I’ve been mulling over whether I should write about insurance M&A. Ugh, yes, I should say something. What pushed me over the edge was a piece in the WSJ on the purchase of Philadelphia Consolidated. When I first heard about the deal, I blinked, and said, “Foreign acquirer overpays to enter the US.” Is Philly a good company? It’s a great company, but it may not be so under foreign ownership. And, the price was well in excess of what it would have...
Pfizer on Thursday said it withdrew an application to sell Viagra without a prescription in Europe after regulators fretted about the safety implications.
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- X5 Retail Group , Russia's largest retailer by revenue, said Alfa Group won't be selling its stake, and quoted Alfa Group's chairman, Michail Fridman, as saying that the "situation with pledged shares is totally under control." X5 separately said third-quarter net retail sales rose 48% to $2.18 billion on a proforma basis, ,with same-store sales up 21%. X5 said it's scaling down capital spending, enhancing cost controls, and will open fewer stores during the rest of the year.
MOSCOW (MarketWatch) -- Anglo-Russian oil producer TNK-BP Holding Monday said the head of its downstream business Anthony Considine has resigned. Considine, who spent five years as head of TNK-BP's refining, trading and marketing businesses, is leaving to "pursue other opportunities" and will stop working for the company Sept. 15, the company said. The resignation comes amid a dispute between TNK-BP's shareholders BP PLC and Russian holding Alfa-Access-Renova, who disagree over how the company should be run.
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