Business News in Brief:

Busy week for pension funds

PFA’s 2014 profits
Pensions provider PFA has reported a 21 percent return from its Danish share portfolio over the first six months of 2014: a profit of 2 billion kroner in absolute terms. Its investment division particularly attributed the success to the performance of Novo Nordisk, Danske Bank and Coloplast.

Veolia offloads stake
The French waste management and recycling company Veolia Environnement has sold its 65 percent stake in Danish counterpart Marius Pedersen Group to the Marius Pedersen Foundation for 1.79 billion kroner as part of its debt reduction strategy. The sale means the foundation now owns 100 percent of the company.

Brightpoint got it wrong
An audit by PwC has discovered that Danish IT company Brightpoint Europe overstated its net income for 2013 by 688 million kroner – a miscalculation that will swallow up a third of the profits of its parent company Ingram Micro. Brightpoint listed the amount as receivables, but PwC said it should have been valued at zero.

Keep it in Germany
Pension funds administrator PKA and life insurer Topdanmark have found the perfect buyer for their German residential property portfolio: the German property company Immeo. The 1.8 billion kroner sale price represents a 30 percent profit since the pair took over ownership in 2007. The properties were located in Berlin and Dresden.

US pharma deal
Xellia Pharmaceuticals, a Copenhagen-based pharma company that specialises in providing treatments against life-threatening infections, has signed a deal with US business partner Fresenius Kabi to take over its manufacturing plant in Raleigh, North Carolina. The deal means Xellia now has plants in Denmark, China, Hungary and the US.

Double deal for LD
Danish pension fund Lønmodtagernes Dyrtidsfond has agreed contracts with two US investment companies. Boston-based MFS Investment Management will manage 6 billion kroner in global equities for the fund, while Californian-based Fisher Investments will have 2 billion to play with in emerging market equities.




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