2 hours ago Macquarie agrees £700m deal to buy UK waste firm Renewi; Direct Line shares jump after rejecting Aviva’s £3.3bn offer – live

Australian investment bank returns after being rebuffed last yearIn other takeover news, the Australian investment bank Macquarie has just agreed to buy the UK-listed waste management company Renewi for £700m.It is paying 870p a share in cash.We are always cautious about the bidder’s curse, but we believe Aviva’s approach to Direct Line is strategically coherent, could offer considerable synergies, and is currently highly financially attractive.The main risk for Aviva is that it seems to be stretching an already below-average solvency ratio, so any further generosity would need to come from shares. We can see an offer rising from the current 250p to around 300p. Continue reading...

Economics

2 hours ago FTSE 100 Live 28 November: Direct Line shares surge on Aviva approach, Loungers backs £338m takeover

Direct Line Insurance shares are back in the takeover spotlight after the Green Flag owner rejected a £3.3 billion approach by Aviva.

Economics

3 hours ago FTSE 100 Live 28 November: Direct Line in bid focus after Aviva approach, Loungers backs £338m takeover

Direct Line Insurance shares are back in the takeover spotlight after the Green Flag owner rejected a £3.3 billion approach by Aviva.

Economics

3 hours ago Direct Line shares jump 38% after rejecting Aviva’s £3.3bn offer to create insurance giant – business live

UK car insurer, which owns Churchill and Green Flag brands, said approach was ‘highly opportunistic and substantially undervalued the company’Jefferies analysts Philip Kett and James Pearse said they believe that “a higher offer might be forthcoming if the board considered engaging with Aviva”.Direct Line has rejected its third bid this year, this time from a new suitor, Aviva, who in offering 112.5p in cash and 0.282 new Aviva shares values Direct Line at 250p per share.Given that this is a relatively small uplift from the previous two offers, and the consideration is similarly split between cash and shares, we are unsurprised that the bid was rejected.The offer is reasonable, in our view, discounts Direct Line Group (DLG’s) full recovery potential, and includes a bid premium in our vi...

Economics

4 hours ago Direct Line shares jump 38% after Aviva’s £3.3bn offer – business live

Direct Line, which owns Churchill and Green Flag brands, rejected approachDirect Line shares jumped as much as 38%, after news last night that Aviva has swooped on it with a takeover approach – which Direct Line has rejected.Meanwhile, Aviva shares have fallen by 2.7% at the open, making the UK’s largest insurer one of the biggest losers on the FTSE 100 index this morning. Rival insurer Admiral is the biggest riser on the FTSE 100, up by 3%.We believe that an offer at around 250p per share or slightly above is good for Direct Line shareholders.The offer represents a 60% premium to Direct Line’s shares on 18 Nov. Or 57.5% premium to close yesterday.The Competition and Markets Authority will have a view on the combined group BUT we assume that Aviva have considered this and have discounte...

Economics