Chris Hughes is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals. He previously worked for Reuters Breakingviews, as well as the Financial Times and the Independent newspaper.
April 6, 2021
The movement against unconscious bias training, once a key element of employers’ diversity and inclusion strategies, is growing. A controversial UK report into racial inequality has called for organizations to drop the courses entirely. It may actually be too soon …
November 6, 2020
A takeover offer that would have been so-so in February becomes impossible to refuse for a company whose shares have been hit by the pandemic. The 7.2 billion-pound ($9.5 billion) approach for RSA Insurance Group has been shrewdly pitched by …
September 8, 2020
The unloved insurance sector is proving a rich territory for acquirers. Apollo Global Management Inc., Blackstone Group Inc., Carlyle Group, KKR & Co. — the big guns of private equity have been conspicuously active in this industry lately. Now an …
July 8, 2020
It’s time for someone else to have a go at one of the toughest jobs in European finance: deciding the future of Aviva Plc. The UK insurer’s pick of Amanda Blanc as chief executive officer has brought a leader with …
May 14, 2020
Renege on a deal with the Agnellis and you can expect to pay for it. Scion John Elkann has refused to renegotiate the Italian family’s $9 billion sale of its reinsurance business after the buyer, French mutual Covéa, sought to …
April 29, 2019
European shareholder activism has suffered a painfully public humiliation. The lesson for investors is clear: Pick your battles. Paris-based investment fund CIAM wanted to split the chairman and CEO roles at French reinsurer SCOR SE, which has been run for …
September 19, 2018
Too much capital and not enough growth. Faced with this ailment, the insurance sector is reaching for a costly remedy — M&A. Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. Tuesday became the latest [insurance industry participant]* to splash the cash, agreeing to …
June 19, 2018
The CEO of Europe’s biggest insurer is up for a big deal. He just doesn’t want Allianz SE to pay for it. Oliver Baete is going to find it hard to have his cake and eat it. Three years into …