Iberdrola go-ahead Spanish energy company Iberdrola has cleared the final hurdle towards obtaining 100 per cent of its US subsidiary, Avangrid.
Following previous consent from the Federal and Maine regulators, the New York regulator has now approved Iberdrola’s application to acquire the 18.4 per cent of the sustainable energy company not in its hands.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Avangrid shareholders will receive $35.75 (€34.33) each for their shares, which will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Those with holdings on December 2, 2024, will receive their quarterly dividend in January, and Avangrid will in future operate as a private company, maintaining its headquarters in Connecticut.
Murkier than ever Thames Water, notorious for sewage leaks, allegedly redirected millions earmarked for environmental cleanups to other uses.
Thames Water cut back on improvements following secret discussions to gauge the risks of taking the funds.
The UK’s biggest water company with 16 million customers paid “hundreds of thousands” in bonuses and “tens of millions” in dividends as recently as March, the Guardian claimed on December 13.
The company now needs £3 billion (€3.6 billion) in emergency funding and £3.25 billion (€3.9 billion) equity investment to avoid collapse.
Pronovias strategy Pronovias will finish 2024 in the red for the eighth consecutive year.
This is also the wedding dress company’s first full year with the US investment firm, Bain Capital, which took over in April 2023.
The Catalan company has reported consolidated losses of €128.5 million, well above the €98 million forecast in May, and resulting from a 2017 overvaluation of intangible assets when the company was transferred to former owners BC Partners.
“2024 has been a transition year, introducing measures for reorganising the business model in line with our 2025-2027 strategic plan,” Pronovias sources said, predicting a recovery in 2025.
Jobs at risk Aviva, a FTSE 100 company and the UK’s largest insurer, is paying £3.7 billion (€4.5 billion) for rival insurer, Direct Line.
It is offering £2.75 (€3.31) in stock and cash for every Direct Line share while making the deal more attractive to Aviva shareholders by increasing planned dividends.
The companies plan to save £125 million (€150.5 million) by cutting between 5 and 7 per cent of their combined 33,000 workforce, affecting up to 2,300 jobs over the next three years.
Slight setback Pontegadea, the company that manages Amancio Ortega’s property investments, announced £18.1 million (€21.8 million) losses for subsidiary Pontegadea UK in 2023
The first time without a profit for the company the Inditex mogul created in 2014, the 2023 dip was attributed to the increased provisions for deterioration that Pontegadea UK made on its British property investments in 2023.
These provisions rose to £65.6 million (€79.2 million), 40 per cent more than in 2022 when Pontegadea’s £1.2 million (€1.4 million) profits were the lowest to date.
Case study Only 5.8 per cent of student loans were paid over the past five years, and millions still owe £50,000 (€60,196).
The largest sum that a graduate has ever repaid amounted to £137,000 (€166,136) although another currently owes a record £252,554 (€304,059), which the National Union of Students (NUS) said was “truly alarming.”
Despite the loans, a recent NUS survey found that 17 per cent of students resorted to food banks.
