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CTIL is attracting interest from pension funds including Britain's largest, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which has started preliminary work on a potential offer, two of the sources said. Telefonica, Liberty Global and USS declined to comment. A number of telecom towers deals in Europe have seen infrastructure investors compete for a slice of the continent’s largest towers networks partly because of their stable cash yield and long-term contracts. Vodafone (VOD.L) owns 50% of CTIL through its Frankfurt-based subsidiary Vantage Towers (VTWRn.DE), and is not planning to cut its holding, the people said. Telefonica and Liberty Global do not plan to ask Vantage Towers to bid for the holding for competitive reasons, according to the sources.

☆ Swiss regulator Finma says it is monitoring Credit Suisse
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Finma says that while Credit Suisse Group (CSGN.S)'s liquidity buffers had a stabilising effect on the bank and are are being rebuilt after outflows, the regulator "monitors banks very closely during such situations." Finma said the bank's outflows "were indeed significant" in the fourth quarter, according to a statement to Reuters on Thursday. The bank used its liquidity buffers, which is "what they are built for," the regulator said, adding it welcomes the strategy overhaul announced last year. Battered by one scandal after another, the bank saw a sharp acceleration in withdrawals in the fourth quarter, with outflows of more than 110 billion Swiss francs ($120 billion), although it said the picture has been improving. Reporting by Elisa Martinuzzi; Editing by Andres GonzalezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX), the conglomerate controlled by billionaire German Larrea, has secured a $5 billion debt package for its proposed acquisition of Citigroup Inc's (C.N) retail operations in Mexico, according to people familiar with the matter. The move represents a major milestone in Grupo Mexico's efforts to put together the deal for Banamex, the unit that encompasses the Citigroup assets. Several banks, including Barclays Plc (BARC.L) and HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L), have pledged to provide the debt financing, the sources said. Citi, Grupo Mexico, Barclays and HSBC declined to comment. Citi stepped back from conversations with Becker to prioritize a potential deal with Larrea, according to sources.

☆ Spain's Iberdrola sounds out sale of $700 million wind, gas portfolio -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Andres Gonzalez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The logo of Spanish utility company Iberdrola is seen on its headquarters in Bilbao, Spain, October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Vincent West/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Iberdrola (IBE.MC) is looking to sell a portfolio of gas, wind and solar assets in Spain which could raise more than $700 million, three sources with knowledge of the plans told Reuters. Iberdrola is working with Deutsche Bank on the sale of the 2.4-gigawatt (GW) portfolio, the sources said. The final price for the Iberdrola portfolio will depend on the valuation of the gas assets, which were underused in Spain until last year when production increased, the sources said. The sale is still at an early stage and Iberdrola could decide to delay or abandon the disposals, the people said.

☆ Cellnex shares soar on report that American Tower, Brookfield mulling possible bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Shares in Spain's Cellnex (CLNX.MC) jumped 8% on Friday after a media report that said American Tower (AMT.N) and asset manager Brookfield (BN.TO) were weighing a possible takeover bid for the mobile phone tower operator. Spanish online outlet Okdiario quoted unidentified sources close to the operation saying Goldman Sachs was advising Cellnex, while Morgan Stanley was advising American Tower and Brookfield. Cellnex, Brookfield, American Tower and their advisers declined to comment. Cellnex shares were up 8.3% at 12.21 GMT to lead gains in Spain's blue chip index Ibex-35 (.IBEX). Reporting by Andres Gonzalez and Emma Pinedo; additional reporting by Jesús Aguado; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Spain's markets and competition regulator is reviewing whether gas distributor Madrilena Red de Gas (MRG) has complied with legislation designed to protect the financial strength of energy distributors, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The amendment grew out of worries about the excessive indebtedness of the gas transportation and distribution networks. The CNMC has not to date published a notice of regulatory action concerning MRG. The filings also show that MRG's ultimate parent Elisandra Spain IV - Elisandra Spain V's sole owner - paid dividends totalling more than 104 million euros to its shareholders. At the end of 2021, MRG carried 925.5 million euros of net adjusted financial debt on its balance sheet, 6.55 times its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), per its latest annual accounts.

☆ Amundi to co-invest in Alantra's 1.7 bln euro solar platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Andres Gonzalez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Amundi company logo is seen at their headquarters in Paris, France, October 7, 2015. N-Sun aims to raise 700 million euros ($752.36 million) in equity and 1 billion in debt. Amundi and Reichmuth will contribute to the equity portion, Alantra's spokesperson said. The solar farms are in different stages of development and will be fully operative by the end of 2025, the companies said. Once completed, the portfolio will generate the equivalent of the annual consumption of more than 800,000 households and more than 180 million euros in revenues.

