Latest news with #M&G
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Insurance group from Japan buys 15% slice of M&G
M&G has sold a 15 per cent stake to one of Japan's biggest life insurers in a partnership deal. Shares in the financial group rallied yesterday after it announced that Dai-ichi Life is now its largest shareholder in a long-term tie-up. The deal is expected to bring just below £4.5billion in business to M&G and about £1.5billion to Dai-ichi Life over the next five years. It is the latest example of a Japanese group teaming up with a UK firm after Tokyo-based Meiji Yasuda bought around 5 per cent of Legal & General in February. M&G shares hit their highest level since June 2021 following yesterday's announcement, but later gave up some of the gains. It still closed 5.5 per cent higher last night at 236.7p. The business has been regarded as a takeover target after speculation Australia's asset manager Macquarie was considering a £5billion bid in 2023. But M&G chief executive Andrea Rossi said that the partnership would bolster its position to compete as a standalone company. 'I can see us having a great independent future in front of us,' he said. Rossi described the partnership as a 'recognition of M&G's strengths and clear confidence in our leadership, strategy and long-term prospects'. 'It brings together two highly complementary international businesses with shared growth ambitions who aim to deliver excellent client service and sustainable shareholder returns.' The deal will allow the business to have 'even greater access to the Japanese and Asian market', Rossi added. M&G will become Dai-ichi Life's preferred asset management partner in Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, Dai-ichi Life will have the right to appoint a director to the board of M&G for as long as it holds at least a 15 per cent stake, M&G said. Russ Mould, at broker AJ Bell, said: 'The usually staid insurance sector burst into life as M&G's strategic partnership with Dai-ichi Life generated excitement. The deal is expected to generate significant business for the company over the next five years.' And Jefferies' analyst Philip Kett said: 'There appear to be no downsides to this partnership, and we expect it to be taken well by investors.' Earlier this month, Dai-ichi Life said it would raise its stake in UK-based Capula Investment Management to 15 per cent from just below 5 per cent. And in April it bought a 15.1 per cent stake in Australian investment manager Challenger for around £408m. Tetsuya Kikuta, president and chief executive of Dai-ichi Life, said: 'We see our partnership with M&G acting as a spearhead to develop our presence across Europe and the UK, accelerating our strategy to become a global top-tier insurance group.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
UK stock markets rise with trading steady while US tariffs ‘in limbo'
UK stock markets have ended the month in the green as markets remain steady in the face of persistent uncertainty over Donald Trump's tariffs. London's FTSE 100 rose 55.93 points, or 0.64%, to close at 8,772.38. The index outperformed European peers, with Germany's Dax rising 0.27%, while France's Cac 40 closed 0.36% lower. Trading started off on the back foot over on Wall Street. The S&P 500 was down about 0.35%, and Dow Jones was 0.15% lower by the time European markets closed. A group of equity analysts for Barclays wrote in a research note: 'Equity markets held steady this week amidst ever changing policy narratives.' 'It also shows that investors are reacting more calmly to tariff headlines now, viewing them increasingly as negotiation tactics.' They added that there were signs of 'fatigue' among traders as Mr Trump's trade policy is held 'in limbo'. In new developments this week, the US president is fending off potential roadblocks to his trade policies from the US courts. On Thursday, a federal appeals court said it was allowing Mr Trump to continue collecting import taxes for now, a day after a lower court blocked the duties. Barclays' analysts said the 'guessing game on tariffs leaves the market exposed' to sharp moves as a result of the changes. Meanwhile, the pound was down about 0.1% against the US dollar, at 1.348, and rising around 0.1% against the euro, at 1.187. In company news, M&G said it had partnered with Japanese life insurer Dai-ichi Life to accelerate the group's expansion into European private markets, and give it greater access to markets in Japan and across Asia. Dai-ichi Life plans to buy a 15% stake in M&G as part of the deal, the firm said, which would make it the largest shareholder in the British investment firm. Shares in M&G rose 5.5% on Friday, making it the biggest riser on the FTSE 100. BP announced it has appointed David Hager to its board of directors, who joins following a 40-year career in the oil and gas industry, including as the former chief executive of Devon Energy. Mr Hager 'brings deep-rooted knowledge of the US upstream oil and gas industry', BP's chair Helge Lund said. BP's shares closed 0.5% higher. The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were M&G, up 12.3p to 236.7p, GSK, up 51p to 1,507p, BT, up 5.5p to 179.45p, AstraZeneca, up 322p to 10,720p, and Unite Group, up 21.5p to 861p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were IAG, down 6.7p to 326.1p, Spirax, down 100p to 5,715p, Compass Group, down 45p to 2,605p, Polar Capital Technology Trust, down 5.5p to 326.5p, and Rio Tinto, down 59p to 4,402p.
