takeover battle comes to a head

* GKN says to quickly return up to 700 mln stg to shareholders

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UPDATE 2-GKN promises quick cash for investors as takeover battle comes to a head

* GKN says to quickly return up to 700 mln stg to shareholders

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UPDATE 1-CVC among private equity firms eyeing British telecoms group Daisy-sources

LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Private equity firms including CVC Capital Partners are eyeing bids for Daisy Group in an auction that could value the British telecoms business at about 1 billion pounds ($1.41 billion), banking sources told Reuters.

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BRIEF-Mobilezone: Subscription Rights For 99.9 Pct Of Shares Offered Were Exercised

* SAYS SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS FOR 8,573,352 NEW REGISTERED SHARES HAVE BEEN EXERCISED BY END OF SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD

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CVC among private equity firms eyeing British telecoms group Daisy-sources

LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Private equity firms including CVC Capital Partners are eyeing bids for Daisy Group in an auction that could value the British telecoms business at about 1 billion pounds ($1.41 billion), banking sources told Reuters.

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UPDATE 3-Aviva backs down on plan to cancel preference shares ​

* Regulator had asked Aviva to explain legal basis of plan (Adds investor response, updates preference shares)

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UPDATE 2-Aviva backs down on plan to cancel preference shares ​

* Regulator had asked Aviva to explain legal basis of plan (Updates with quotes and preference share prices)

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UPDATE 1-Britain's Aviva scraps plan to cancel preference shares​

LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva has abandoned a plan to cancel high-yielding preference shares that had been opposed by investors and drawn scrutiny from the country's financial watchdog.

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Britain's Aviva scraps plan to cancel preference shares​

LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva said on Friday it would abandon a plan to cancel high-yielding preference shares that had been opposed by investors and drawn scrutiny from Britain's Financial Conduct Authority watchdog.

from Reuters: New Issues News http://www.reuters.com/article/aviva-gb-preference-shares/britains-aviva-scraps-plan-to-cancel-preference-shares-idUSFWN1R417X?feedType=RSS&feedName=newIssuesNews

MHP launches at 6.95%

LONDON, March 22 (IFR) - * Launches US$550m at 6.95% (4:12pm) * Final guidance 7% (+/-5bp) wpir. Expected size US$500m-US$550m (max). Book size over US$1.35bn. (2.39pm) * Guidance at 7.125%-7.25%. Expected size around US$500m. Tender results: US$409.783m. (1.03pm) * IPTs 7.25%-7.375% area for USD benchmark Apr 2026 note. Books open, today's business (08:50am)

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MHP opens books on USD 8yr bond

LONDON, March 22 (IFR) - *IPTs 7.25%-7.375% area for USD benchmark Apr 2026 note. Books open, today's business (08:50am)

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UPDATE 2-UK markets watchdog asks Aviva to explain preference share plans

* Its preference shares down by up to 30 pct since announcement

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UPDATE 1-UK markets watchdog asks Aviva to explain preference share plans

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - Britain's markets watchdog has asked insurer Aviva to explain the legal basis for statements about proposals to cancel high-yielding preference shares, it said on Wednesday.

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UK markets watchdog asks Aviva to explain preference share plans

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - Britain's markets watchdog has asked insurer Aviva to explain the legal basis for recent statements about the cancellation of its preference shares , it said on Wednesday.

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Troubled UK retailer Carpetright to raise capital, sell stake to key investor

March 21 (Reuters) - British retailer Carpetright has agreed a loan with a shareholder in exchange for new shares to fund the short term running of the company, and may raise a further 60 million pounds ($84.15 million) to strengthen its balance sheet, it said on Wednesday.

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Ghana to name four lead advisors for $2.5 bln Eurobond sale

ACCRA, March 20 (Reuters) - Ghana is set to name four banks as lead advisers for a planned sale of up to $2.5 billion of Eurobonds, expected by June, sources close to the transaction said on Tuesday.

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RBS Chief McEwan hopes to resolve U.S. Justice Department case in 2018

LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland hopes to reach a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over alleged mis-selling of toxic mortgage-backed securities this year, its chief executive said on Tuesday, although it has no news on the timing of any deal.

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Steinhoff says considering all options to help cut debt

JOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Reuters) - Crisis-hit South African retailer Steinhoff said on Tuesday it is considering "all of its options" in order to support its liquidity after a report on Monday that the retailer could sell a stake in its African unit.

