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A pedestrian carrying an umbrella walks along the River Thames in view of City of London skyline in London, Britain, July 31, 2023. Finance executives, consultants and headhunters interviewed by Reuters predict subdued deal flows, modest bonuses for most and heavy job cuts in 2024. "2023 will ultimately be one of the lowest corporate finance fee pools in modern history," said Fabrizio Campelli, head of Corporate Bank and Investment Bank at Deutsche Bank. JOB CUTSBanks have already turned to cost cuts to try to weather the downturn, which in a people-intensive business means job losses. And although some bankers expect a tough 2024, others sense an opportunity for European banks from the Basel Endgame.

Persons: Hollie Adams, Fabrizio Campelli, Banks, Ronan O'Kelly, Oliver Wyman, O'Kelly, Dominic Hook, Goldman Sachs, Vis Raghavan, JP Morgan, Morgan McKinley's, Stephane Rambosson, headhunter, Rambosson, Ana Botin, Morgan's Raghavan, there's, Oliver Wyman's O'Kelly, Deutsche's Campelli, Anousha Sakoui, Carolyn Cohn, Jesus Aguado, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, LONDON, Finance, Reuters, Corporate Bank, Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank, Organisation for Economic Cooperation, Development, Barclays, Lloyds, Challenger Metro Bank, UBS UBSG.S, Citi, Workers, Global Investment Banking, Employment, European Union, Santander, Global, Basel, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Ukraine, West, China, United States, India, Madrid

Even including the sale of Heathrow, this year is the slowest for airport transactions in the past decade, totalling $5.9 billion globally to date, according to Dealogic data. They have hired Mediobanca (MDBI.MI) and Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) to find a buyer for a sale of their 49% stake in the company, the people said. Heathrow's sale valued the airport at 14.3 times EBITDA, according to JP Morgan analysis published on Wednesday. UK's Esken (ESKN.L), owner of regional Southend Airport, said in June it had started a process for the sale of the airport. On Thursday, Hungary's state-owned Corvinus and Vinci Airports notified the European Commission of a proposed joint takeover of Budapest's airport, according to a document posted on the EU website.

Persons: Andras Kranicz, GIP, Australia's Macquarie, Spain's, Ferrovial, Agata Lyznik, Mediobanca, Gianni, Origoni, Nico Torrisi, Morgan, UK's, France's Vinci, Vinci, Corvinus, Emma, Victoria Farr, Andres Gonzalez, Elisa Anzolin, Joanna Plucinska, Mathieu Rosemain, Anousha Sakoui, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: LONDON, Heathrow, BNP, Global Infrastructure Partners, AGS Airports, Southampton, Australia's, International, ACI, Airports, Macquarie, Credit Agricole Assurance, 2i, Credit, SAC, Gatwick, Southend Airport, Global Infrastructure Fund, Vinci Airports, European Commission, EU, Thomson Locations: Edinburgh, Italy, FRANKFURT, Spanish, Europe, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Heathrow, France, Hungary's, Budapest's

The sources said the UAE would provide the bulk of the money and private equity firm TPG and infrastructure investor Brookfield would also be involved. Two sources said the money would be overseen by UAE-backed investor Lunate Capital. A view of Dubai's Expo City during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) Climate Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 30, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky Acquire Licensing RightsA second source said BlackRock, TPG and Brookfield would allocate money currently housed in other funds to the UAE fund and that talks over the fund began after the summer and carried on through October. Additional reporting by Andres Gonzales, Anousha Sakoui and Elisa Martinuzzi in London Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Lunate, Amr Alfiky, Andres Gonzales, Anousha Sakoui, Elisa Martinuzzi, Susan Fenton Organizations: Lunate, BlackRock, TPG, Brookfield, United, Reuters, Lunate Capital, Financial Times, Dubai's, United Nations, Change, United Arab Emirates, REUTERS, UAE, COP28, Thomson Locations: UAE, DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Dubai, United Arab, BlackRock, Brookfield, London

LONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The owners of fund administrator Alter Domus are pursuing the sale of a stake in the Luxembourg-based group that could value it at more than 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion), three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Alter Domus offers back office services to private capital funds, such as fund accounting and reporting, and oversees around $2 trillion in client assets. Permira, Alter Domus, Goldman Sachs and Raymond James all declined to comment. Alter Domus shareholders were reported in June 2022 to have held initial discussions with potential buyers, but a deal never materialised as soaring borrowing costs and market volatility rocked the deals market. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that buyout group Thomas H. Lee Partners had clinched a deal to invest in U.S. fund administrator Standish Management.

