Insurance

Capital Calls: McDonald’s, GM, Worldline

27 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: The $177 bln fast-food chain boosted sales by making it easier to get burgers and nuggets; supply shortages are exacerbating the carmaker’s heavy investment bill; shares in the French payments group tumbled despite ambitious growth targets.

Capital Calls: Fantasy-sports group M&A flop

26 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: DraftKings has walked away from Entain but the UK target may still attract interest.

Russian IPO salad hides some dodgy ingredients

18 Oct 2021

Helped by a global boom, new listings by the country’s companies are at their most active since 2007. Investors are more used to sanctions risk, while Covid-19 has spruced up hopefuls such as real estate website Cian. Others, like St Petersburg’s bourse, may be lumpy leftovers.

Capital Calls: U.S. inflation, French cloud outage

13 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: U.S. consumer prices rose 5.4% in September as the White House weighs the Federal Reserve chief’s re-nomination; OVHCloud’s network went down the day before the cloud-computing group is due to price a 3.6 bln euro Paris listing.

Richard Li’s family baggage weighs on insurer IPO

11 Oct 2021

The Hong Kong tycoon is putting a limit on how long he can keep the supervoting stock he’ll get in the $2 bln float of Asia-focused FWD. But it can be extended while his nearest and dearest can for a time inherit the rights. That erodes the value of such sunset clauses.

Capital Calls: Pet retail scrap, Chubb, Czech IPO

8 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: Buyout firm Hellman & Friedman matches EQT’s 3.4 bln euro bid for Germany’s Zooplus, putting the onus on its rival; the U.S. insurer buys the Asian assets of Cigna for $5.8 bln; haulage-fleet manager Eurowag makes a chaotic market debut.

Capital Calls: U.S. debt, Hollywood, Blue Prism

28 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: Republicans have blocked additional federal borrowing, bringing a default closer; talent agencies CAA, ICM, and Endeavor take different strategic directions; private equity group Vista seems to be getting UK software group Blue Prism cheaply.

Pan-Asia insurers helpfully crowd onto bourses

24 Sep 2021

Just days after Prudential tapped Hong Kong for fresh funds, Richard Li’s FWD filed for a New York IPO valuing it at up to $15 bln. The upstart is smaller than its $50 bln rival or $137 bln AIA but at last the three offer a way of comparing performance in the fast-growing region.

Wildfire insurance heading same way as flood cover

23 Sep 2021

Hurricanes are growing stronger and wildfires bigger. That means larger, less predictable losses for insurers. Canceled policies and higher premiums tempt governments to intervene. As federal U.S. flood insurance shows, that’s a recipe for underpriced coverage and delayed action.

Pru’s $3 bln Asia shift sets up new AIA battle

21 Sep 2021

The London-based insurer is completing its pivot to the fast-growing region by selling new shares in Hong Kong. The Fragrant Harbour is already home to the $137 bln rival that Prudential failed to buy a decade ago. Now they’re set to compete over punchy valuations.

Generali needs stable owners more than a new boss

14 Sep 2021

Under Philippe Donnet, the $33 bln Italian insurer’s stock price has kept up with Allianz and bested Axa, although he failed to clinch big acquisitions. Grumbling old Italian billionaires in its shareholder roster, fighting with rival owner Mediobanca, are its bigger weakness.

Capital Calls: Lagarde channels Thatcher

9 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: The ECB boss will buy fewer bonds but tells markets: “The lady isn’t tapering.” A tough decision on whether to scale back bond purchases more decisively will come later.

Goldman’s European fund foray may be a taster

19 Aug 2021

David Solomon’s bank bought Dutch insurer NN Group’s asset management arm for 1.6 bln euros. It gives it a boost in sustainable investing, but the real benefit looks like greater scale at a time of slow growth. On that metric, Goldman probably needs to do more deals.

Aviva’s next challenge is to show it can grow

12 Aug 2021

CEO Amanda Blanc is returning 4 bln pounds to investors in the British insurer after flogging assets worth more than 7 bln pounds. The knottier problem is to extract more earnings – and dividends – from a smaller, simpler business. Reduced debt leaves some room for acquisitions.

Capital Calls: Brookfield, Macquarie

9 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: An insurance wing of the Canadian financial empire may bring a dash of risk to a conservative Texan insurer, while Australian investment bank Macquarie has snapped up a stake in British utility Southern Water.

Novo Nordisk diet drug may finally be the big one

4 Aug 2021

Obesity costs America over $1 trln a year, but therapies have proved ineffective or worse. The $215 bln Danish group’s new injection works, and a fast start means annual sales may one day near $10 bln. If U.S. insurers play along, it could be one of the best-selling drugs ever.

Policybazaar IPO stacks up in a price comparison

4 Aug 2021

The SoftBank-backed insurance and loans marketplace is worth 42 times sales on a mooted $5 bln valuation. Its leading digital market position and blistering growth justify the high multiple, despite rising competition from rivals like Paytm which could beat it on distribution.

Allianz’s DOJ tangle will mostly hit M&A ambitions

2 Aug 2021

The $95 bln insurer’s shares fell 10% after it warned a U.S. Department of Justice probe could materially impact earnings. Allianz boss Oliver Baete has a sturdy enough balance sheet to withstand a substantial hit. It may mean fewer deals to augment his growth strategy, though.

Third time will be the charm for Aon Willis tie-up

26 Jul 2021

The insurance brokers scrapped their $30 bln merger – their second attempt – because U.S. antitrust regulators opposed it. The disruption of financial services means there may come a time when the idea no longer poses a threat. By then, of course, there will be less to celebrate.

Investors too gloomy over Biogen Alzheimer’s drug

22 Jul 2021

The approval of what might be the top-selling drug of all time has tacked a remarkably meh $5 bln onto Biogen’s value. Sure, the drug seems marginally effective. And it’s costly. But investors are assuming successful payer pushback, which rarely happens in American healthcare.