Reuters - Chairman leads deal to buy stake in Arab Bank for $1.12 bln

Feb 8 A consortium of Arab and Jordanian investors led by Arab Bank Chairman Sabih al Masri has bought Oger's 20 percent stake in Jordan's Arab Bank Group for $1.12 billion, the bank said on Wednesday.
It said the deal to buy the stake from Lebanon's Hariri family which owns Oger was concluded by the consortium that includes 40 investors, a majority of them Jordanian.
Masri led negotiations to buy stake after the family of Saudi Arabia's Fawaz Alhokair dropped a $1.1 billion offer.
The stake is held by Oger Middle East Holding, which is owned by the family of Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri.

FT : Resistance to ‘last-resort’ antibiotic spreads from farms in China

Resistance to ‘last-resort’ antibiotic spreads from farms in China
Researchers say transfer from flies to humans adds urgency to drug development

Bacteria resistant to colistin, the so-called last resort antibiotic, are probably being transferred to humans from poultry farms in China, say researchers, adding to fears that time to develop new types of medicine is running out.

The 2015 discovery in China of bacteria with mcr-1, the colistin resistance gene, sparked fears over the future of human health. Margaret Chan, head of the World Health Organization, said last year that medicine risked “going back to the dark ages” without action to spur development of new antibiotics and to preserve the dwindling numbers that remain effective.

Since the discovery in animals on farms where colistin was widely used as a growth enhancer, bacteria with mrc-1 have been identified in more than 30 countries including the US, Germany, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam. A patient in the US was found to have been infected with e-Coli carrying the gene last year.

Developed for clinical use in 1959, colistin was little used on human patients because of side effects including kidney damage. But it has been thrust under a spotlight as resistance to the more commonly used family of last-resort antibiotics known as carbapenems has risen, provoking alarm among health professionals.

E-Coli bacteria with the mcr-1 gene were found among patients at Chinese hospitals in two large cities, according to a study in the Lancet last month. The incidence of resistant strains was around 1 per cent, the researchers said. “The emergence of mcr-1 heralds the breach of the last group of antibiotics,” said Professor Tim Walsh of Cardiff University, one of the paper’s authors.

According to a separate paper published this week in Nature Microbiology, the same team found high rates of bacteria with colistin resistance genes in flies at poultry farms in China, suggesting the insects could spread resistance.

“There is a higher rate of incidence among people living close to farms,” said Jianzhong Shen of the China Agriculture University, one of that paper’s authors. “That’s an interesting result. Flies and migratory birds are probably important modes of transmission. Drug-resistant genes can be transmitted through the environment, through the animal food chain and to humans.

“It is a warning that in animal breeding we must use antibiotics sparingly, and ensure that facilities are kept clean to cut the chain of transmission,” Dr Shen added.

Some bacteria the researchers found in flies and in poultry for sale in Chinese markets carried bacteria resistant to both colistin and carbapenem, raising the risks of “super bacteria” resistant to several kinds of last-resort antibiotics.

Yu Yunsong of Zhejiang University co-authored a separate study published in the Lancet last month that found mcr-1 and carbapenem-resistant bacteria in samples from 28 Chinese hospitals, but said it was “too early to say that super bacteria resistant to all antibiotics are imminent”.

China reacted to the discovery of colistin-resistant bacteria on farms by banning the use of the drug as a growth stimulant for animals last year. But its use to treat sick animals is not restricted, and Chinese hospitals plan to begin using it to treat human patients this year. Dr Yu said that efforts to reduce the rampant over-prescription of antibiotics in Chinese hospitals, which are dependent on drug sales for revenues, are beginning to see results.

China is the world’s top producer of colistin, with Hebei province in the north home to the world’s largest factory producing the antibiotic, with output capacity of 10,000 tonnes a year for domestic use and export. Despite the ban the Financial Times was able to find several Chinese websites selling colistin for agricultural use.

Reuters - Osram says not currently in talks with any Chinese investors


Feb 8 German lighting group Osram is not currently in talks with any Chinese investors, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Sanan Optoelectronics and venture capital firm GSR Go Scale had been pursuing a bid for Osram but walked away amid signs of political opposition to Chinese acquisitions in Germany, sources told Reuters in December.

"We are always looking to win investors. If you're asking me specifically about Chinese investors, there are currently no talks," Olaf Berlien told journalists on a conference call to discuss Osram's first-quarter results.

One source had said the Chinese buyers may settle for a stake of less than 25 percent. Former parent Siemens still owns 17.5 percent of Osram.

>>> EDF to launch sale of UK onshore wind farms

EDF to launch sale of UK onshore wind farms – sources

French energy major EDF [EPA:EDF] is to launch the sale of a majority stake in a portfolio of its UK onshore wind farms, two sources briefed on the matter said.

