Swiss Re Seeks Capital from SoftBank; HPI, Telecel Terminate Talks

Sarla Buch
04 Apr, 2018
New York City

Fagron plunged on the U.S. rival acquisition. Grenke profit surged 21%. HPI terminate the talk on the merger with the Telecel Group. Swiss Re said SoftBank stake will not to exceed more than 10%.

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – Fagron plunged on the U.S. rival acquisition. Grenke profit surged 21%. HPI terminate the talk on the merger with the Telecel Group. Swiss Re said SoftBank stake will not to exceed more than 10%.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index slid 11.64 or 0.2% to 7,018.82 and in Frankfurt the DAX index decreased 85.13 or 0.7% to 11,917.32.

In Paris, CAC 40 index fell 23.32 or 0.5% to 5,128.80.

Fagron NV plunged 6.2% to €12.47 after Belgium-based pharmaceutical compounding services provider agreed to acquire the U.S.-based rival for a total consideration of about €56.9 million or $70 million in cash.

Grenke AG jumped 4.4% to €90.40 after Germany-based leasing and banking services provider reported revenues in the year ending in December jumped 5.6% from a year ago to €559.6 million.

Net income in the year surged 21.1% to €125 million from €103.2 million in a year ago period and diluted earnings per share dropped to €2.74 from €2.29.

HPI AG, the Germany-based industrial service provider today said that it had terminate the talk on the merger with the Telecel Group and added that integration is not in the best interests of the company.

Swiss Re declined 3.2% to €79.22 after Germany-based reinsurer said that the minority investment of SoftBank was ""currently expected not to exceed more than 10%"" and both companies are exploring areas of potential strategic cooperation.

Swiss Re reaffirmed that its capital position remains “very strong” and the insurance company is considering to issue new capital.

In February 2018, Swiss Re entered into preliminary discussions with Japan-based conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. for a potential partnership and minority investment.