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NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) has agreed to buy a significant stake in FGS Global in a deal that values the financial communications group at about $1.4 billion. As part of the deal, KKR will buy up a 30% stake from senior employees at FGS Global and its largest investors, including London-based advertising giant WPP Plc (WPP.L). WPP, which was founded by Martin Sorrell, will retain a majority stake in FGS Global. Existing investor Golden Gate Capital is selling its entire stake to KKR, which is investing in FGS Global through its $8-billion European Fund VI. FGS Global currently employs more than 1,200 people across 27 offices globally.

TORONTO, April 10 (Reuters) - Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) Chief Executive Gary Nagle plans to meet with some of Teck Resources Ltd's (TECKb.TO) Canadian shareholders in Toronto this Thursday to personally lobby them for support of Glencore's proposed takeover of the copper and zinc miner, according to a source who was invited. Royal Bank of Canada's (RY.TO) RBC Capital Markets will host the Toronto lunch meeting, according to Jonathan Case of CI Global Asset Management, a Teck shareholder who was invited. RBC has been one of Glencore's bankers in the past. Teck's executives on Monday reinforced their rejection of Glencore's unsolicited $22.5 billion takeover offer. Reporting by Divya Rajagopal in Toronto; Editing by Ernest Scheyder and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

JPMorgan sued Staley last month to have him cover its losses in both lawsuits and forfeit eight years of compensation. Epstein killed himself at age 66 in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. The cases in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York are: Jane Doe 1 v JPMorgan Chase & Co, No. 22-10019; Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, No. 22-10904; and JPMorgan Chase Bank NA v Staley, in Nos.

☆ Canadian miner Teck Resources pushes for restructuring, says Glencore bid 'flawed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 10 (Reuters) - Canada's Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) on Monday doubled down on its push to reject an unsolicited $22.5 billion bid from Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) citing "fundamental flaws" in the offer and urged shareholders to instead vote for a restructuring. The Swiss miner's buyout bid, which was made public last week, includes a plan to simultaneously spin off the thermal and steelmaking coal businesses and rebrand the remaining company as GlenTeck. read moreTeck said its board has rejected the offer as Glencore did not present a coherent plan for its proposed coal company, adding that the deal would expose its shareholders to thermal coal, oil, LNG and related sectors. The company once again said more value could be unlocked through a proposed restructuring in which the Vancouver-based miner would spin off its steelmaking coal unit to focus on copper and other industrial metals. Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Canadian entrepreneur Lassonde plans to buy blocking stake in Teck's Elk Valley, Globe and Mail reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 8 (Reuters) - Canadian entrepreneur Pierre Lassonde is planning to buy a blocking stake in Elk Valley Resources, the steel-making coal unit to be spun off by Teck Resources Ltd (TECKb.TO), the Globe and Mail reported. In an interview with the Canadian newspaper published on Friday, Lassonde expressed his interest in the soon-to-be divested unit of Teck, saying he wanted the company's assets to "remain Canadian." Teck Resources could not be reached immediately for comment. Under terms of a deal offered previously by minority shareholder Nippon Steel, the Elk Valley unit will have an enterprise value of C$11.5 billion. Teck Resources in February said it will receive an 87.5% interest in gross revenue royalty from the steel-making coal business through the transition period.

☆ Uranium is having a 'renaissance.' What to know about it, and how to play it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

But despite the strong outlook for the commodity price, stocks and funds related to the commodity have not risen in lock step. The Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (URNM) and Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (SRUFF) are down about 7% and 4% so far this year, underperforming the broad S & P 500 , which has gained 6.5% . He said the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust is a smart play because it has the best risk-to-reward ratio in his eyes and has the benefit of holding actual uranium as opposed to just mining stocks. The company also manages the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF, which Huhn said has a larger emphasis on the mining stocks than the commodity price. Zuri-Invest's option is unique because it has a shorter settlement time and can be redeemed for either money or physical uranium, Huhn said.