Persons: Alter Domus, Goldman Sachs, Raymond James, Thomas H, Lee, Standish, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Amy, Jo Crowley, Emma, Victoria Farr, Anousha Sakoui, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Reuters, Goldman, Domus, Alter Domus, Lee Partners, Standish Management, Thomson Locations: Luxembourg, London, Frankfurt

LONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Swiss insurer Baloise (BALN.S) is in talks to sell around 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) of life insurance policies in Belgium, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The efforts come as other traditional insurers sell non-core portfolios with a view to freeing up capital held against those liabilities. In 2020, the Swiss group purchased the non-life insurance operations of Apollo-backed Athora. Baloise saw premiums in its non-life insurance business grow by close to 6% in the first nine months of the year to 3.4 billion Swiss francs ($3.9 billion) globally. However, life insurance premiums dropped more than 4% to 2.9 billion francs during the same period, according to its latest earnings release.

Persons: Baloise, Pablo Mayo, Paul Arnold, Anousha Sakoui, Mark Potter Organizations: Baloise, Reuters, The, ING Groep, ING, Aegon, Royal London, Swiss, Apollo, Fidea, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Thomson Locations: Belgium, The Basel, London, Zurich

The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The EU is falling behind Britain in tapping into savers' money to boost the stock market, despite reforms in continental Europe being a step in the right direction, an official with Germany's bourse told Reuters. For Maassen there is an opportunity in Europe to rival US capital markets. Maassen urged policymakers to speed up the implementation of the Capital Markets Union, a longstanding project to create a single market for capital beyond national borders. Earlier this month, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde called for a capital markets union, with a single supervisor and trading infrastructure, to finance its digitalisation and green transition.

Persons: Stefan Maassen, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, ThyssenKrupp, Maassen, Germany's, Christine Lagarde, Lagarde, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Anousha Sakoui, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Staff, Germany's bourse, Reuters, Capital Markets, Deutsche, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Schott Pharma, OLB Bank, DKV, New York Stock Exchange, EU, Capital Markets Union, European Union, European Central Bank, ., Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, EU, Europe, we're, U.S

[1/2] Executives of Norwegian company Adevinta celebrate the firm’s first day of trading at the Oslo stock exchange, Norway April 10, 2019. The consortium, which include funds General Atlantic and TCV, have offered to pay Adevinta shareholders 115 crowns per share. The deal for Adevinta comes at a difficult time for dealmaking in Europe. It is part of a trend of transactions where private equity firms have weighed buying back public companies they previously owned or still own stakes in. Shareholders can receive cash, or a mix of cash and new shares in the emerging private entity.

Persons: Nerijus, Adevinta, Stefan Dziarski, Dipan Patel, Permira, Shivani Tanna, David Goodman, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Adevinta, REUTERS, Permira, Blackstone, eBay, Adevinta ASA, Atlantic, dealmaking, Thomson Locations: Oslo, Norway, Europe, Adevinta, Bengaluru

REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Nacho Gutiérrez-Orrantia, one of Citi's (C.N) 's most senior bankers in Europe, will become the bank's head of banking in Europe as part of its planned restructuring, people familiar with the situation said. In his new role of head of the Europe cluster, the Spanish banker will look after Citi´s businesses in the region. Prior to the restructuring, Europe was part of its EMEA business unit, the second-largest region on a revenue basis, according to Citi's 2022 annual report. Gutiérrez-Orrantia was appointed in 2021 as its co-Head of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory (BCMA) for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and has spent 19 years at the bank. The US bank recently appointed former Deutsche Bank UK deputy CEO Tiina Lee as UK Citi Country Officer (CCO) and UK cluster and banking head.

