BUSINESS LIVE: Anglo American snubs BHP offer; NatWest profits fall; Pearson English Language Boost

The boss of the company that owns the London stock market will become one of Footsie’s highest-paid chief executives despite the crisis the stock market is going through.

Some 89 per cent of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) shareholders voted in favor of more than doubling David Schwimmer’s maximum package from £6.25m to £13m.

British companies have been labeled “easy targets” as foreign predators seek takeover bids in London.

The attack on Anglo American – the second FTSE 100 company to receive a takeover bid this year – has sparked speculation about which company will be next.

City analysts believe vulnerable blue-chip stocks include BP, Unilever, BP, Reckitt Benckiser, Standard Chartered, Entain and Burberry (whose securities are listed above).

FTSE 100 education company Pearson reported a 3 per cent rise in adjusted underlying sales for the first quarter, and the company expects growth to accelerate in the second half.

English language learning sales led the growth after expanding 22 percent, “with inflationary prices in Argentina having a positive impact that will dissipate throughout the year as comparative exchange rates normalize.”

Pearson boss Omar Abbosh said:

‘The year has started well. Financial performance was in line with our expectations, thanks to strong execution across the business, and we maintain a strong focus on delivering on the priorities I outlined.

‘The year is developing as we anticipated and we continue to expect an acceleration in growth in the second half, which will allow us to achieve our full-year forecasts.

“We look forward to providing an update on our strategic progress with our half-year results in July.”

More than £100bn has been wiped from Meta’s value as fears grow over Facebook’s owner’s huge spending on artificial intelligence (AI).

Shares of the company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, fell 10.6 percent in New York after it said expenses would be higher than previously expected.

That wiped £105bn off Meta’s value. In an update on Tuesday, the group said it will spend up to £32bn in 2024, up from a previous forecast of £30bn.

NatWest’s profits fell less than expected, down 27 per cent in the first three months of 2024, with the lender hit by competition for savings, loans and mortgage products that compressed margins across the sector.

The British bank said pre-tax operating profit for the January-March period was 1.3 billion pounds, down from 1.8 billion pounds a year earlier and just above average analyst forecasts of 1.2 billion pounds. pounds.

Chief executive Paul Thwaite said:

‘Our performance is based on the vital role we play in the economy and in the lives of our 19 million customers. Although macroeconomic uncertainty continues, customer confidence and activity are improving: both loans(1) and deposits increased in the quarter and impairments remain low, reflecting our well-diversified business.

‘We are ambitious for this bank and, if we are successful for our clients, we will also be successful for our shareholders. Our first priority is to achieve disciplined growth in our three businesses by providing good service to our customers. At the same time, we are becoming simpler, more productive and easier to deal with.

‘As a result, we aim to generate returns that allow us to support our clients, invest in our business and offer attractive distributions to shareholders.

‘We are also pleased with the recent push in reducing HM Treasury’s stake in the bank. Returning NatWest Group to private ownership is a shared ambition and we believe it is in the best interests of both the bank and all our shareholders.”

Anglo American has rejected the proposed £31.1bn takeover of rival BHP Group, which the London-listed miner says significantly undervalues ​​the company and its future prospects.

Stuart Chambers, chairman of Anglo American, said:

‘Anglo American is well positioned to create significant value from its portfolio of high-quality assets that are well aligned with the energy transition and other important demand trends.

“Given that copper represents 30% of Anglo American’s total production, and with the benefit of well-sequenced growth options that increase the value of copper and other structurally attractive products, the Board believes that Anglo American shareholders will will benefit from what we expect to be significant value appreciation as the full impact of those trends materializes.

‘BHP’s proposal is opportunistic and fails to value Anglo American’s prospects, while significantly diluting the relative value of Anglo American shareholders’ upside holding relative to BHP shareholders.

‘The proposed structure is also very unattractive, creating substantial uncertainty and execution risk borne almost entirely by Anglo American, its shareholders and other interested parties.

“Anglo American has defined clear strategic priorities (of operational excellence, portfolio and growth) to deliver the full value potential and is fully focused on that delivery.”