☆ Unstable markets drag Canadian M&A, debt issuance to four-year low
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Maiya Keidan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The collapse of regional banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the U.S. tightened credit market making funding difficult for deals. As the banking crisis abate and many global central banks move to the sidelines to assess the impact of rapid interest rates hikes, bankers are, however, betting that appetite for dealmaking would return. Canadian M&A volumes totalled $34.7 billion in the first quarter, down 52.3% from a year ago, with dealmaking off to the worst start since the same period in 2020. Some market participants noted the second quarter is already off to a stronger start, with the mining sector gathering momentum. Abeed Ramji, head of Canadian Debt Capital Markets at TD, said the lack of issuance from banks impacted the corporate debt market, adding that global markets had become more expensive for financing.

☆ RSV cases in US show signs of return to pre-pandemic seasonality - CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 6 (Reuters) - Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) circulation is showing signs of return to pre-pandemic seasonality in the U.S. after two years of irregular onsets and peaks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday. Typically, cases of RSV virus that can cause severe illness or death in the very young and old rose in October before waning in April. The varying timing could be challenging for drugmakers racing to get their RSV vaccines to the market. In both pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, RSV cases began to surge earlier in Florida and the Southeast and later in regions further north and west, the researchers said. "Policy makers should consider RSV seasonality when making recommendations about the timing of studies and administration of new immunization and other RSV prevention products," the report said.

☆ Shell sees stronger LNG volumes and oil product performance in Q1
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Shell PLC FollowApril 6 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) expects higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) output in the first quarter after outages at its Australian plants last year as well as stable earnings from LNG trading, it said on Thursday. Shell, which recorded a record $40 billion profit last year, said In an update ahead of results due on May 4 that it expected first-quarter liquefaction volumes of 7 to 7.4 million tonnes, up from 6.8 million tonnes in the previous quarter. Its oil products division also likely boosted earnings through a "significantly higher" trading performance, the world's biggest fuel retailer said. It expects to have paid between $2.6 and $3.4 billion in tax for the first quarter, down from $4.4 billion. Its renewables unit is set to contribute $100 to $700 million to adjusted earnings, compared with $300 million in the last quarter of 2022.

"Jane Doe herself has directly accused him of horrific sexual misconduct and, if true, he must be held accountable." In a separate letter, lawyers for the Epstein accusers also supported severing the Staley case, but for a different reason. 22-10018; Jane Doe 1 v JPMorgan Chase & Co, No. 22-10019; Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, No. 22-10904; and JPMorgan Chase Bank NA v Staley, in Nos.

☆ Dominion Energy, National Grid pursuing pipeline sales - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 6 (Reuters) - Utility firms Dominion Energy (D.N) and National Grid Plc (NG.L) are separately considering a potential sale of parts of their natural gas pipeline networks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. National Grid on the other hand is exploring a possible sale of part of its pipeline network serving the Northeastern U.S. Eliminating natural gas appliances would mean transitioning to electric equipment such as heat pumps. Dominion and National Grid's shares on the New York Stock Exchange were trading 0.4% and 1% higher, respectively. Dominion and National Grid declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

☆ London's FTSE 100 climbs ahead of Easter break
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Sruthi Shankar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.5% and is on course to end the holiday-shortened week about 1% higher, with gains in oil & gas and healthcare stocks offering support. Shell (SHEL.L) rose 1.7% as the energy giant forecast higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) output in the first quarter. The midcap FTSE 250 index (.FTMC) rose 0.2%, with London-listed shares of travel firm TUI jumping 7.2% after sharp losses this week. "The report noted mortgage rates have continued to trend downwards, housing transactions have picked up slightly and the employment market remains robust. We still see challenges ahead as affordability remains under pressure," said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.

☆ At Least 10,000 Foreign Companies to Be Hit by EU Sustainability Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

The estimates exclude foreign companies that are subject to the reporting requirements due to other conditions, such as having an EU bond listing. Foreign companies with EU listings will need to start reporting these disclosures in 2025 if they have more than 500 employees in the EU. Businesses based in the EU that reported under the bloc’s previous sustainability rules must follow the new requirements from 2025. The EU rules call for limited-assurance audits to start, with a goal of eventually moving to reasonable assurance. Other sustainability reporting regulations are also set to go into effect in the next few years.

