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The largest global industrial wood pellet supplier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, announcing its intention to cut about $1 billion of debt by restructuring agreements with creditors, including those who have invested heavily in new facilities. The announcement came two months after Fitch Ratings downgraded Enviva’s default rating following a missed interest payment of $24.4 million. Construction will continue at its location in Epes, Alabama, Enviva said in a March 12 statement. The Dogwood Alliance urged the Biden Administration this fall to prevent wood pellet producers from accessing a tax credit that received additional funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, which marked the most substantial federal investment to date in the fight against climate change. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Persons: Enviva, ”, ” Glenn Nunziata, Danna Smith, Smith, ” Smith, ” ___ Pollard Organizations: Fitch, Dogwood Alliance, Biden, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: Maryland, Delaware, Mississippi, Alabama, U.S, Epes , Alabama, Bond

☆ I sailed on two Norwegian cruises — one that's $685 a night and one that's $130. Here's how I think they compare.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Brittany Chang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The cruise giant oversees three brands: mass-market Norwegian Cruise Line, premium Oceania Cruises , and ultra-luxury Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Norwegian Cruise Line's Prima — the traditional option with splashy, family-friendly amenitiesThe Norwegian Prima was the first of six Prima class vessels. Brittany Chang/Business InsiderIn October 2022, Norwegian Cruise Line invited me on the Norwegian Prima's non-revenue inaugural sailing. Regent Seven Seas Cruises' Grandeur — the ultra-luxury option with ultra-expensive faresThe Seven Seas Grandeur joined Regent's fleet in 2023. Norwegian Cruise Line and Regent Seven Seas Cruises couldn't be more the oppositeThere are no go-karts in sight on Regent Seven Seas' ships.

Persons: —, Prima, Brittany Chang, Viva's, Chartreuse, filet mignon, who've, Pablo Picasso, would've, What's Organizations: Service, Cruise Line Holdings, Business, Cruise, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Norwegian Cruise, Cruise Line, Norwegian, Starbucks, Norwegian Prima, Regent Seven Locations: Norwegian, Brittany, New York City

☆ 'Vote of confidence': UK hails $37 billion of foreign investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Alistair Smout | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Australian funds IFM Investors and Aware Super will pump 10 billion pounds and 5 billion pounds, respectively, into projects ranging from infrastructure and energy transition to affordable housing, Sunak's Downing Street office said in a statement. It added that Spanish power giant Iberdrola (IBE.MC) would add 7 billion pounds to its investment plans in Britain, which include transmission and distribution electricity networks. France has overtaken Britain as the European country with the highest number of new FDI projects. President Emmanuel Macron announced 13 billion euros ($14 billion) of investment commitments in France at a similar FDI gathering in May. "It wants to deal with one person," investment minister Dominic Johnson told Reuters, adding ministers could then have "very strong, frank discussions with the international investment community about how we can make the environment more investable".

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Kemi Badenoch, Sunak's, Iberdrola, Sunak, Emmanuel Macron, Stephen Schwarzman, David Solomon, Goldman Sachs, Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan Chase, Amanda Blanc, Dominic Johnson, IFM, King Charles, William Schomberg, Alistair Smout, Louise Heavens, Mark Potter Organizations: British, Global Investment, Business, IFM, Microsoft, Blackstone, LBC, Nissan, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Hampton, East Molesey, Surrey, Britain, France, Germany, England, Buckingham

☆ UK insurer Aviva posts 13% rise in nine-month premiums
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A man walks past an AVIVA logo outside the company's head office in the city of London March 5, 2009. REUTERS/Stephen Hird (BRITAIN)/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva (AV.L) on Thursday posted a 13% rise in its general insurance gross written premiums for the first nine months of the year, saying it would continue to return surplus capital to shareholders. Insurers have dealt with issues such as rising inflation and the higher cost of claims by increasing premiums. The life and general insurer, whose main markets are Britain, Canada and Ireland, reported premiums of 8 billion pounds ($9.91 billion), up from 7.2 billion a year earlier. "We see significant opportunities to generate further higher return, capital-light growth in the future as we prioritise these segments."