The sale is expected to come to market in the next two months, the sources added. EDF is expected to sell an 80% stake, the first source said.
EDF will run the sale itself and will not hire advisers, the sources said.

The portfolio has an installed capacity of about 100 MW, the sources said. It includes three wind farms in Cambridgeshire that were put on sale in 2016 in a process that was subsequently pulled because EDF was focusing its efforts on the Hinkley Point C nuclear project, the sources added.
EDF declined to comment.

The Cambridgeshire wind farms are Red Tile, with an installed capacity of 24 MW and 12 turbines; Glassmoor, with 16 MW and eight turbines; and Glassmoor Extension, 12.3 MW and six turbines.

In the UK, onshore wind typically has a deal size of about GBP 2m per MW, the second source noted. These wind farms, however, are fairly old – built between 2006 and 2013 – and so are likely valued less than this, the source added.

EDF has a market capitalisation of EUR 19.16bn.

FT : FCA pushes back against international plans for asset management sector

FCA pushes back against international plans for asset management sector

A split has emerged between the UK’s financial watchdog and global standard-setters over how to deal with runs on open-ended funds, an issue at the forefront of policy makers’ minds in the wake of the Brexit referendum when several funds had to temporarily shut out investors from their cash.

The Financial Conduct Authority pushed back against recent international proposals to give authorities around the world a “power of direction” over funds in exceptional circumstances, forcing them stop redemptions.
The FCA already has such a power but decided against deploying it in June, when seven open-ended property funds, which allow investors daily access to their cash, had to close temporarily following the Brexit vote. Those closures sparked a wider review of the structure of open-ended funds by the FCA.
In a discussion paper published on Wednesday to float possible changes to the UK’s rules around open-ended funds’ investment in illiquid assets, the FCA said that a power of direction – proposed last month by the Basel-based Financial Stability Board – could “risk causing the very run on funds the intervention was intended to prevent.”
The FSB is chaired by Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England.
The FCA’s discussion paper read:
A direction by a regulator to suspend some or all funds investing in a particular asset class might, however, send a signal that investors should not have confidence in that entire asset class and not just specific funds. This would risk causing the very run on funds the intervention was intended to prevent.
The FCA also shied away from a ban on open-ended funds investing in illiquid assets such as property, or on retail investors placing their cash in open-ended funds, because of “the predictable costs and negative impact [such bans] would be likely to cause.”
Megan Butler, the FCA’s executive director of supervision, said:
We want to engage with fund managers and the investors whose money they manage to understand what problems they think exist. Specifically, in the context of open-ended funds we want people to consider how well the current rules address those problems, and what further regulatory intervention might be needed.

(MAKOR) MERGER ARBITRAGE RESEARCH - ATLN VX - DEAL UPDATE - CONTACT WITH PRA

 

February 8, 2017 

 

MAKOR MERGER ARBITRAGE RESEARCH - ATLN VX - DEAL UPDATE - CONTACT WITH PRAC AND ACTELION

 

ACTELION (ATLN VX) 

 

Deal Update – Contact with PRAC and Actelion 

 

It is worth noting that PRAC meet once a month – this month (February) meetings are scheduled for 6-9 February. In January 17, meetings took place between 9 and 12 January. 

 

As per the website, PRAC publish meeting highlights on the Friday after the Committee Plenary. Therefore, we would expect the meeting highlights for the ongoing meeting to be published on Friday, 10 February. 

 

The draft agenda for the meeting was published yesterday in line with the guidance on their website “agendas are published before start of the Committee plenary.” 

 

We reviewed the 2015 meeting highlights (last full year for which published information is available), and PRAC appears to have discussed and evaluated in excess of 2,000 “signals”. It would appear that following the PRAC’s evaluation that one of the drugs under evaluation was withdrawn approximately a year after the PRAC first evaluated the drug. 

 

 

Contact with PRAC:

 

Uptravi is on the agenda as a “signal of fatal cases in patients with PAH”. According to PRAC, “signal issues” are usually raised the month before i.e. it became known to PRAC between the time of the January meeting (9-12 January) and now and hence appears on the February agenda. France’s medical regulator issued a letter to doctors on 24 January not to start treating new patients with the medicine and therefore it is possible that this is on the agenda in response to this (she was unable to definitively confirm when Uptravi was added to the agenda). 

 

They will publish the meeting highlights on Friday and it is very hard for them to say what the outcome of the meeting would be or if there will be any other statement released by PRAC in relation to this, however, the PRAC source said it is unlikely they will specially issue something on this. 