☆ Adani trumpets stable ties to global banks in bid to ease investor worries, document shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Aditya Kalra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The document, which was reviewed by Reuters, did not elaborate on how the lenders reaffirmed their commitment to the Adani group. Adani group did not respond to a request for comment. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) (8306.T), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc's (8316.T) SMBC unit, Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T), Standard Chartered (STAN.L) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) did not immediately respond. CONCERNS ABOUT DEBTThe Hindenburg report had sparked concern among investors about banks' exposures to the Adani group. Now, 39% of Adani's debt is currently in the form of bonds, 29% is from global banks and 32% comes from public or private banks in India, the Adani document added.

☆ Nigerians accuse Shell of delay in oil spill London lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Thousands of members of the Bille and Ogale communities are suing Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary SPDC over oil spills. Shell strongly denies any liability and argues that parts of the cases were brought too late. It also says the majority of the spills were caused by illegal third-party interference, such as pipeline sabotage and oil theft. Shell says two further trials could then take place to determine allegations against its subsidiary and Shell's alleged liability as its parent company. Shell's proposal is "advanced as a device to shield (Shell) from scrutiny", Richard Hermer, a lawyer representing the claimants, said in court filings.

Companies Anglo American PLC FollowApril 4 (Reuters) - Anglo American (AAL.L) said on Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Swedish hydrogen and steel producer H2 Green Steel to work on advancing low-carbon steelmaking processes. The miner said the agreement includes studying and trialling the use of iron ore products from its Kumba mines in South Africa and Minas-Rio mine in Brazil as feedstock for H2's direct reduced iron (DRI) production process at its Boden plant in Sweden. DRI steel production is estimated to be significantly less carbon intensive than traditional blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace integrated processes. Anglo American's shares were up 0.4% by 0715 GMT. Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

April 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firm TPG Inc (TPG.O) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy a majority stake in Elite, a vendor of business management software for law firms, from information provider Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO) at a valuation of $500 million. Thomson Reuters will keep a minority stake and board representation in Elite and continue to support it with its legal information products, the companies said. Paul Fischer, president of Thomson Reuters' legal professionals division, said that Elite will continue to share many of Thomson Reuters' clients as a standalone company. Elite offers software that helps law firms run their finance and accounting operations, including billing, invoicing and payments. TPG partner Tim Millikin said that the data and automation that Elite offers are in demand among legal professionals.

☆ UK says Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems win nearly $200 mln contract, to create 140 jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 4 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and BAE Systems Plc (BAES.L) won a F-35 jet maintenance support contract worth 161 million pounds ($200 million), creating 140 jobs in Britain, the country's Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday. The contract was signed by the U.S. Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin as F-35 prime contractor, with BAE Systems to carry out the work as a sub-contractor, the government said in a statement. Of the 140 jobs, 130 jobs will be based at the Norfolk base and around 10 jobs more would be created through the supply chain, the statement added. ($1 = 0.8053 pounds)Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exxon says its decarbonization business could outgrow oil, in multi-trillion market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Exxon is tackling what should be a multi-trillion market in 10 years or more, Woods said. The result will be an Exxon less prone to commodity price swings through predictable, long-term contracts with customers striving to reduce their own carbon footprint. "This business is going to look quite a bit different than the base business of Exxon Mobil," vowed Dan Ammann, president of Exxon's two-year-old Low Carbon Business Solutions unit. Exxon is tackling carbon capture, hydrogen, biofuels, which it estimates have a combined potential of $6.5 trillion by 2050, equivalent to the traditional oil and gas business. The business can achieve "robust double-digit returns" off these long-term contracts, Ammann said.