Evening Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Evening Standard
UK stock markets rise with trading steady while US tariffs ‘in limbo'
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were M&G, up 12.3p to 236.7p, GSK, up 51p to 1,507p, BT, up 5.5p to 179.45p, AstraZeneca, up 322p to 10,720p, and Unite Group, up 21.5p to 861p.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Japan's Dai-Ichi Life to take 15% stake in British insurer M&G
PARIS/LONDON: Japanese insurer Dai-ichi Life will take a 15% stake in British financial group M&G and has agreed a long-term partnership, sending shares in M&G sharply higher and marking the latest overseas foray by a Japanese firm. The tie-up, in which Dai-ichi Life becomes M&G's biggest single shareholder, is expected to deliver at least $6 billion of new business for M&G and $2 billion of new business for Dai-ichi Life over the next five years, M&G said on Friday. M&G shares rose more than 8% in early trading, hitting their highest since June 2021. The stock was last up nearly 6% at 1050 GMT. M&G CEO Andrea Rossi told Reuters the agreement would help the firm accelerate growth in Asia via Dai-ichi Life's distribution network. He said the Japanese firm would also help fuel the growth of its European private markets business. M&G has been seen as a takeover target in the past, but Rossi said the tie-up would strengthen M&G's competitive position as a standalone firm. 'I can see us having a great independent future in front of us,' he said. The two companies will 'pursue opportunities to co-invest in new asset management capabilities' under the tie-up, and M&G will become Dai-ichi Life's preferred asset management partner in Europe. Asset management has seen a spate of consolidation and collaboration deals in recent years as firms try to bulk up in order to compete with U.S. giants like BlackRock and Vanguard. Japanese firms have also become more active in the insurance and asset management market outside of Japan, with British rival Legal & General announcing a tie-up with Meiji Yasuda in February, while DWS is in talks to form a joint venture with Nippon Life in India, Reuters reported this month. Under the deal, Dai-ichi Life will have the right to appoint a director to the board of M&G for as long as it holds at least a 15% shareholding, the British company said. In 2023 M&G was linked with a potential bid by Australia's Macquarie, which the British money manager at the time dismissed as speculative. Active asset managers have come under pressure from inflation and from investors turning to passive investment funds, which charge lower fees. M&G reported an unexpected rise in annual profit in March, helped by cost-cutting and growth in its asset management business. Dai-ichi Life earlier in May said it would raise its stake in UK-based Capula Investment Management to 15%, from just under 5%, and in April agreed to buy a 15.1% stake in Australian investment manager Challenger for around $550 million.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
London stocks gain despite lingering US tariff uncertainty
May 30 (Reuters) - Britain's main indexes climbed on Friday, poised for weekly and monthly gains, despite a U.S. appeals court reinstating President Donald Trump's tariffs just a day after a trade court had ordered an immediate block on them. As of 1009 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab rose 0.8% and was on track to end the month higher with three consecutive weeks of gains. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington on Thursday temporarily reinstated Trump's duties while it considers the government's appeal, injecting more uncertainty into the market. The Trump administration has said negotiations with top trading partners have continued despite the trade court's block. Britain is the only country to have signed a deal. On the economic front, Bank of England policymaker Alan Taylor dismissed inflation concerns and called for lower interest rates. Taylor was one of the two members who had voted for a bigger half-point cut in May. The BoE had cut interest rates by quarter of a percentage point. Additionally, a survey showed that the British public's expectations for inflation over the year ahead fell in May to 4% from 4.2%. The domestically focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC), opens new tab was on-track for a second month of gains. It was up 0.6% on Friday. Investment banking and brokerage services sub-index (.FTNMX302020), opens new tab advanced 1.5%, with insurer and asset manager M&G (MNG.L), opens new tab rising 5.6% after Japan's Dai-ichi Life Holdings (8750.T), opens new tab said it plans to buy a 15% stake. Insurer Hiscox (HSX.L), opens new tab was up almost 1.4% after Berenberg re-initiated coverage with 'buy'. Later in the day, investors will closely monitor the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditure data — the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation indicator — for clues on interest rate trajectory.
