Former RenRe CEO launches insurance mgmt firm

NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - James Stanard, former chief executive of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd (RNR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) who resigned amid a regulatory probe into the reinsurer's accounting, has formed a new insurance management company.

New Asset Class, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, will manage and acquire large portfolios of investment risk, manage insurance risk portfolios and provide risk analysis for clients including insurers, hedge funds and private equity funds, according to a statement on Thursday.

The venture is being launched by Stanard and Rod Fox, former CEO of Praetorian, which was Hannover Re's (HNRGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) U.S. specialty arm until its June sale to Australian insurer QBE (QBE.AX: Quote, Profile, Research).

New Asset plans to also open offices in New York and Bermuda, and said it will disclose investment details shortly. The company is wholly owned by F&S Ventures, a privately held investment company. No other financial details were disclosed.

A spokesman for the firm could not immediately be reached to comment on whether F&S is owned by Stanard and Fox, or on the status of civil charges which were last year brought against Stanard by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Stanard founded Bermuda-based RenaissanceRe in 1993, and was chairman and chief executive until November 2005 when he stepped down as a result of the SEC's probe into transactions between RenRe and Bermuda finite risk reinsurer, Inter-Ocean Reinsurance Company Ltd.

Reinsurers provide insurance to other insurers, thereby spreading the risk of losses among several carriers.

Finite risk reinsurers, a niche market that flourished in years past, came under scrutiny in 2004 when former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer launched a probe into whether companies were using finite policies more as business loans to "smooth" earnings, or reduce their variability over time, than for bona fide risk transfer.

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source: reuters.com

Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions

Dec 21 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 0400 GMT on Friday.

** New Zealand's Auckland International Airport (AIA.NZ: Quote, Profile, Research) said it had an expression of interest from a new potential bidder, rivalling a $1.4 billion offer from a Canadian pension fund.

** Billionaire Bill Gates' Cascade Investment LLC has taken a stake worth $392 million in Mexican brewer Femsa (FMSAUBD.MX: Quote, Profile, Research), according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

** Campbell Soup Co. (CPB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) agreed to sell its Godiva Chocolatier business for $850 million to Yildiz Holding A.S., which owns the Ulker ULKER.IS Group, Turkey's largest food company.

** Vimpelcom (VIP.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Russia's second-largest mobile operator, has agreed to buy Golden Telecom Inc (GLDN.O: Quote, Profile, Research) for about $4.3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site.

** Dubai Drydocks World said it received acceptances for over 91 percent of shares in Singapore shipbuilder Labroy Marine (LABR.SI: Quote, Profile, Research), paving the way for Labroy to be taken private.

** Scottish soccer club Celtic Plc (CCP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said California-based investor John Fisher's Atlas LLC bought a 3.24 percent stake in the club.

** Inverness Medical Innovations Inc (IMA.A: Quote, Profile, Research) said it will acquire Redwood Toxicology Laboratory, a privately held forensic drug testing facility and Inverness distributor, for $99 million.

** English Premier League side Birmingham City (BMC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said takeover talks with Hong Kong-based billionaire Carson Yeung had ended.

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source: reuters.com

China's CIC to fund Sinopec oil search abroad-paper

BEIJING, Dec 21 (Reuters) - China Investment Corp, the country's sovereign wealth fund, is in talks with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, to provide funding to help it explore for oil overseas, the China Business News reported on Friday.

Sinopec (SNP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) (0386.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) (600028.SS: Quote, Profile, Research), China's second-largest oil and gas producer, is listed in Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York. The company could not be immediately reached for comment.

The paper did not say what form the injection of funds would take. One possibility is for CIC and Sinopec's parent to jointly invest in overseas exploration projects and to sell the assets to the listed company, the paper quoted unidentified sources as saying.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) has been keen for CIC to support the overseas expansion of the 150 or so large firms under its control and has now reached agreement with the fund to do that, the paper said.

CIC identified Sinopec as the first candidate for financial support after several rounds of talks with the refiner, the newspaper added.

CIC has initially been entrusted with $200 billion to manage, of which one-third is earmarked for international investments.

The fund said this week it was injecting $5 billion into U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research). (Reporting by Langi Chiang; Editing by Alan Wheatley and Edmund Klamann)

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source: reuters.com

Merrill may get $5 bln capital from Temasek: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) may get up to $5 billion in a capital infusion from Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings TEM.UL, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Temasek is in advanced talks with the largest U.S. brokerage and its board has given preliminary approval for the investment, the Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

However, pricing, timing and regulatory issues would still need to be negotiated between the two companies, the Journal said.

A Merrill spokeswoman could not be immediately reached for comment. In Singapore, Temasek spokesman Mark Lee said: "Like we told the Wall Street Journal, we decline comment."

Merrill Lynch faces huge potential write-downs on assets underpinned by risky subprime mortgages. The company's $8.4 billion write-down in the third quarter cost Chairman and Chief Executive Stan O'Neal his job, leaving new Merrill leader John Thain with the task of cleaning up.

Analysts estimate Merrill could further slash the value of these subprime-related assets by an additional several billion dollars. Last month, the company said its total exposure to subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations was $27.2 billion.

A Temasek capital infusion into Merrill would be the latest in a series by sovereign wealth funds into western banks hurt by this year's credit crunch.

Earlier this week, China Investment Corp agreed to pump $5 billion into Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) as the U.S. investment bank posted a fourth-quarter loss fuelled by $9.4 billion of losses in subprime mortgages and other assets.

Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) agreed last month to sell a 4.9 percent stake to Abu Dhabi for $7.5 billion, while UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) accepted a $9.75 billion investment from the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).

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source: reuters.com

UPDATE 1-China's CIC to fund Sinopec oil search abroad-paper

BEIJING, Dec 21 (Reuters) - China Investment Corp, the country's sovereign wealth fund, is in talks with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, to provide funding to help it explore for oil overseas, the China Business News reported on Friday.

Sinopec (SNP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) (0386.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) (600028.SS: Quote, Profile, Research), China's second-largest oil and gas producer, is listed in Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York.

Huang Wensheng, the spokesman for the listed entity, said he had no information about any talks, which would be conducted by the parent company.

"Any overseas investment would be done by the parent company," he said. "Under the existing agreement, we just have the right of first refusal to take any assets from the parent."

Nobody at the parent company was available for comment.

The paper did not say what form the injection of funds would take. One possibility is for CIC and Sinopec's parent to jointly invest in overseas exploration projects and to sell the assets to the listed company, the paper quoted unidentified sources as saying.

Asset injections by state-owned parent companies allow listed firms such as Sinopec and its stablemate PetroChina, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp, to grow quickly and at a favourable price.

According to research by analysts at Goldman Sachs, Sinopec has indicated its parent has 120 million tonnes (880 million barrels) of recoverable oil reserves compared to its own oil and gas proved reserves of 3.77 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

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source: reuters.com