Persons: Stefan Wermuth, Nacho Gutiérrez, Orrantia, Jens Welter, Jane Fraser, Ernesto Torres, Tiina Lee, Andres Gonzalez, Pablo Mayo Cerquerio, Anousha Sakoui, Louise Heavens Organizations: Citibank, City of, REUTERS, Reuters, Citi, EMEA, Banking, Capital Markets, Advisory, Bilbao, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank UK, Citi Country, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Europe, Spanish, Middle East, Africa, EMEA, America, Asia South, Asia, Australia, Japan

Electric power transmission pylon miniatures and Iberdrola logo are seen in this illustration taken, December 9, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Spanish utility Iberdrola is planning to make an offer for Electricity North West (ENWL) that could value the British power distribution network at a maximum of 3.5 billion pounds ($4.34 billion), two sources familiar with the matter said. Iberdrola (IBE.MC) declined to comment on any involvement in the ENWL sale process, which one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said is expected to start in December. Iberdrola is ramping up its investments in electricity networks, aiming to deploy 27 billion euros until 2025, with the goal of achieving 30% growth in core earnings of its networks unit to up to 8.5 billion euros. Iberdrola expects to receive around 6 billion euros from partnerships and asset sales by the end of the year that will help it close 2023 with a net debt of around 43 billion euros, roughly in line with 2022.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jefferies, KKR spokespeople, JP Morgan, Andres Gonzalez, Pietro Lombardi, Anousha Sakoui, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Electricity, Reuters, Japan's Kansai Electric Power Co, Macquarie, KKR, ENWL, Scottish Power, Colonial First State, Iberdrola, Thomson Locations: Manchester , Lancashire, Cumbria, Iberdrola, ENWL, Merseyside , Cheshire, North Wales, North Shropshire, England, Central, Southern Scotland

Barclays Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. Tesco Plc and Tesco Bank declined to comment. It could not be established how much the proposed deal would value the Tesco Bank assets. Tesco Bank was launched in 1997 as a joint venture between the British supermarket group and Royal Bank of Scotland, with Tesco later taking full control of the company. Despite seeing it as a growth area in the past, Tesco has been scaling back its banking services, including no longer offering current accounts and offloading its mortgage portfolio to Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L).

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Amy, Jo Crowley, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Lawrence White, Iain Withers, Anousha Sakoui, Jane Merriman Organizations: Barclays Bank, REUTERS, Barclays, Reuters, Tesco Bank, Tesco, Tesco Plc, British, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Thomson Locations: British, Kensington

☆ Aston Martin F1 team gets investment from PE firm Arctos
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Anousha Sakoui | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Aston Martin logo is seen on a V12 Vantage car at the company’s factory in Gaydon, Britain, March 16, 2022. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 16 (Reuters) - The Aston Martin Formula One team said on Thursday it had agreed on an investment by U.S. private equity firm Arctos Partners in exchange for a minority shareholding. The stake sale values the car racing group at 1 billion pounds ($1.24 billion), a person with knowledge about the matter told Reuters. "They share our vision for our ultra-luxury brand, and they are extremely passionate about the sport and its prospects," Aston Martin Formula One Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll said in a statement. The F1 team is sponsored by the eponymous British luxury carmaker in which Stroll holds the largest shareholding of over 25%.

Persons: Aston Martin, Phil Noble, Lawrence, French carmaker, Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, Prerna Bedi, Maju Samuel Organizations: Aston, REUTERS, Aston Martin Formula, U.S, Arctos Partners, Reuters, French carmaker Renault, Alpine, Thomson Locations: Gaydon, Britain, French, Bengaluru

☆ France's Federation Studios seeks advisers ahead of possible sale– sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Amy-Jo Crowley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company is considering options including a full or partial sale to another private equity firm, one of the people added. In the event of a sale, the business could be valued at more than 500 million euros, this person added. Deliberations are at an early stage and a sale process may not occur, said the people, who declined to be named because the talks are not public. Montefiore and Federation Studios declined to comment. A sale process for Spanish broadcasting and sports rights group Mediapro is also underway, according to Reuters.