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Rocket Internet explores IPO of online shopping group Jumia - sources

FRANKFURT, March 16 (Reuters) - German start-up investor Rocket Internet is exploring a stock market listing of loss-making African online shopping platform Jumia, people close to the matter said.

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Rio Tinto hires UBS to explore Pacific Aluminium listing - sources

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto has asked Swiss investment bank UBS to explore a possible public listing of its Pacific Aluminium smelting business on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), two industry sources said on Friday.

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Barclays CIB chief Throsby gets £12.5m of shares

LONDON, March 16 (IFR) - Barclays' investment bank boss Tim Throsby has been awarded shares worth £12.5m, including £9m to compensate him for stock he forfeited when he joined the British bank last year from JP Morgan.

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UPDATE 2-Greece's Energean lists in London, raises $460 mln for Israeli gas project

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) - Greece's Energean Oil & Gas listed on the London Stock Exchange on Friday, raising $460 million to develop two Israeli offshore gas fields in the latest milestone for the rapidly expanding eastern Mediterranean energy sector.

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BRIEF-Energean CEO expects FID on Israeli gas fields this month

March 16 (Reuters) - Energean Oil & Gas Plc :

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UPDATE 1-Greece's Energean lists in London, raises $500 mln for Israeli gas project

* Shares up 0.4 pct after opening of trade (Recasts, adds details, quotes)

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Greece's Energean IPO to raise $500 mln for Israeli gas project

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) - Greece's Energean Oil & Gas plans to raise about $500 million to develop its Israeli offshore fields through an initial public offering (IPO) in London, it said on Friday.

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UK's Conviviality considers equity raising after forgotten tax bill

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) - British drinks wholesaler Conviviality, which earlier this week revealed it had neglected to allow for a 30 million pounds ($42 million) tax bill in its cash flow forecast, said on Friday it was considering raising new equity.

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UPDATE 2-Africa's Helios ditches London IPO plans, Congo turmoil weighs

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - African mobile phone mast firm Helios Towers on Thursday pulled its plans to list in London, with one banker saying the expected IPO price was too low for shareholders who had been valuing the firm at as much as 2 billion pounds ($2.8 billion).

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UPDATE 1-Africa's Helios ditches London IPO plans, Congo turmoil weighs

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - African mobile phone mast firm Helios Towers on Thursday pulled its plans to list in London, with one banker saying the expected IPO price was too low for shareholders who had been valuing the firm at as much as 2 billion pounds ($2.8 billion).

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Helios Towers ditches 2 bln stg London IPO plan

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Helios Towers has ditched its plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in London which was expected to value the business at about 2 billion pounds ($2.8 billion), the African mobile networks operator said on Thursday.

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UPDATE 4-Noble Group clinches restructuring deal with group of creditors

* Company would seek move to Britain if deal not approved (Adds quotes in paras 3-4)

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Azeri oil fund to boost state transfers in 2018

BAKU, March 14 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's national oil fund SOFAZ plans to transfer up to 50 percent more money to the state budget this year than in 2017, it said on Wednesday.

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UPDATE 3-Steinhoff sells part of stake in South Africa's KAP to help cut debt

* Steinhoff to retain remaining 26 pct stake in KAP (Recasts lead with money raised, adds details)

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UPDATE 2-Steinhoff sells part of stake in South Africa's KAP to cut debt

* Accelerated bookbuild could raise $300 million - banker (Adds shares, Mattress Firm cash needs)

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EBRD issues its first "health bond" worth 317 mln zlotys

WARSAW/LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Tuesday it has issued its first "health bond", raising 317 million zlotys ($92.84 million) from one of Japan's largest life insurers to finance health projects across the globe.

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UPDATE 3-Britain's Melrose raises GKN bid to $11.2 bln in final offer

* GKN had agreed deal to spin off car parts business (Updates with GKN rejection, Aviva Investors comment)

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Britain's GKN rejects Melrose $11.2 bln final offer

March 12 (Reuters) - GKN rejected Melrose Industries' increased and final 8.1 billion pounds ($11.2 billion) offer for the British engineering firm, saying the turnaround specialist was not the right owner.

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CORRECTED-Troubled UK outsourcer Capita brings in new broom for staff changes

EDINBURGH, March 12 (Reuters) - IT-led outsourcer Capita has named a new chief people officer who will report directly to CEO Jonathan Lewis and spearhead the staff changes needed for the troubled British services company to get back on track.

from Reuters: New Issues News http://ift.tt/2DlkElG

Troubled UK outsourcer Capita brings in new broom for staff changes

EDINBURGH, March 12 (Reuters) - IT-led outsourcer Capita has named a new chief people officer who will sit on its board and spearhead the staff changes needed for the troubled British services company to get back on track.

