The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell by 0.7% today to 7,262 points.
Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:
Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR)
The Myer share price jumped almost 15%.
There was an announcement that major shareholder Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) has increased its shareholding.
According to reporting by the Australian Financial Review, Solomon Lew wants to get a seat on the board of Myer.
In an ASX disclosure, it was revealed that Premier Investments had bought 41 million shares on Monday and the AFR reported it had bought another large block of shares on Tuesday.
These investments would increase the Myer stake from 10.7% to over 17% according to the AFR.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)
Westpac announced that it has agreed to sell its New Zealand Life Insurance business for NZ$400 million. It's selling this business to Fidelity Life Assurance Company Limited. The two businesses are also entering into an exclusive 15-year agreement for the distribution of life insurance products to Westpac's New Zealand customer.
The transaction is expected to result in a post-tax gain on sale for the ASX 200 share and add approximately 7 basis points to its CET1 capital ratio.
Westpac CEO Peter King said:
This transaction is the latest step in simplifying our business while continuing to help customers with their life insurance needs.
Life insurance products are important for many New Zealanders and we are pleased to be entering a long-term partnership with a life insurance specialist to continue to help our customers protect themselves and their loved ones.
The Westpac share price fell around 0.3%.
Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)
The Ramsay share price fell by around 0.3% after announcing an increase of its offer for the UK healthcare provider Spire Healthcare.
The ASX 200 share announced an increased and final cash offer of 250 pence per share in cash. This offer values the issued share capital at £1.04 billion.
Ramsay CEO and managing director Craig McNally said:
We are confident that our 250 pence cash offer per Spire share, which was reached after extensive negotiations with the Spire board, is fair and reasonable. It is therefore our best and final offer.
Ramsay is a global health care operator delivering a wide range of acute and primary healthcare services to private and public patients from over 500 locations across 10 countries caring for 8.5 million plus patient visits and admissions per annum. We have been operating in the UK market for 15 years and as such have strong operational insight and a good appreciation of the industry dynamics and long-term outlook for the market. We have called on this deep understanding to determine what we believe is a full and fair price for the Spire business.
Ramsay has an established reputation for delivering high quality patient care and outcomes in the UK which we are committed to continuing. The proposed acquisition of Spire enables us to build a broader platform from which to continue to deliver best in class healthcare and lead the way on patient outcomes, through bolstered partnerships with private health insurers, the NHS, our doctors, clinicians and associated clinical networks.