Persons: Isabel Marant, Pascal Breton, Breton . Montefiore, Amy, Jo Crowley, Anousha Sakoui, Mark Potter Organizations: France's Federation Studios, des, Federation Studios, Montefiore Investment, Breton . Montefiore and Federation Studios, Vertigo Films, Reuters, Federation, Thomson Locations: Paris, Britain's, Rome, All3Media, Los Angeles, Madrid, London, Berlin, Cologne, Tel, Aviv

The entrance to JPMorgan Chase's international headquarters on Park Avenue is seen in New York October 2, 2012. It is the bank's third-biggest city in the European Union in terms of staff with 900 people, coming after Warsaw (1,200) and Dublin (more than 1,000). In the wake of Britain's exit from the European Union, JPMorgan bought a seven-storey building near its historic headquarters in the first arrondissement to house more employees. JPMorgan will commit $50 million of the $60 million investment and Bpifrance will provide 10 million euros ($10.66 million). The aim is to raise between 150 million euros to 200 million euros by the end of 2024, the U.S. lender said.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, Bpifrance, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, Mathieu Rosemain, Anousha Sakoui, Louise Heavens Organizations: JPMorgan Chase's, REUTERS, Rights, JPMorgan, U.S, European Union, Gardens, Justice, Ritz Paris Hotel, Spark, JPMorgan Asset Management, Thomson Locations: New York, France, London, Paris, Europe, Warsaw, Dublin, U.S, Vendome, Spark France

Global fundraising for alternative investments, which include private equity, dropped 21% to $972 billion in the year to Nov. 1 from the same period a year earlier, according to research firm Preqin. As their money becomes more vital, Gulf funds are encouraging private equity firms to invest locally in plans for a post-oil future. "Building a partnership based on reciprocity is nowadays necessary to succeed in the Gulf," said Francois Aissa-Touazi, co-global head of investor relations at private equity fund Ardian. Private equity funds are getting the message. In turn private equity funds can use these pools of capital to fund large private debt or equity transactions, according to Tikehau Capital's Deputy CEO, Frédéric Giovansili.

Persons: Amr Alfiky, Francois Aissa, Ardian, Touazi, Brookfield, Bruce Flatt, thronged, Flatt, Mohammed Al Jadaan, Anthony Diamandakis, Rishi Kapoor, Investcorp, Tikehau, Frédéric Organizations: United, United Arab Emirates, REUTERS, Rights, Global, Investment Initiative, Public Investment Fund, Brookfield, Tikehau, CVC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Abu Dhabi, United Arab, Rights RIYADH, LONDON, Davos, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Dubai, Brookfield, Bahrain

One of them said that the cut off point could be closer to 6 billion euros ($6.33 billion). Some analysts had already questioned Renault's hoped-for valuation of up to 10 billion euros, with some suggesting the carmaker should pursue alternative options to raise cash. De Meo said in September that the listing could value Ampere at between 8 and 10 billion euros, above the French carmaker's own current market capitalisation of 9.55 billion euros. Other EV makers have seen their market value fall sharply in recent months. The Ampere IPO would include a mix of Renault's shares and new shares and could happen as early as April 2024, one of the people said, depending on market conditions.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Ampere, France's, Tesla, Renault's, Luca de Meo, China's Geely, IPOs, De Meo, Bernstein, de Meo, Elon Musk's Tesla, Mathieu Rosemain, Silvia Aloisi, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Gilles Guillaume, Anousha Sakoui, Alexander Smith Organizations: Renault, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Reuters, DKV Mobility, HK, Saudi Arabia's Aramco, Nissan, IPOs Renault, EV, Commission, UBS, Barclays, Ampere, Mitsubishi, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, LONDON, China, Saudi, Europe, Ampere, Elon

The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) unveiled plans earlier this year to combine with London Innovation Underwriters and raise additional funds to deploy in the Lloyd's of London insurance market. The deal by Financials Acquisition Corp differs from a typical SPAC merger because the company has set up London Innovation Underwriters itself. It is not the first time that public market investors in London have backed a new insurance venture. In 2020, Conduit Holdings (CRE.L) listed on the London Stock Exchange, subsequently starting reinsurance activities. UBS and HSBC are joint global coordinators to the Financials Acquisition deal.

