SoftBank's less risky Swiss Re bet is still silly

SB Technology

04/04/2018 10:29

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are her own.)
    By Aimee Donnellan
    LONDON, April 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Swiss insurer
says any investment by the Japanese tech and telecom group won’t
exceed 10 percent. A $3 billion stake would be substantially
smaller than previously suggested. Given the dubious benefits of
any tie-up, though, it’s still a questionable use for SoftBank’s
cash.
    
    Full view will be published shortly.
    On Twitter https://twitter.com/aimeedonnellan
    
    CONTEXT NEWS
    - Swiss Re said on April 4 that talks with SoftBank over a
minority stake were continuing and “at an early stage” but a
potential holding would not be expected to be greater than 10
percent. 
     -The Swiss reinsurer also said at a planned investor day
that it was not considering the issuance of new shares for the
possible investment by the Japanese company.  The comments came
two months after a Wall Street Journal report said SoftBank
could buy up to a third of the reinsurer’s shares at a premium,
in a deal worth $10 billion or more. 
     -Swiss Re shares were down 2.9 percent to 93.64 Swiss
Francs at 0905 BST on April 4.
    - For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on  DONNELLAN/ 
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    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Swiss Re says SoftBank stake won't top 10 pct, talks at early
stage     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1RH0IO
Swiss Re statement    http://www.swissre.com/media/news_releases/nr_20180404_investorsday.html
BREAKINGVIEWS-SoftBank’s new interest is anything but reassuring
    urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1PX24U
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Editing by Peter Thal Larsen and Liam Proud)
 ((Aimee.Donnellan@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
Aimee.Donnellan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))