LONDON: National Bank of Canada announced its net income for the first quarter of 2024 was $922 million, up 5% from the same period last year. The bank attributed this growth to higher revenues in all of its business segments and the impact of the 2022 tax measures on income taxes. Diluted earnings per share…
Ageas considers £3.1 billion bid for Direct Line Insurance Group
LONDON: Ageas, the Belgian insurer, has confirmed that it is in the preliminary stages of considering a possible offer to acquire Direct Line Insurance, the UK’s largest personal lines insurer, for £3.1 billion. The possible offer would consist of 100 pence in cash and one new Ageas share for every 25.24047 Direct Line shares, valuing…
Accenture Song acquires Mindcurv to boost its commerce services
Accenture Song, the world’s largest tech-powered creative group, has agreed to acquire Mindcurv, a cloud-native digital experience and data analytics company based in Germany. The acquisition will expand Accenture Song’s commerce services for clients globally, as well as its capabilities in composable software, digital engineering and artificial intelligence. Mindcurv, founded in 2011, is a leading…
Norconsult has acquired planning and analysis company Concreto AS
SANDVIKA: Norconsult Norge AS, a subsidiary of Norconsult ASA, has acquired the Oslo-based planning and analysis company Concreto AS. The company operates mainly within buildings, infrastructure and urban planning. Concreto’s services primarily focus on economic analysis as a basis for decision-making by project owners in the early phases of projects. These services encompass early phase…
Tikehau Capital and UOB-Kay Hian launch new private credit fund for Asia Pacific
PARIS: Tikehau Capital, a global alternative asset management group, and UOB-Kay Hian, a leading brokerage firm in Southeast Asia, have announced the launch of a new private credit fund for Asia Pacific. The fund aims to provide financing to mid-sized corporates in the region, focusing on growth, working capital, and refinancing lending. Both sponsors have…
Verallia to acquire Vidrala’s glass business in Italy for €230 million
PARIS: Verallia, one of Europe’s main producers of glass packaging for beverages and food products, announced on Monday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Vidrala’s Italian subsidiary, a leading glass container manufacturer in Italy. The transaction, which amounts to €230 million in enterprise value, reflects Verallia’s willingness to further invest in a…
Capita secures £220m customer experience deal with European telecoms giant
LONDON: Capita Plc has announced a £220m deal to extend and expand its customer experience contract with a major European telecoms provider. The deal will see Capita support the telecoms provider’s consumer and business customers across a range of products and services, including mobile phone and TV products, order fulfillment, and customer retention. Capita will…
Tribe Tech and Veracio join forces to develop innovative mining technology
Tribe Technology PLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of autonomous mining equipment, has announced a joint development agreement with Veracio Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Boart Longyear and a global leader in core and chip sample scanning. The agreement will see the two companies collaborate on a new system for blast hole chip sampling,…
HICL sells US toll-road project for US$232m and launches share buyback
HICL Infrastructure Company Limited (HICL) has announced the sale of its stake in the US Northwest Parkway toll-road project to VINCI Highways SAS for a net consideration of about US$232m, which is 30% higher than its latest valuation. The sale is part of HICL’s strategy to recycle capital from mature assets and invest in new…
Verditek sells solar business to bondholders and reshuffles board
LONDON: Verditek (AIM:VDTK), a clean technology company, has agreed to sell its solar business to a new company owned by its bondholders for £528,340, subject to shareholder approval. The deal will also see the resignation of all the current directors and the appointment of Bob Holt and John Charlton as new directors. The solar business,…
Good Life Plus Plc appoints gaming industry veteran David Craven as new Chairman
LONDON, UK: Good Life Plus Plc, a leading company in the luxury prize draw and rewards sector, has announced the appointment of David Craven as its new Non-Executive Chairman. Craven, who has over 20 years of experience in the global gaming industry, will replace Keith Harris, who has retired from the Board. Craven is best…
QSix appoints Christian Daumann as Chief Executive Officer of QSix Germany
LONDON, UK: QSix, the specialist real estate asset manager, announced that Christian Daumann will be appointed as Chief Executive Officer of its German operations with effect from 1 March 2024. Christian will succeed Jörg Schwagenscheidt, who has been CEO of QSix Germany since 2015. Jörg will remain a partner of QSix Group, focussing on QSix…