Persons: Britain's King Charles, Sarah Meyssonnier, William Allen, Lloyd's, Beazley, Carolyn Cohn, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Anousha Organizations: City of, REUTERS, Financials, London Innovation Underwriters, Lloyds, Innovation Underwriters, Conduit Holdings, London Stock Exchange, UBS, HSBC, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, London, Lancashire, Lloyd's

FRANKFURT, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Hg is weighing options, including a sale, for its German software business F24 next year, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Hg is also weighing only selling part of its majority stake in the process, which is likely to target other private equity firms, one of the sources said. Deliberations are at an early stage and sale plans may not materialise if market conditions deteriorate, the sources said. Hg, which has not disclosed the exact size of its stake in F24, declined to comment. Earlier this year, F24 said it would work with telecom operator Telenet to continue to run the Belgian government's BE-Alert warning system for the next six years.

Persons: Emma, Victoria Farr, Anousha Sakoui, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, Telenet, Belgian, BE, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany, Munich

Reuters could not establish whether Canaccord's interest in the business, known as Close Brothers Asset Management, is still live. Shares in Close Brothers closed 2.2% up on Thursday after initially jumping as much as 5% on the news. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) acquired London-listed Brewin Dolphin last year in an effort to bulk up its international wealth management footprint. Bloomberg first reported Close Brothers' plans to offload its wealth management division in July. Canaccord has sought to grow its UK wealth management arm via acquisitions.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, David Esfandi, OTPP, 7IM, Canaccord, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Amy, Jo Crowley, Anousha Sakoui, Jane Merriman, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Reuters, Asset Management, Royal Bank of Canada, Bloomberg, HPS Investment Partners, Thomson Locations: Toronto, London

About five teams around Europe including Ineos Grenadiers are involved in the early-stage talks and more could join, the people said. Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma team is also involved in the talks, one of them said. Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) controls the Tour de France and La Vuelta while the Giro d'Italia is controlled by RCS Sports. This is not the first time cycling teams have explored a new cycling league project. Eight teams founded a league project called World Series Cycling (WSC) at the end of 2012 but the plans failed to materialise.

Persons: Jonas Vingegaard’s Jumbo, Spokespeople, EY, Amy, Jo Crowley, Anousha Sakoui, Julien Pretot, Andres Gonzalez, Elisa Martinuzzi, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Reuters, Ineos Grenadiers, de France, Partners, Formula, Tour de France, La Vuelta, Amaury Sports Organisation, La, RCS Sports, Thomson Locations: Europe

☆ Wall Street leaders appear at Saudi conference amid conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Hadeel Al Sayegh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A Saudi man's reflection is seen in mirror glass at the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 25, 2022. REUTERS/ Ahmed Yosri/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsRIYADH/LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street's top financiers showed up in force at an annual financial conference in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday despite broad concerns over travel in the Middle East in the wake of an escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) David Solomon, JPMorgan's (JPM.N) Jamie Dimon and Citi's (C.N) Jane Fraser were among a group of high-profile bankers and asset managers speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. The last year has seen Saudi Arabia spend billions on companies, from sports to gaming to aviation. This year, Saudi Telecom Corp took a near 10% stake in Spain's Telefonica.

Persons: Ahmed Yosri, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, JPMorgan's, Jamie Dimon, Jane Fraser, Hadeel Al Sayegh, Anousha Sakoui, Amanda Cooper Organizations: Future Investment Initiative, REUTERS, Rights, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Saudi Arabia's, Hamas, Saudi Telecom Corp, Spain's Telefonica, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Rights RIYADH, LONDON, Israel, Davos, Swiss, Spain's

A Saudi man's reflection is seen in mirror glass at the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 25, 2022. Geopolitical tensions heightened by the Middle East conflict pose the biggest threat to the world economy, World Bank President Ajay Banga said. The conflict could upset the stability of the Middle East just as regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia pours hundreds of billions of dollars into a vast economic transformation plan. Saudi Arabia is putting U.S.-backed plans to normalise ties with Israel on ice, two sources familiar with Riyadh's thinking said, signalling a rapid rethinking of its foreign policy priorities as war rages between Israel and Hamas. The last year has seen Saudi Arabia spend billions on companies, from sports to gaming to aviation.