Persons: Stephen Hird, Amanda Blanc, Blanc, Eva Mathews, Carolyn Cohn, Huw Jones, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Jason Neely Organizations: AVIVA, REUTERS, Aviva, RSA, Reuters, Thomson Locations: London, BRITAIN, British, Britain, Canada, Ireland, Bengaluru

A man walks past an AVIVA logo outside the company's head office in the city of London March 5, 2009. British life insurer Aviva on Thursday said it was maintaining its dividend, soothing concerns the payout could be cut to conserve capital, and reported annual profits that broadly met forecasts. REUTERS/Stephen Hird/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Nov 14 (Reuters) - India's tax inspectors searched the office of British insurance giant Aviva's (AV.L) life insurance unit near New Delhi last week and seized documents as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion, sources familiar with the matter said. In a statement, Aviva Life Insurance, India, told Reuters "we can confirm that GST officials visited our head office site, we are in full cooperation with them." UK's Aviva has a 74% stake in Aviva Life Insurance in India, with the rest owned by India's Dabur Invest Corp. Aviva's life insurance business has a less than 0.5% market share on the basis of first-year premium collections in India.

Persons: Stephen Hird, Asit Rath, Sonali Athalye, UK's, India's Dabur, Aditya Kalra, Sharon Singleton Organizations: AVIVA, Aviva, Goods, Services Tax, Intelligence, Aviva Life Insurance, Reuters, Indian, Companies, Insurance Corporation, Bajaj Allianz, UK's Aviva, India's, India's Dabur Invest Corp, Thomson Locations: London, DELHI, New Delhi, India

☆ Aviva agrees to buy AIG's UK protection business for $563 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A pedestrians walks past the Aviva logo outside the company head office in the city of London, Britain March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva (AV.L) said on Monday it had agreed to acquire the UK protection business of AIG (AIG.N) for 460 million pounds ($563 million). Aviva said it would buy the unit - known as AIG Life UK - from Corebridge Financial, Inc (CRBG.N), a New York-listed subsidiary of AIG. The transaction will add 1.3 million individual protection customers and 1.4 million group protection members, Aviva said, with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals. The deal would represent around a 5 percentage point cut to Aviva's group solvency II cover ratio, the company said.

Persons: Simon Dawson, Amanda Blanc, Iain Withers, Louise Heavens Organizations: Aviva, REUTERS, AIG, AIG Life, Corebridge, Inc, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, British, New York

☆ Aviva to buy AIG's UK life insurance business for $563 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A pedestrians walks past the Aviva logo outside the company head office in the city of London, Britain March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Aviva (AV.L) said on Monday it had agreed to buy the UK life insurance business of AIG (AIG.N) for 460 million pounds ($563 million), in the largest acquisition to date by the British insurer's CEO Amanda Blanc. Aviva said it would buy the unit - known as AIG Life UK - from Corebridge Financial, Inc (CRBG.N), a New York-listed company majority-owned by AIG. Corebridge was formed in 2021 when AIG spun off its life and retirement business and sold a portion of the company to Blackstone for $2.2 billion. AIG took Corebridge public in September last year, in a share offering that raised $1.7 billion.

Persons: Simon Dawson, Amanda Blanc, Blanc, Peter Zaffino, Corebridge, Iain Withers, Louise Heavens Organizations: Aviva, REUTERS, AIG, British, AIG Life, Corebridge, Inc, RBC, Blackstone, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, New York, Singapore, United States

An Aviva logo on the window of the company's head office in the city of London, Britain March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Aviva (AV.L) is quitting its Singlife joint venture, selling its 25.9% stake in Singapore Life Holdings and two debt instruments to Sumitomo Life for a combined 800 million pounds ($997 million), the British insurer said on Wednesday. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023, Aviva said. The Singlife joint venture contributed 17 million pounds to Aviva's operating profit in 2022, the statement said. Sumitomo Life already has a 23.2% stake in Singlife, the statement added.

Persons: Simon Dawson, Amanda Blanc, Elizabeth Howcroft, Lucy Raitano, Sinead Cruise, David Goodman Organizations: Aviva, REUTERS, Singapore Life Holdings, Sumitomo Life, Sumitomo, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Singapore, Ireland, Canada, Singlife

MEXICO CITY, July 5 (Reuters) - Mexican airline Viva Aerobus has signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase 90 Airbus A321neo aircraft, the carrier said on Wednesday, in a deal likely worth several billion dollars. The companies did not name a price for the aircraft, and Airbus no longer publishes catalog prices. The agreement brings Viva's order book up to 170 Airbus aircraft, the carrier said in a statement, all part of the A320 family. In April, Viva signed an agreement with SAF producer Neste (NESTE.HE) to purchase 1 million liters of the fuel. Viva said the aircraft order would drive both domestic and international growth plans, taking into account that Mexico is expected to recover a U.S. air safety rating in coming months.