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UPDATE 2-Britain's Melrose raises GKN bid to $11.2 bln in final offer

* Had agreed its own deal to spin off car parts business (Adds GKN response, shareholder comment, background)

from Reuters: New Issues News http://ift.tt/2Gkfolq

UPDATE 1-Britain's Melrose ups "final" offer for GKN to $11.2 bln

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Melrose Industries increased its hostile offer for GKN to 8.1 billion pounds on Monday by boosting the equity element of the offer, appealing to investors after the British engineering firm struck a rival deal of its own last week.

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Melrose ups offer for GKN, says latest bid final

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Melrose Industries raised its offer for GKN, the British engineering company which it is pursuing through a hostile takeover, stating that the new bid represented a final offer and would not be increased under any circumstances.

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UK officials told that Aramco IPO unlikely until 2019 -FT

March 11 (Reuters) - British officials have been informed by their Saudi counterparts that oil giant Saudi Aramco's initial public offering is likely to be delayed until 2019, the Financial Times reported.

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Hong Kong suspends UBS as IPO sponsor for 18 months

ZURICH/HONG KONG, March 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's securities regulator has blocked UBS from sponsoring initial public offerings for 18 months, the Swiss bank said in its annual report released on Friday, adding it planned to appeal against the decision.

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Saudi concerned about risks with New York IPO for Aramco - CNN

March 8 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has concerns about the risks that oil giant Aramco would run by choosing New York as the venue for its $100 billion market listing, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in an interview with CNN.

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Advent to seek buyer for conveyor belt firm Ammeraal Beltech -sources

LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Advent has hired Goldman Sachs and Rothschild to sell Dutch conveyor belt company Ammeraal Beltech in a process expected to begin around the end of this month, two sources familiar with the deal said.

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Atom Bank raises $206 million as major backers raise their stakes

LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Britain's Atom Bank has raised 149 million pounds ($207 million) in a funding round that saw its main backers Spanish lender BBVA and London's Toscafund Asset Management raise their stakes, the app-based bank said on Wednesday.

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Smurfit Kappa reaffirms rejection of International Paper approach

DUBLIN, March 7 (Reuters) - Smurfit Kappa's board reaffirmed its rejection of a takeover offer from International Paper Co after its U.S. rival revealed late on Tuesday that the bid was worth 8 billion euros ($10 billion).

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BRIEF-Orior Launches Placement Of Up To 0.6 Mln New Shares

* LAUNCHES A PLACEMENT OF UP TO 592,499 NEW SHARES THROUGH AN ACCELERATED BOOKBUILDING

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Europe's IPO hopefuls face investor caution over quality, price

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Europe is on course for its busiest start to the year for initial public offerings since 2015 but a jump in stock market volatility and a few IPO flops have made investors more discerning of where they put their cash.

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UPDATE 1-Tesco completes $5.5 bln takeover of Booker​

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Tesco's 4 billion pound ($5.51 billion) takeover of Booker has completed, both companies said on Monday, creating a new powerhouse in Britain's 200 billion pound-a-year food market.

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UPDATE 1-African telecoms towers operator Helios plans London listing

London, March 2 (Reuters) - African mobile towers operator Helios Towers plans to list on the London Stock Exchange in early April, it said on Friday, with an expected valuation of about 2 billion pounds ($2.75 billion).

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UPDATE 2-Advent Intl to buy UK electronics firm Laird in $1.65 bln deal

* Buyout firms turning to public markets for targets (Adds share price spike)

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CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Dutch energy storage firm Alfen plans IPO

AMSTERDAM, March 1 (Reuters) - Dutch energy storage firm Alfen Beheer BV said on Thursday it intended to seek an initial public offering of shares on the Amsterdam Euronext stock exchange.

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UPDATE 1-Advent Intl to buy UK tech firm Laird in $1.65 bln deal

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Advent International has agreed to buy British electronics and technology business Laird, the firms said on Thursday, valuing it at around 1.2 billion pounds ($1.65 billion) including debt.

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Allied Irish Banks increases post-IPO dividend payments

DUBLIN, March 1 (Reuters) - Allied Irish Banks (AIB) will raise its dividend, it said, after annual results on Thursday that showed higher capital, lower nonperforming loans and a drop in pretax profit on fewer one-off gains.

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