COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Comcast drops bid for Fox assets

Comcast Corp said on Monday it had abandoned its bid for most of the assets of Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc, leaving Walt Disney Co as the sole suitor in pursuit of the $40 billion-plus deal.

"When a set of assets like Fox's becomes available, it is our responsibility to evaluate if there is a strategic fit that could benefit our company and our shareholders," Comcast said in a statement. "That is what we tried to do and we are no longer engaged in the review of those assets. We never got the level of engagement needed to make a definitive offer."

NAMPA/REUTERS

Boeing lifts dividend by 20%

Boeing Co said on Monday it would raise its quarterly dividend by 20% and replace its existing share repurchase programme with a new $18 billion authorisation.

The company said it would pay a quarterly dividend of $1.71 per share from $1.42 earlier. The new dividend is payable on March 2.

The world's biggest maker of jetliners said the new repurchase programme would replace a $14 billion authorisation approved in December 2016, under which it had repurchased $9.2 billion.

The company said it expects to complete the new buybacks in the next 24-30 months.

NAMPA/REUTERS

JSE investigating Steinhoff, not halting trade

The JSE has reiterated that it won't halt trading in the shares of global retailer Steinhoff International at this stage.

“We believe that under the circumstances where Steinhoff International has disclosed as much price-sensitive information as it is able to, it would be detrimental to the interest of investors to prevent them from trading Steinhoff International shares on the JSE,” it said in a media statement.

Shares in the Stellenbosch-headquartered company have fallen by 83% since Wednesday morning, when it announced its CEO Markus Jooste was stepping down “with immediate effect” and PricewaterhouseCoopers would conduct an independent investigation into "accounting irregularities requiring further investigation”.

FIN24

AXA to invest in green projects

French insurer AXA announced on Tuesday it would quadruple its investments in environmentally-friendly projects by 2020 to €9 billion and disinvest further from the coal industry.

"In 2015 AXA committed to reach €3 billion in green investments by 2020. Given that this target has already been reached, the Group has decided to quadruple its original target and reach €12 billion by 2020," the insurer said.

French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting a climate summit this week where he will press rich countries to increase financing for dealing with climate change and urge investors worldwide to turn their backs on polluters in a bid to accelerate efforts to combat global warming.

NAMPA/REUTERS

BAE, Qatar locked in aircraft deal

BAE Systems and Qatar have entered into a contract valued at around £5 billion for the country to buy 24 Typhoon combat aircraft, the British defence group said on Sunday.

The company said delivery was expected in late 2022 and that the contract was subject "to financing conditions and receipt by the company of first payment, which are expected to be fulfilled no later than mid-2018".

"We are delighted to begin a new chapter in the development of a long-term relationship with the State of Qatar and the Qatar Armed Forces, and we look forward to working alongside our customer as they continue to develop their military capability," Charles Woodburn, BAE's chief executive, said in a statement.

NAMPA/REUTERS