☆ Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan stake competing claims to No. 1 deal advisory spot
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Anirban Sen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JPMorgan edged out Goldman to claim the top spot in global league tables compiled by Refinitiv Deals Intelligence, having worked on $119.8 billion worth of deals versus $115.4 billion for Goldman in second place. In Dealogic's global league tables, however, Goldman claimed the top spot in the first quarter with $120.5 billion worth of deals. The discrepancies led to Goldman asking Refinitiv and JPMorgan asking Dealogic for explanations, according to people familiar with the conversations. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan stake competing claims to No. 1 spot, though there are some known differences in how the league tables of Refinitiv and Dealogic are compiled.

☆ HSBC board recommends shareholders vote against spin-off resolution
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG, April 3 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings Plc's (HSBA.L) board is unanimous in recommending that shareholders vote against proposals to restructure the bank and pay fixed dividends, its chairman, Mark Tucker, told Hong Kong shareholders on Monday. The comment came as Ken Lui, an individual HSBC shareholder and leader of a Hong Kong-based investor group, called for a break up of the bank. His second proposed resolution calls on HSBC to restore pre-COVID-19 dividend levels. Tucker told the shareholders a restructuring or spin-off of its Asia business, as demanded by Lui, would create a major period of uncertainty for clients, and employees and shareholders would be disrupted. Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ FTSE 100 up as oil stocks rise; Cineworld slumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 up 0.5%, FTSE 250 flatApril 3 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 hit a three-week high on Monday, lifted by oil giants as crude prices rallied following a surprise output cut by OPEC+, while theatre chain Cineworld neared record lows as it failed to find a buyer for its U.S., UK and Ireland businesses. Energy heavyweights Shell Plc (SHEL.L) and BP Plc (BP.L) advanced over 4% each as crude oil prices jumped more than 5% following an unexpected output cut over the weekend by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) and its allies. The broader energy sector (.FTNMX601010) was up 4.3%, on course for its biggest daily gain in more than four months. The export-oriented FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.5%, kicking off the new quarter with gains, as the pound slipped. Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia CheemaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cineworld looks to raise $2.26 billion to emerge from bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 2 (Reuters) - Cineworld Group Plc (CINE.L) is planning to raise $2.26 billion, according to a court filing on Sunday, as the theater chain aims to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the first half of 2023. The fundraising will consist of a first lien senior secured debt credit facility of $1.46 billion and issuance of new common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $800 million, according the filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court in the Southern District of Texas. Cineworld filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection in September to try to restructure its debt after being hit by the pandemic and a lack of blockbuster movies. The proceeds of the capital raising will be used to meet costs and expenses relating to the restructuring, and also to pay fees, other expenses and provide working capital to reorganized debtors, according to the filing. Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Canada's Teck Resources rejects $22.5 bln buyout offer from Glencore
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 3 (Reuters) - Teck Resources Ltd (TECKb.TO) on Monday rejected an unsolicited $22.5 billion bid from Swiss commodity firm Glencore Plc (GLEN.L), sending the U.S.-listed shares of the Canadian copper miner up about 10% in premarket trading. Teck said more value can be achieved with the proposed restructuring announced earlier this year than the sale of the company. "The board is not contemplating a sale of the company at this time," Teck Chair Sheila Murray said. The company had in February said it would spin off its steelmaking coal unit to focus on industrial metals such as copper. After the separation, Teck will re-brand itself as Teck Metals Corp, while the new divested unit will be listed in Toronto as Elk Valley Resources Ltd.

☆ SVB Collapse Complicates Banks’ Efforts to Unload More Than $25 Billion of Junk Debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Alexander Saeedy | Laura Cooper | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Silicon Valley Bank had to sell bonds at a loss. Recent turmoil in the banking industry has made the already-difficult task of selling off tens of billions of risky buyout debt even harder for Wall Street firms. Bank of America Corp., Barclays PLC, Morgan Stanley and others together currently hold $25 billion to $30 billion of “hung debt” on their balance sheets, according to leveraged-finance analytics firm 9fin. The unsold debt is tied to leveraged buyouts that banks agreed to finance before worsening credit conditions last year sapped investor appetite for the paper.

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