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) announced a series of staff changes on Tuesday following the departure of the co-head of its European investment banking operation, according to internal memos seen by Reuters and confirmed by a company spokesperson. Monarchi is now sole IBCM head for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), whereas Geller has been named sole global head of M&A. Additionally, William Mansfield, head of EMEA Consumer & Retail M&A, has taken up Deasy's responsibilities as head of EMEA M&A. Deasy's exit, which was first reported by Financial News, is the latest in a string of departures as Credit Suisse embarks on a plan to cut thousands of jobs and shift its focus from investment banking towards more stable wealth management. Alongside the promotions, the Swiss lender also said it had hired Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) banker Gen Oba as co-head of IBCM in France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

"[But] private equity funds still have significant amounts of dry powder, and by the second half of next year, they will be looking to put some of it to work," he said. Private equity firms normally buy companies with a combination of debt and equity. "Ticket sizes across the private credit industry are likely to come down depending on the deal. Banks often highlight debt funds' - or direct lenders - higher prices and more stringent documentation requirements as competitive disadvantages to the syndicated loan and junk bond markets. But some see private credit as part of the solution at a time when money is scarce.

EL PASO, Texas — The nation began readying for an arctic storm that could plunge temperatures around the country, but on the southern border many migrants say they didn't know they were in for colder, nastier weather. Random El Paso residents also brought by food and clothes to migrants. Ruben García, director of Annunciation House, which provides shelter for migrants, said the focus needs to be on “hospitality capacity” in El Paso and elsewhere. “It’s very important for people to understand this is not an El Paso need, this is a borderwide need,” he said. Andrés González, Guad Venegas and Julia Ainsley reported from El Paso, Texas and Suzanne Gamboa reported from San Antonio.

☆ Siemens Gamesa names Luijendijk CEO of onshore wind unit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Andres Gonzalez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA FollowLONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa (SGREN.MC) has appointed its Asia Pacific boss Richard Luijendijk as chief executive of its onshore unit as it seeks to turn around the business, a memo signed by Siemens Gamesa CEO Jochen Eickholt showed. Luijendijk will replace Lars Bondo Krogsgaard, whose departure was announced in October, with the company saying in an email to staff it needed a "change due to the losses in the onshore business and the continuous underperformance." A Siemens Gamesa spokesperson declined to comment. "I want us to move away from silo thinking and for us to believe in the turnaround", Luijendijk said in the memo. ($1 = 0.9420 euros)Reporting by Andres Gonzalez, editing by Pamela Barbaglia and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ JPMorgan, Citi and BNP invest in risk management provider Acin
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Andres Gonzalez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike SegarLONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A group of five banks including JPMorgan , Citi (C.N) and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) are among the investors who backed an overall $24 million fundraising for risk control specialist Acin as part of their strategy to step up their risk expertise. "We have been working with Acin for the past three years, during which they have supported our established operational risk management and assessment practices," said Julian Liau, Chief Controls Manager at JPMorgan. Both Notion Capital and Fitch Ventures backed Acin in the last fundraising. Acin helps financial institutions digitise their operational and non-financial risk analysis, using its data analytic capabilities.

☆ Citi to cut as many as 50 bankers in EMEA - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Citigroup (C.N) is cutting as many as 50 jobs in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, two people close to the matter said. Citi declined to comment on the figure, which provides the strongest indication yet of how deep proposed cuts will run as dealmaking slumps, hit by the Ukraine war, higher interest rates and soaring inflation. Citi employs around 6,000 people across banking, capital markets and advisory activities globally. One of the sources said most of the cuts would affect people in director roles, with some managing directors also set to exit. Reporting by Valentina Za in Milan and Andres Gonzalez in London Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Forrest said in a statement Squadron had acquired CWP Renewables but did not disclose the price. And the more we create and deploy new renewable energy, the cheaper it becomes for every Australian and the world," Forrest told Reuters after the announcement. With CWP Renewables, Squadron would have the scale it needs to meet demand from large commercial and industrial customers for reliable green energy in eastern Australia, he said. Willoughby said CWP aimed to give the go-ahead by March 2023 to build a 400 MW wind farm, which would cost more than A$1 billion. There are literally trillions of dollars of capital looking for green energy projects," he said.

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's private firm Squadron Energy has acquired CWP Renewables in Australia for more than A$4 billion ($2.7 billion), three people familiar with the deal said on Wednesday. Forrest said in a statement Squadron had acquired CWP Renewables, owner of 1.1 gigawatts of wind farms and a development pipeline of 1.3 GW of wind and solar farms in Australia, but did not disclose the price. CWP was sold by Swiss-based investor Partners Group (PGHN.S), which said it built the Australian business up after first investing in the Sapphire Wind Farm in the state of New South Wales in 2016. Other companies that had looked at CWP included Spain's Iberdrola (IBE.MC), Tilt Renewables, partly owned by AGL Energy (AGL.AX), and Origin Energy (ORG.AX), all aiming to expand in renewable energy as Australia speeds up its transition away from coal-fired power. With CWP Renewables, Squadron would have the scale it needs in eastern Australia to meet demand from large commercial and industrial customers for reliable green energy, Forrest said.

