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LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The publisher of Britain's Daily
Mail said on Thursday it had agreed to sell its insurance risk
business RMS to Moody's Corporation for about 1.452
billion pounds ($2.02 billion) in cash.
Chief Executive Paul Zwillenberg said Daily Mail and General
Trust had built up RMS in recent years by investing in
its software and data analytics, creating substantial
shareholder value.
"We have decided that now is the right time to monetise our
investment in RMS at a premium valuation," he said.
DMGT said the price achieved was in line with its
expectations last month when it said the group's founding family
and leading investor, the Rothermeres, said they were ready to
buy the group outright.
The Rothermeres deal was contingent on the sale of RMS and
the completion of the listing of online car seller Cazoo, which
DMGT partially owns.
DMGT said its intention to distribute proceeds of the RMS
sales, along with its cash and its stake in a listed Cazoo via a
special dividend of about 610 pence, was unchanged.
($1 = 0.7187 pounds)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young)
