Europe Earnings: Anglo American, Helvetia, Lafarge, SABMiller, TeliaSonera

Nigel Thomas
07 Jul, 2014
New York City

Anglo American intends to sell its 50% stake in Lafarge worth

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – Anglo American intends to sell its 50% stake in Lafarge worth £885 million. Helvetia agreed to buy a majority stake in Nationale Suisse at about $2 billion. Lafarge and Holcim plans to sale assets in Europe to raise up to €6 billion.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index slipped 0.5% or 34.63 to 6,831.42 and in Frankfurt the DAX index dropped 0.6% or 61.91 to 9,947.17.

In Paris, CAC 40 index declined 1% or 45.54 to 4,423.44.

Anglo American Plc fell 0.5% to 1,514 pence after the U.K.-based resource and mining company intends to sell its 50% stake in Lafarge Tarmac to Lafarge for £885 million or $1.5 billion and use proceeds to pay debt.

The transaction is expected to close in third-quarter of this year.

Helvetia Holding AG decreased 0.5% to 409.75 Swiss francs after the Switzerland-based insurance company agreed to buy a majority stake in Nationale Suisse at about 1.8 billion francs or $2 billion.

Lafarge S.A slid 0.7% to €64.73 after the France based cement and building materials maker and Switzerland-based Holcim Ltd plans to sale a series of assets in Europe to raise about €5 billion to €6 billion to win regulatory approvals for a $50 billion merger.

SABMiller Plc slipped 1% to 3,362.50 pence after the U.K.-based brewing and beverage maker plans to sale its stake in Tsogo Sun, the South African-listed gaming, hotel and entertainment group for $1.09 billion.

Taylor Wimpey Plc dropped 2.2% to 114.50 pence after the U.K.-based home-builder estimated first-half operating profit margin for the year to be about 16%. Total order book climbed to £1.58 billion compared to £1.26 billion a year ago.

TeliaSonera AB jumped 2.5% to 50.85 kronor after the Sweden-based telecommunication service provider agreed to acquire domestic rival Tele2 AB''s operations in Norway for 5.1 billion kronor or $744 million after Tele2 missed out the frequency auction.