NEW YORK, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Sonnedix and Cubico, two renewable energy developers, are competing to buy Chilean solar power assets that Italy's Enel (ENEI.MI) has put on the block to help trim debt, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Consisting of around 500 megawatts (MW) of operating and newly built sites, the portfolio is expected to fetch up to 1 billion euros ($1 billion). Enel and Cubico declined to comment. Pension and infrastructure funds have been buying stakes in low-carbon energy generation for many years, attracted by their predictable returns. Additional reporting by Valentina Za and Francesca Landini in Milan; editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator said on Monday it was looking into whether U.S. chipmaker Broadcom Inc's (AVGO.O) $61 billion acquisition of cloud computing company VMware Inc (VMW.N) may substantially lessen competition. The Broadcom-VMware deal, announced in May, is the second biggest globally so far this year and marks Broadcom's attempt to diversify its business into enterprise software. The companies are also seeking European Union antitrust approval. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is inviting comments from interested parties by Dec. 6 to help it with an assessment on whether to formally launch an investigation into the Broadcom-VMware deal. Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs on Monday warned that the global equity bear market is not over as the markets are yet to see a trough in the momentum of global growth deterioration, a peak in interest rates and valuations lowered to reflect a likely recession. "We continue to think that the near-term path for equity markets is likely to be volatile and down before reaching a final trough in 2023," Goldman Sachs said in a note. The investment bank expects investors to start to price in expectations for a bull market next year. "We expect markets to transition into a 'Hope' phase of the next bull market at some point in 2023, but from a lower level." Reporting by Siddarth S in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rheinmetall agrees 1.2 billion euro deal to acquire Spanish explosives maker Expal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - German military equipment manufacturer Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) said on Sunday it has agreed a deal to acquire Spanish explosives and ammunition maker Expal Systems for an enterprise value of 1.2 billion euros ($1.24 billion). Expal is a subsidiary of Spanish company Maxam, owned by private equity firm Rhone Capital. With the acquisition, Rheinmetall said it aims to bolster its core weapon, ammunition and propellants business. Rheinmetall said Expal Systems expects sales in 2023 of around 400 million euros. Expal has a workforce of more than 1,000 employees and 11 production sites and is present in over 60 countries.

☆ Rheinmetall to acquire Spanish explosives maker Expal for 1.2 billion euros
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - German military equipment manufacturer Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) said on Sunday it has agreed to acquire Spanish explosives and ammunition maker Expal Systems for an enterprise value of 1.2 billion euros ($1.24 billion). Expal is a subsidiary of Spanish company Maxam, owned by private equity firm Rhone Capital, and generated revenue of 350 million euros in 2021, according to a source familiar with the deal. Expal has a workforce of more than 1,000 employees and 11 production sites and is present in over 60 countries. ($1 = 0.9660 euros)Reporting by Andres Gonzalez, editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

The bid amounts for the unit, known too as Banamex, were not disclosed by the sources. The sources also cautioned that no deal was guaranteed with any party and Citigroup could ultimately decide to sell Banamex shares on the Mexican Stock Exchange instead. Inbursa and Grupo Mexico declined to comment. Backed by Slim, Mexico's richest person, Inbursa was flagged as a strong contender when Citigroup put Banamex up for sale in January. However, mining tycoon Larrea has the firepower to compete as a candidate to buy Banamex, the sources said.

LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Seeking to restore vigour to a business that's been languishing, Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) says it will reshape its investment bank by resurrecting the First Boston brand. Still, Credit Suisse says it expects CS First Boston to generate 14% of total group revenue by 2025, starting with annual sales of about $2.5 billion. Credit Suisse has been plagued by an exodus of senior bankers over the past 18 months. Yet most trading activities will remain within Credit Suisse, raising questions on CSFB's ability to compete with the likes of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan (JPM.N). Credit Suisse is hoping to eventually pursue an initial public offering of CSFB, Körner told analysts.

FRANKFURT/LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley's infrastructure investment arm is weighing a sale of a 40% stake in German wind and solar power project developer PNE AG (PNEGn.DE) after being approached by potential suitors, three people familiar with the matter said. PNE confirmed on Thursday that Morgan Stanley and Photon Management intend to enter into open-ended preliminary talks with potential interested parties regarding Photon's stake in PNE. Photon, which is controlled by Morgan Stanley, is PNE's largest shareholder. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) acquired the PNE stake following a failed takeover attempt in 2020. Buying the whole stake would trigger a mandatory takeover bid for all of PNE under German stock market rules.

Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) acquired the PNE stake following a failed takeover attempt in 2020. PNE, which has a project pipeline of more than 9 gigawatt and a generation portfolio worth 261 megawatt, has a current market capitalisation of 1.4 billion euros ($1.38 billion), valuing Morgan Stanley's stake at 560 million euros. Buying the whole stake would trigger a mandatory takeover bid for all of PNE under German stock market rules. A potential sale of MSIP's participation would result in chunky profits given the investment bank bought in at 4.00 euros per share and saw PNE's value grow to 18.50 euros. News about the potential stake comes in the wake of major renewables deal in recent weeks, including RWE's RWEG.DE $6.8 billion purchase of Con Edison's ED.N cleantech unit and BP's BP.L $4.1 billion takeover of U.S. biogas producer Archaea LFG.N.

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