2024-03-11 11:54

March 11 (Reuters) - Choice Hotels International (CHH.N) , opens new tab on Monday scrapped its nearly year-long pursuit of rival Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WH.N) , opens new tab, after repeated rejections and failing to garner enough support from Wyndham's shareholders for its hostile bid. Choice said its exchange offer to buy Wyndham's shares has expired and it is withdrawing its nominations of director candidates for Wyndham's board. Choice first approached Wyndham in April last year and disclosed its cash-and-stock offer in October. Based on the closing share price of the companies on Friday, the offer was worth $89 per share, or about $7.2 billion. In December, Choice appealed directly to Wyndham's shareholders to break a stalemate in the takeover battle, by unveiling an exchange offer for Wyndham's stock. Choice also nominated a slate of directors to replace Wyndham's eight-member board, Reuters reported. Wyndham has repeatedly rebuffed Choice's bid as low-premium and fraught with antitrust risk. Wyndham, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, also raised concerns about the combined company carrying too much debt, and a slowdown in Choice's business. A tie-up between Choice and Wyndham would have created a U.S. budget hotel giant, competing with upscale operators like Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International which have made a push in recent years to enter the budget segment. Rockville, Maryland-based Choice operates nearly 7,500 hotels in 46 countries in the upper-midscale and upscale segments, including brands such as Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, and Cambria Hotels. Wyndham, which franchises about 9,100 hotels in more than 95 countries, operates budget brands such as Travelodge, Ramada, Days Inn and Microtel. "While the support from Wyndham stockholders tendering into the exchange offer was significant considering the number of investors structurally prevented from participating at this stage, it was not sufficient for Choice to conclude ... that a path towards a transaction is available at this time," Choice said in a statement. Choice's exchange offer received the support of less than 20% of Wyndham's shareholders, people familiar with the matter said. Choice said it will now focus on its standalone strategy and that its board had boosted the company's share buyback authorization by five million shares, or about $600 million. Shares of Choice rose more than 4% in afternoon trade, while Wyndham gained more than 1%. Wyndham has said that it could achieve a higher valuation on its own, projecting compounded annual growth in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of between 7% and 10% through 2026. Its adjusted EBITDA growth had reached 6%, the company recently said. On Monday, Wyndham welcomed Choice's withdrawal of its tender offer and slate of directors. "We are confident in Wyndham's standalone strategy and growth prospects under the leadership of our proven management team," said Wyndham Chairman Stephen Holmes. Ending the takeover bid could benefit Choice, Jefferies analyst David Katz wrote in a note, upgrading the hotel operator to "buy" from "underperform." "We do not see it completely impossible that CHH could come back in with another offer should WH’s shares languish at these levels for another year," said Patrick Scholes, analyst at Truist Securities. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/choice-ends-hostile-bid-wyndham-hotels-2024-03-11/

2024-03-11 11:53

MUMBAI, March 11 (Reuters) - The Indian central bank did not roll over and took delivery of the $5 billion dollar/rupee swap that matured on Monday, aiming to bolster foreign exchange reserves and rupee liquidity, four bankers said. The Reserve Bank of India's dollar/rupee sell-buy swap conducted in March 2022 matured on Monday. The central bank had the option to take delivery of the swap, roll it over entirely, or opt for a partial rollover. Bankers reckon that the central bank opted to take delivery, thereby removing $5 billion out of the system and injecting proportionate liquidity. "In all likelihood, it seems that the RBI has taken delivery of the swap," said Ritesh Bhusari, joint general manager for treasury at South Indian Bank. The rupee infusion will help the RBI in better managing the rupee liquidity situation ahead of tax outflows, Bhusari said. Advance tax outflows on March 15 and the GST outflows around March 20 are expected to take out about 2.5 trillion rupees ($30.23 billion), according to traders. "RBI likely took delivery. It ticks off two boxes - forex reserves and rupee liquidity," Dhiraj Nim, forex strategist at ANZ, said. He pointed out that dollar liquidity is not currently a concern as inflows are healthy, while rupee liquidity remains tight. The RBI did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. The RBI's purported move to take delivery of the swap will further boost India's forex reserves, which are already at a two-year high. India's forex reserves stood at $625.6 billion as on March 1, according to data published by the central bank. The data, which will include the changes in forex reserves due to the swap maturity, will be released on March 22. The change in reserves resulting from the swap delivery may not precisely match the $5 billion amount, a senior treasury official at a private bank explained. The RBI supplied dollars last Thursday and on Monday via spot over March swaps, which would have an impact on the headline reserves, he said. ($1 = 82.7100 Indian rupees) (This story has been refiled to correct a typo in paragraph 8) https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/india-central-bank-takes-delivery-5-billion-dollarrupee-swap-bankers-say-2024-03-11/

