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LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Friday.
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COMPANIES
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BT Group GBP12.5 billion acquisition of mobile operator EE was officially cleared without any remedies required, meaning the telecoms giant can now move ahead with completing the deal and integrating the mobile operator nearly a year after the move was first announced. The acquisition was fast-tracked to a deeper phase-2 investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority at BT's request last June, and it was provisionally cleared in October. BT's acquisition of EE is part of its move to re-enter the mobile space after more than a decade's absence.
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Legal & General Group said it will sell Suffolk Life, a UK provider and administrator of self-invested personal pensions, to AIM-listed Curtis Banks Group for GBP45.0 million, as part of a strategy of selling non-core assets to improve returns. The deal is subject to regulatory approval, which is expected in the first half of 2016. The other condition of the deal was a GBP27.0 million share placing by Curtis Banks, which later confirmed that bookrunner Peel Hunt LLP has since completed the placing with investors. The 8.4 million shares were placed at 320 pence each, with the proceeds to be used in conjunction with new borrowings to provide the money needed to make the acquisition.
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Experian reiterated its guidance for the full year, although the strength of the dollar continues to exert a considerable drag on the contribution of its operations in Latin America, as the group posted total and organic revenue growth of 6% in the third quarter of its financial year at constant exchange rates. The information services company, known for providing credit checks on consumers and businesses, said organic revenue growth was balanced across the regions in which it does business. However, total revenue was down 3% at actual exchange rates in the quarter ended December 31.
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International Consolidated Airlines Group said it has signed a joint venture agreement between its British Airways, Iberia carriers and LATAM Airlines Group that will lead to the companies co-operating commercially on flights between the European Union and South America. IAG is the owner of British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia, which will work with LATAM, a group of South American carriers that recently formed one of the largest airline groups in the world in terms of network connections. IAG said customers will be able to travel more easily on the airlines' combined route network which will serve more than 100 destinations in South America and 87 destinations in Europe.
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US antitrust officials have started an in-depth investigation of Anheuser-Busch InBev's proposed acquisition of London-listed rival SABMiller, seeking additional information on the merger of the two brewing giants, Bloomberg reported. The Justice Department's antitrust division recently issued a so-called second request to the beer maker. The inquiry, which had been expected by the two companies, will lengthen the review of how the combination will affect competition and prices for beer. To resolve antitrust concerns in the US, AB InBev has agreed a deal to sell SABMiller's 58% stake in MillerCoors to joint-venture partner Molson Coors Brewing.
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Separately, Anheuser-Busch InBev said it has listed shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as part of its takeover of Anglo-South African SABMiller. AB InBev had announced in December the plan to list to demonstrate its commitment to the South African market as it progresses with the GBP71.0 billion acquisition of SABMiller.
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BHP Billiton said it expects to recognise an impairment charge of about USD4.9 billion on the value of its US shale assets due to the fall in oil prices. The impairment will reduce the value of the miner's onshore US net operating assets to about USD16 billion. BHP said it will reduce the number of operated rigs in its onshore US business from seven to five in the March 2016 quarter. Beyond this, other investment and development plans for the remainder of the 2016 financial year are under review, with a focus on preserving cash flow.
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Centrica is preparing a bid in excess of EUR1.00 billion for Northern Ireland's largest power company, Viridian, the Financial Times reported. The FT said the owners of Viridian, Bahrain-based Arcapita, have put the business up for sale and set a deadline of Friday for first-round bids, with Centrica thought to be preparing an offer. People familiar with the process said Centrica was likely to bid alone for the company, but might invite consortium partners to join at a later date to take on the generation side of the business, the FT said.
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Moneysupermarket.com Group said full-year operating profit adjusted for costs relating to amortisation and acquisitions, should grow by around 13% and end up slightly ahead of market expectations. However, there was a decline in revenue at the price comparison website's insurance activities in the final quarter of the year, as rivals stepped up the competition. Moneysupermarket said it expects to report adjusted operating profit of about GBP99.0 million for 2015, versus company-provided market expectations of GBP98.3 million.
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Bovis Homes Group said it expects to deliver a big rise in pretax profit and revenue for 2015 following a strong year for the UK housebuilding industry. The housebuilder said it sold 3,934 homes in the year to the end of December, up 8.0% year-on-year, at an average selling price of GBP231,000, up from GBP216,600. Bovis said its operating margin improved to over 17%, which should result in its return on capital employed for the year rising to over 18%, up from 16.2% in 2014. Bovis said the UK land market remains strong, and it expects to increase its estate of sales outlets in 2016 as it remains optimistic the robust conditions in the housing market will continue.
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Online trading provider IG Group Holdings said it has appointed Mark Ward as its interim chief financial officer. Ward is a senior partner at Deloitte, the accountancy, and the head of the firm's investment management and wealth division. He is being seconded to IG from Deloitte, starting on January 25. IG said he will remain in place until a new permanent CFO is appointed.
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Defence and aerospace company Cobham said it has sold its Surveillance unit to an affiliate of private equity group Marlin Equity Partners. Cobham said it had sold the unit, part of its Communications & Connectivity unit, for USD10.0 million in cash.
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MARKETS
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UK stock indices were reading lower, with miners weighing on the FTSE 100 in particular. Brent oil fell to a fresh low of USD29.41 a barrel. Wall Street was pointed to a lower open.
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FTSE 100: down 1.7% at 5,822.30
FTSE 250: down 1.0% at 16,255.04
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.4% at 705.71

GBP: flat at USD1.4340 (USD1.4391)
EUR: up at USD1.0908 (USD1.0852)

GOLD: down at USD1,081.49 per ounce (USD1,082.80)
OIL (Brent): down at USD29.68 a barrel (USD30.35)

(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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UK construction output dropped unexpectedly in November, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed Friday. Construction output fell 0.5% month-on-month in November, reversing a 0.2% rise in October. Economists had forecast a 0.5% rise for November. All new work was the largest contributor to the fall, decreasing 0.7%, with repair and maintenance falling 0.2%
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China's bank lending declined in December and money supply growth slowed from last year, the People's Bank of China said. Banks extended CNY597.8 billion in December, which was below November's CNY708.9 billion lending. It was forecast to fall marginally to CNY700 billion. The loose monetary stance currently adopted by the Chinese central bank means a further pickup in credit growth is likely going forward, despite the recent market turmoil, commented Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics.
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Ten Islamic State militants were killed by NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, an official said. "Two airstrikes, one and a half hour apart, were conducted by international forces which killed Daesh members in Achin district of Nangarhar," provincial police spokesman Hazrat Hussain, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
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Indonesian police were hunting for Islamist militants after a terrorist attack in the capital killed two civilians, as security was tightened across the country. Five men armed with explosives and handguns attacked a police post and a Starbucks cafe near the Sarinah shopping center in the heart of Jakarta on Thursday, killing one Canadian and an Indonesian. Two of the attackers blew themselves up while the other three died in a shootout with police, officials said. Twenty people were injured, including one each from Germany, Austria, Algeria and the Netherlands.
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Twelve trucks of humanitarian supplies, the second in a week, entered three besieged Syrian towns Thursday, a member of a relief committee in one of the areas told dpa. "Six of the 44 trucks which are carrying mainly winter clothes," entered the rebel-held town of Madaya near the capital Damascus, Mazen Burhan told dpa by Skype.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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