 

 

Contact with Actelion: 

 

Actelion IR would not make any comment around the PRAC meeting or whether Uptravi was always going to be on the February agenda or if this is in response to the French medical regulator issuing their letter. He would not comment if Actelion would put out any sort of release following the PRAC meeting or when they expect an update from the French medical regulator as to the safety of Uptravi. 

 

 

 

  

  ​     ​     ​

 

Makor Capital

 

11 Menachem Begin St., 26th FL

Ramat Gan 52681
ISRAEL
Tel         +972 3 5453 762

Fax        +972 3 7162 680

 

   

Research Disclaimer

 

This publication has been prepared by Makor Capital Limited (“Makor Capital”) and is intended for professional or qualified investors only. Makor Securities London Ltd (“Makor Securities”)is distributing this material to its clients who are Eligible Counterparties or Professional Clients under FCA Rules. It may also be disseminated to persons who are Investment Professionals within the meaning of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion Order 2005).  In the United States, Makor Capital only distributes this material to major US institutional investors (as that term is defined in Rule 15a-6 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934) and to SEC-registered broker-dealers or  banks acting in a broker–dealer capacity. This material is not intended for distribution to any other persons and should not be redistributed.  If you do not fall into any of these categories you should disregard it.

 

This material is a marketing communication.  It is not investment research and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research. It is not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of the dissemination of investment research under U.K. law. This material is not a research report and is not intended to be a research report as defined under U.S. securities laws and regulations.  This material is not intended to provide information reasonably sufficient upon which to base any investment decision.   

 

This material does not take into account the particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs of individual clients or other recipients. Before acting on this material, clients and other recipients should consider whether it is suitable for their particular circumstances and, if necessary, seek professional advice. 

 

This material should not be construed in any circumstances as an offer to sell or solicitation of any offer to buy any security or other financial instrument, nor shall it, or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract relating to such action. 

 

In the United States, Makor Capital does not offer securities services to U.S. persons except pursuant to SEC Rule 15a-6 only to major US institutional investors and SEC registered broker-dealers or  banks acting in a broker–dealer capacity. Transactions in the United States must be effected through the U.S. broker-dealer, Oscar Gruss & Son Incorporated. Oscar Gruss & Son has not prepared, reviewed or distributed this material.

 

Some of this material is produced by providers which Makor Securities believes to be reliable, but Makor Securities does not warrant or represent (expressly or impliedly) that it is accurate, complete, not misleading or as to its fitness for the purpose intended and it should not be relied upon as such. 

Opinions expressed will be the current opinions of those producing this material as of the date appearing on this material only. We expect those producing the material in  this publication to update it on a timely basis but can give no undertaking that they will do so and regulatory compliance or other reasons may prevent  them from doing so (or us from disseminating updated material).  

 

Members and employees of Makor Securities London Ltd, employees of Makor Capital, Makor Capital Markets may from time to time have long or short positions in securities, warrants, futures, options, derivatives or other financial instruments referred to in this material. For Makor Securities, this information is set out in our Conflicts of Interest Policy which is available on request.  Policies for the production of research from other research providers are available on request.  Unless otherwise stated, share prices provided within this material are as at the close of business on the day prior to the date of the material.

 

Neither the whole nor any part of this material may be duplicated in any form or by any means. Neither should any of this material be redistributed or disclosed to anyone without prior consent. This material is issued for general information and discussion purposes only. None of  Makor Securities, Makor Capital, Makor Capital Markets accepts  liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage of any kind arising out of the use of all or any of this material. 

 

The services, securities and investments discussed in this material may not be available to, nor are suitable for all investors. Investors should make their own investment decisions based upon their own financial objectives and financial resources and it should be noted that investment involves risk, including the risk of capital loss. Past performance is no guide to future performance. In relation to securities denominated in foreign currency, movements in exchange rates will have an effect on the value, either favourable or unfavourable.

 

All investors. Investors should make their own investment decisions based upon their own financial objectives and financial resources and it should be noted that investment involves risk, including the risk of capital loss. Past performance is no guide to future performance. In relation to securities denominated in foreign currency, movements in exchange rates will have an effect on the value, either favourable or unfavourable.

 

Entities

 

Makor Securities London Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct

Authority (FCA registration number 625054) 

 

Makor Capital, company number 514456466, is incorporated in Israel and is a 100% held

subsidiary of Makor Holdings Pte Ltd incorporated in Singapore. 

 

Makor Capital Markets SA, company number CH-660.2.999.011-0 is incorporated in Switzerland

and is also a 100% held subsidiary of Makor Holdings Pte Ltd.

 

 

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here


lchekroun@makor-cm.comThis email was sent to by Research@Makor-Capital.com

Update Profile/Email Address | Unsubscribe | Report abuse


 Smoove email marketing