2024-03-11 11:52

MADRID, March 11 (Reuters) - Spain's High Court on Monday upheld a temporary ban on Worldcoin's iris-scanning venture, the latest blow to a project that has sparked privacy concerns in several countries. The court said the "safeguarding of the public interest" must prevail, dismissing an appeal by Worldcoin's owners who asked for the ban to be lifted while it deliberates. Co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2019, Worldcoin aims to create a global identity system by getting people to have their irises scanned in exchange for free cryptocurrency and a digital ID. The venture was temporarily banned on Wednesday by Spain's privacy watchdog following complaints of insufficient information, the collection of data from minors and not allowing the withdrawal of consent. The watchdog said the processing of biometric data, which has special protection under the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, "entails high risks for people's rights, taking into account their sensitive nature". It told Worldcoin to stop collecting personal information and stop using data it had already gathered. Worldcoin said in a statement on its website that Spain's regulator had circumvented the "accepted EU process and rules", without giving further details. The company argued that the regulator's decision "would cause it enormous damage and irreparable harm both in Spain and worldwide," the court said. It also argued the court was not competent and that the data agency in the German state of Bavaria, where the company is based, should be in charge of assessing whether the company complies with data protection regulations. On Monday, a Worldcoin spokesperson said the firm was fully compliant with all laws and regulations governing biometric data collection and data transfer. "We look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate this compliance and provide the regulator with accurate and important information regarding this essential and lawful technology in the Spanish High Court," the spokesperson added. More than four million people in 120 countries have signed up to have their irises scanned by Worldcoin, according to its website and queues of people eager to sign up to try out the new tool have formed in Spanish metro stations in recent weeks. But the project has drawn criticism from privacy campaigners from Argentina to Germany over the collection, storage and use of personal data. Spain's High Court said that in the event of an eventual favourable judgment lifting the ban, the company would be compensated for any lost income, thereby rejecting the argument of "irreparable damage" alleged by the appellant. https://www.reuters.com/technology/spains-high-court-upholds-temporary-ban-worldcoin-iris-scanning-venture-2024-03-11/

2024-03-11 11:42

DUBAI, March 11 (Reuters) - A missile-related incident has been reported west of Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Monday. Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received a report of a sound of an explosion in the vicinity of a vessel 71 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's port of Saleef. The vessel and crew were safe, UKMTO added. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/missile-related-incident-reported-off-yemens-hodeidah-2024-03-11/

2024-03-11 11:36

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Britain's finance ministry on Monday proposed ways to ease the burden of anti-money laundering checks applied by banks, and reflect the impact of Brexit and emergence of new financial activities such as cryptoassets. The rules are used by 100,000 businesses such as banks, accountants, lawyers, estate agents, and casinos to undertake "know your customer" initial and ongoing checks for potential money laundering red flags. Banks have been fined millions of pounds for having inadequate systems for enforcing the AML controls. Businesses complain they have been unfairly refused an account due to perceived AML concerns. The finance ministry said in a paper on Monday , opens new tab, open for public consultation until June 9, that it wants to make AML rules more proportionate for companies and their customers, and clarify when checks are needed, though it has no plans to change monetary thresholds for triggering due diligence. The call for views did not contain proposals for major rules changes, but said adjustments would be considered. Providing greater clarity on how to apply existing rules could help reduce cases where banks feel compelled to err on the side of caution. The ministry is considering what guidance it could issue on digital verification of a customer's identity as part of AML checks, and whether legislation is needed. Delays in identity checks, for example, could mean customers of a failed bank facing delays in accessing their money as accounts are transferred to another lender, the ministry said. "The government is committed to actively encouraging and realising the benefits of digital identity technologies in the UK, without creating or mandating identity cards," the paper said. Some monetary thresholds for triggering AML checks are denominated in euros, and the ministry said that following Brexit, its preferred option is to have them in sterling. The consultation also considers ways to improve how agencies such as the Financial Conduct Authority could share AML-related data with each other to crack down on crime. Britain's National Crime Agency estimates that over 12 billion pounds ($15 billion) of criminal cash is generated annually in the UK, with a realistic possibility that money laundering impacting the UK is in the hundreds of billions of pounds each year. ($1 = 0.7786 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-consults-easing-burden-anti-money-laundering-checks-2024-03-11/

2024-03-11 11:30

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Shell's (SHEL.L) , opens new tab head of liquefied natural gas (LNG), natural gas and power trading Steve Hill is leaving the company, Shell said on Monday. Hill chose to leave, Shell said, adding he would hand over his responsibilities and his successor would be announced in the coming weeks. He will step down on March 28. Hill joined Shell in 2016 following the $53 billion acquisition of rival BG Group. He has headed Shell Energy, which oversees business-to-business LNG, gas and power trading, part of the company's downstream division. Shell is the world's largest LNG trader, accounting for nearly 17% of global LNG trading volumes of 404 million metric tons in 2023, according to company data. Shell's LNG trading operations saw change earlier this year when Tom Summers was appointed , opens new tab in January as head of the division under Hill. The trading division delivered huge profits in recent years, benefiting from volatility in the gas markets following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Shell's LNG business made a profit of $2.4 billion, around one third of the company's overall profit, sources told Reuters last month. But not all the bets paid off. Reuters reported in November 2022 that Shell's trading division recorded a loss of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter. Shell did not say what Hill would next and he did not immediately respond to a request for comment. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shells-lng-gas-power-trading-boss-hill-leave-company-2024-03-11/