Esure Group Share News (ESUR)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London are seen opening higher ahead of UK jobless data at 0930 BST, while esure Group accepted a GBP1.21 billion takeover offer from Bain Capital. IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open up 23.55 points at 7,666.00. The blue chip index closed down 0.3%, or 24.56 points at 7,642.45 on Monday. In early UK corporate news, Chilean copper miner Antofagasta said revenue for the half year ended June 30 rose 3.6% to USD2.12 billion from USD2.05 billion. While earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 16% to USD904.2 million from USD1.08 billion last year. Antofagasta reduced its interim dividend to 6.8 US cents from 10.3 cents last year."The copper market outlook in the mid to longer term continues to be favourable as demand is expected to grow at around 2% while supply growth remains constrained. In the shorter term, there is considerable market uncertainty with the outcome of current international trade negotiations unclear. However, so far no significant impact has been seen on copper demand that can be attributed to this uncertainty, although some positional financial trading is apparent," Antofagasta said. Midcap home and auto insurer esure Group said it reached an agreement with private equity firm Bain Capital for a takeover offer it had first revealed on Monday. The all-cash offer has been unanimously recommended by esure's independent directors and accepted by its largest shareholder, Chairman Peter Wood, and second largest shareholder, Toscafund. Under the offer, shareholders will be entitled to receive 280 pence per share - which values the firm at GBP1.21 billion. The offer represents a premium of 37% to Monday's closing share price of 204 pence, being the last business day prior to the commencement of the offer. esure also said for the half year ended June 30, gross written premiums were up 12% to GBP440.3 million from GBP393.3 million the year before. Pretax profit was down 20% to GBP36.1 million from GBP45.1 million last year due to weather related claims. The company will not pay an interim dividend due to the takeover agreement with Bain. "The UK suffered a number of adverse weather events in the first half of 2018 and these contributed to exceptional costs of GBP14 million in the Home and Motor accounts. I would like to thank colleagues for their hard work and dedication in supporting our customers during these difficult times. The group remains well placed to continue delivering profitable growth in 2018," said esure Interim Chief Executive Darren Ogden. UK regulator Ofcom fined Royal Mail GBP50 million due to the postal operator breaking competition laws after changing prices. Royal Mail said it was "very disappointed" by Ofcom's decision and that it strongly refutes any suggestion it acted in breach of the Competition Act, deeming the decision to be without merit and fundamentally flawed.The company said it will now lodge an appeal with the Competition Appeal Tribunal within the next two months.The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 2.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 1.1%.Retail sales in China jumped 8.8% on year in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That was shy of forecasts for a gain of 9.1% and down from 9.0% in June.The bureau also noted that industrial production advanced an annual 6.0% - unchanged from a month earlier but again beneath forecasts for 6.3%.Japan's industrial production decreased less than initially estimated in June, preliminary figures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed Tuesday. Industrial production dropped a seasonally-adjusted 1.8% month-over-month in June, faster than the 0.2% fall in the previous month. That was slower than the 2.1% decline in the flash data.The pound was flat quoted at USD1.2762, from USD1.2763 at the London equities close Monday, but remained at around one-year lows against the dollar. The headline unemployment rate in the UK is forecast to hold steady at 4.2% and average earnings excluding bonuses are expected to rise by 2.7%. Also still to come in the economic calendar is France inflation data at 0745 BST and eurozone GDP and industrial production figures at 1000 BST. In the afternoon there is US import and export data at 1330 BST. In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.5%, S&P 500 down 0.4% and Nasdaq Composite ending 0.3% lower.US President Donald Trump on Monday signed a USD716 billion defence policy spending bill aimed at modernizing the military and improving readiness.Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act in front of thousands of soldiers dressed in camouflage at Fort Drum, a US Army base about 400 kilometres north-west of New York City.The bill is "the most significant investment in our military, and our war fighters in modern history," Trump said.It will be used to replace ageing tanks, planes and ships "with the most advanced and lethal technology ever developed," Trump said. "And hopefully, we'll be so strong, we'll never have to use it, but if we ever did, nobody has a chance."