Persons: Ahmed Yosri, Ajay Banga, Banga, Laurence Fink, Fink, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, JPMorgan's, Jamie Dimon, Jane Fraser, Ray Dalio, Dalio, Noel Quinn, Bill Winters, Barack Obama, Yasser al, Salomon, Hess, Stephen Schwarzman, Schwarzman, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Joe Biden's, Richard Attias, Rosario, Amanda Cooper, Alun John, Michael Georgy, Anousha, John O'Donnell, Susan Fenton Organizations: Future Investment Initiative, REUTERS, Rights, Saudi Arabia's, Hamas, BlackRock, Bridgewater Associates, HSBC, Former U.S, U.S, Saudi Telecom Corp, Telefonica, Investment Fund, Chevron, Blackstone Group, Investment Initiative, Saudi, FII, Reuters, Jorgelina, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Rights RIYADH, Israel, Davos, Swiss, Gaza, Europe, Asia, London

[1/5] A view of the residential apartments in Country Garden's Forest City development in Johor Bahru, Malaysia August 16, 2023. The group hired PJT Partners (PJT.N) as financial adviser to lead discussions with Country Garden, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Ratings agency Moody's said on Thursday it could downgrade Country Garden's (2007.HK) 'corporate family rating' if the recovery prospects for its creditors weaken further. Moody's said Country Garden's senior unsecured rating of C was already at the lowest of its rating scale. Country Garden and Frasers did not immediately respond for a request for comment on that sale.

Persons: Edgar Su, PJT, Moody's, Frasers, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin, Yeung Kwok Keung, Yang Huiyan, Yeung, Yang, Cao Jianglin, Garden's, China Evergrande, Scott Murdoch, Xie Yu, Clare Jim, Anousha Sakoui, Liz Lee, Lewis Jackson, Kim Coghill, Christopher Cushing, Jamie Freed, Lincoln, Miral Fahmy, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, HK, PJT Partners, Garden's, Australian Financial, Reuters, China International Capital Corporation, Finance, HSBC, China National Agricultural Development, SOE, Thomson Locations: Garden's, City, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, China HONG KONG, Garden's Australian, Melbourne, China, Shunde, Guangdong province, Sydney, Hong Kong, London, Beijing, Sydndey

CVC targets an IPO that would value the company at more than 10 billion euros, the people said, with the company placing around 10% of its share capital, one of the people said. The private equity firm's partners are not expected to sell stock through the IPO, the people said. Blue Owl, CVC, GIC and HKMA declined to comment. On-road payments provider DKV Mobility, in which CVC has a minority holding, decided to defer its IPO plans because of volatile markets, Reuters reported earlier this month. London-headquartered CVC, which oversees more than 160 billion euros in assets, is striving to transform itself into a diversified asset manager.

Persons: de, Singapore's GIC, Renk, DIF, Glendower, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Elisa Martinuzzi, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Partners, Reuters, CVC, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Kuwait Investment Authority, DKV Mobility, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Netherlands, Kuwait, London

A construction site of residential buildings by Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured in Tianjin, China August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY/LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A major group of Country Garden (2007.HK) offshore bondholders has appointed PJT Partners (PJT.N) as financial advisors to lead discussions with the troubled Chinese property developer, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Bondholders have been seeking urgent talks with the company since it missed a $15 million coupon repayment on Wednesday, putting it at risk of default. Country Garden did not immediately respond to a request to comment made outside of business hours. Reporting Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Anousha Sakoui in London, editing by Karin StroheckerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, PJT, Scott Murdoch, Anousha, Karin Strohecker Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, PJT Partners, Thomson Locations: Tianjin, China, LONDON, HK, Sydney, London

LONDON/ZURICH, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Switzerland's SoftwareOne Holding (SWON.S), which helps companies manage software purchases from vendors such as Microsoft, Adobe and IBM, received non-binding bids this week from private equity firms Bain Capital and Apax Partners, said two people familiar with the situation. The Swiss software manager has been holding management presentations this month as part of a strategic review run by JPMorgan, a third person said. Non-binding bids were due on Oct. 11 and at least four parties submitted proposals, one of the people said. SoftwareOne declined to comment. ($1 = 0.9050 Swiss francs)($1 = 0.9014 Swiss francs)Reporting by Amy-Jo Crawley, Oliver Hirt and Anousha Sakoui; Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: SoftwareOne, Amy, Jo Crawley, Oliver Hirt, Louise Heavens Organizations: Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, Bain Capital, Apax Partners, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Swiss

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