Persons: Pratt, Whitney, Viva, Neste, Aeromexico, Volaris, Kylie Madry, Raul Cortes, Tim Hepher, Bill Berkrot Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Viva Aerobus, Airbus, Paris Airshow, Whitney, Pratt, SAF, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, U.S, Allegiant, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, U.S

☆ Colombia's Avianca backs down from Viva Air merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, May 13 (Reuters) - Colombia's flagship airline Avianca is backing down from a merger with Viva Air, blaming conditions set by the country's aviation regulator, the company announced Saturday. In a statement, Avianca said conditions set by the regulator "would not allow Viva to be a financially and operationally viable airline," and also put Avianca's stability at risk. Colombia's aviation regultaor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Colombia's aviation regulator approved the merger in late April after repeated delays, with the civil aviation authority objecting to the deal last November, before annulling and reopening the process in January after citing procedural irregularities. Amid the limbo, Viva Air abruptly suspended operations in late February, leaving passengers stranded in airports across the country.

☆ See the 14-slide pitch deck Labviva used to raise $20 million to overhaul a crucial but overlooked task for Big Pharma
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The startup just raised $20 million to help expand its team and platform. Siamak Baharloo says there's a big time-consuming task that's taking researchers away from doing science in their labs: finding and buying the right supplies for their experiments. He added that the company expects to see $150 million in purchases on its platform in 2023. Labviva said on Monday that it had raised $20 million from investors in a Series A round led by Biospring Partners, bringing the company's total capital raised to $30 million. See the pitch deck Labviva used to raise its series A round:

☆ Aviva boosts investor payouts after profit beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The British insurer and asset manager said it had paid more than 5 billion pounds to investors since 2021, including a final dividend of 20.7 pence per share for 2022. The FTSE 100 company reported a 35% rise in 2022 operating profit from continuing operations to 2.2 billion pounds, up from 1.6 billion pounds the previous year. Aviva made an accounting loss of 1.1 billion pounds, compared to a 2 billion pound profit the previous year, which it blamed on adverse market movements in 2022. Following a pension scheme payment and investor payouts, this fell to an estimated 196%, the company said. The company's general insurance gross written premiums increased 8% to 9.7 billion pounds, while its fund arm Aviva Investors reported external net flows of 1.3 billion pounds, down from 3.3 billion the prior year.

☆ Aviva hikes investor payouts after bumper operating profit beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The British insurer and asset manager said it had paid more than 5 billion pounds to investors since 2021, just topping Cevian's demand for that figure to be returned over the year. Aviva reported a 35% rise in 2022 operating profit from continuing operations to 2.2 billion pounds, up from 1.6 billion pounds the previous year and trumping analyst forecasts. However, it made an accounting loss of 1.1 billion pounds, compared to a 2 billion pound profit the previous year, which it blamed on adverse market movements in 2022. Following a pension scheme payment and investor payouts, this fell to an estimated 196%, the company said. The company's general insurance gross written premiums increased 8% to 9.7 billion pounds, while its fund arm Aviva Investors reported external net flows of 1.3 billion pounds, down from 3.3 billion the prior year.

☆ Colombian airlines Avianca, Viva appeal against merger denial
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Colombian airlines Avianca and Viva have appealed to the aviation regulator after it denied their plan to merge, proposing steps to allay its concerns, such as yielding some routes to competitors, the companies said on Wednesday. In an April agreement to merge the airlines envisaged retaining their respective brands and business strategies as the travel sector struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic. But the governing body of Colombia's civil aviation regulator objected, saying the merger posed risks to competition and the best interests of consumers. The airlines also expressed interest in working with state-owned Satena to boost links to Colombia's most remote regions. Avianca said the appeal and measures it was proposing would improve Viva's finances, yielding benefits for employees and suppliers.

☆ Aviva pledges regular investor payouts as premiums rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Carolyn Cohn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jefferies analysts have previously said they expect Aviva to make recurring 250 million pound ($289 million) pay-outs. Aviva has already returned 4.75 billion pounds to investors after raising 7.5 billion in a string of asset sales since Blanc became CEO in July 2020. Cevian in the past called on Aviva to return five billion pounds to shareholders by the end of 2022. Aviva reported a 10% rise in general insurance gross written premiums in the first nine months of the year to 7.2 billion pounds. The value of new business in its UK and Ireland life division rose 46% over the same period to 466 million pounds.

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