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[grupo] 22/9/2009 14:38

2nd UPDATE: Allianz To Delist From NYSE,Some Europe Exchanges





(Adds detail, background.)
By Ulrike Dauer
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- Allianz SE (AZ), Europe's largest primary insurer by gross premium income, Tuesday said it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange (NYX) and other European stock exchanges in a move to reduce reporting complexities.

The U.S. delisting will affect its American Depositary Shares and 8.375% undated-subordinated callable bonds for which the last trading day will likely be around Oct. 23, Allianz said.

Subsequently, it will also delist ordinary shares on the London, Milan, Paris and Swiss stock exchanges to focus on the Frankfurt Xetra trading platform as the market with the highest liquidity for trading Allianz shares.

Allianz, which had been listed in the U.S. since Nov. 3, 2000, said the decision won't affect its strategy nor its geographic presence in markets but that it is an adjustment to international stock-trading practices.

"Allianz adjusts to international trading practices and by doing so reduces the complexity of its presence in the capital markets," Chief Financial Officer Paul Achleitner said. "The vast majority of international investors already uses our listing in Frankfurt to buy and sell Allianz shares."

The delisting on all exchanges will save a "midsize single-digit million euros amount annually," an Allianz spokesman said.

Allianz noted that in recent years, trading of Allianz shares on non-German stock exchanges accounted on average for significantly less than 5% of the total trading of Allianz shares, despite the fact that about 70% of Allianz shares are held by investors outside of Germany.

The delistings are likely an efficiency-boosting measure as they will reduce reporting requirements, said Merck Finck analyst Konrad Becker, who rates the share at buy.

Allianz said it plans to maintain its American Depositary Receipt program on a so-called "Level I" basis in order to enable investors to trade ADSs in the U.S. over-the-counter market.

Level 1 shares can only be traded on the OTC market and the company has minimal reporting requirements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. For instance, it isn't required to issue quarterly or annual reports in compliance with U.S. GAAP. However, the company must have a security listed on one or more stock exchange in a foreign jurisdiction and must publish its annual report in English on its Web site to that country's standards.

The fact that less than 5% of shares was traded outside Xetra despite the majority of foreign shareholders signals that the U.S. listing likely didn't meet expectations such as broadening the shareholder base, raising attention for the share and using the share as acquisition currency, analyst Becker said. He said the figures prove that the broader shareholder base can be reached without a U.S. listing.

"Apparently, international investors don't mind that they have to get on Xetra for trading the share," Becker said.

He said the decision will concentrate liquidity and raise the trading volume on Xetra, but said the impact would be limited.

The decision doesn't mean that Allianz will exit from the U.S. market nor that it will abandon plans to grow there, but it could encourage other players to rethink their U.S. listing, Becker said.

Allianz is joining the ranks of a number of European companies that have delisted their shares from NYSE over the past two years. These include German utility E.ON AG (EOAN.XE), chemicals and pharmaceuticals giants Bayer AG (BAY.XE) and BASF SE (BAS.XE), British Airways PLC (BAY.LN) and Danone SA (BN.FR), which all delisted in 2007, citing reduced complexity, reporting requirements and costs. Bayer said it expected to save EUR15 million annually.

Most recently, semiconductor producer Infineon Technologies AG (IFX.XE) announced that it would drop its U.S. listing, which became effective April 24.

However, a number of large players such as Siemens AG (SI) and Daimler AG (DAI) said a withdrawal from NYSE wasn't in the works.

"A U.S. delisting is not an issue for us because the listing gives us better access to the U.S. capital market," a spokesman for premium car manufacturer Daimler AG said.

"We continuously monitor the benefit of our foreign listing. A withdrawal from NYSE isn't currently on the agenda," a Siemens spokesman said. Siemens shares are listed on NYSE, London and in Switzerland, in addition to German exchanges, he said.

Company Web site: www.allianz.com

-By Ulrike Dauer, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

(Doug Cameron in Chicago and Vladimir Guevarra in London contributed to this article.)

[grupo] 22/9/2009 08:19

Allianz Intends To Delist From NYSE, Some European Markets





FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- German insurance group Allianz SE (AZ) said Tuesday it intends to delist its instruments on the New York Stock Exchange as well as some European stock exchanges.

MAIN FACTS:

-Allianz will delist its American Depositary Shares and Undated Subordinated Callable Bonds on the New York Stock Exchange.

-Thereafter, it will also delist ordinary shares on the London, Milan, Paris and Swiss stock exchanges.

-The moves won't affect Allianz's strategy nor its geographic presence in markets.

-Allianz aims to focus on the Frankfurt Xetra trading platform as the market with the highest liquidity, used by the majority of international investors.


-Frankfurt Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; 49-69-29725-500

[ariane] 12/9/2007 14:19

Benetton to delist from NYSE


MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Benetton Group SpA, the Italian apparel group,
said that it will terminate the listing and registration of its American
Depositary Shares at the New York Stock Exchange.
The decision is due to the globalisation of financial markets, low trading
volumes and that "even the principal American shareholders trade Benetton
shares" on the Italian market, it said.
The announcement accompanied the group's final first half results that
confirmed preliminary data released in August.
Sales rose to 990 mln eur in first half from 898 mln a year earlier, EBIT
increased to 107 mln from 89 mln and net profits rose to 70 mln eur from 64 mln.
Benetton confirmed it forecast of full-year sales growing 7-9 pct.
It also reiterated its forecast for EBITDA before exceptional items to rise
at least 20 pct this year, with a margin of more than 15 pct on sales.
Investments are seen totaling about 300 mln eur and the net debt to fall to
about 450 mln eur end-2007 from 459 mln end-June.

[e-mail]
pw/jlc

[waldron] 22/8/2007 09:16

E.On U.S. parent to delist from NYSE
Business First of Louisville - 2:51 PM EDT Tuesday, August 21, 2007
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E.On AG, the parent company of Louisville-based E.On U.S., plans to delist from the New York Stock Exchange.

"Delisting and deregistration do not affect E.On's business strategy in the United States," E.On CFO Marcus Schenck said in a news release. "Our sole purpose is to reduce administrative complexity and costs. We remain committed to the highest standards of corporate governance and transparent financial reporting and will continue to maintain an open and direct dialog with our U.S. investors."


The Düsseldorf, Germany-based company, which trades under the ticker symbol "EON," expects the delisting to become effective after the market closes on Sept. 7.

Its shares will continue to be traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

E.On said it will continue to make English translations of its annual reports, financial statements and financial press releases available on its Web site, ww.eon.com.

E.On U.S. is the parent company of Louisville Gas & Electric Co. and Kentucky Utilities Co.

[waldron] 08/8/2007 10:16

BERN, Switzerland - Swisscom AG reported on Wednesday reported a 59 percent increase in second-quarter net profit following the takeover of Italian telecoms company Fastweb SpA and the repurchase of a minority stake in its mobile business.

Swisscom (nyse: SCM - news - people ) said net income attributable to shareholders rose to 475 million Swiss francs (US$396 million; euro289 million) in the second quarter, compared with 299 million francs in the same period last year.

Net revenue in the months April through June rose 13 percent to 2.7 billion francs (US$2.25 billion; euro1.64 billion) from 2.4 billion francs in the year-earlier period.

Switzerland's largest telephone company said its total number of fixed, broadband and mobile customers hit the ten million mark for the first time, in addition to 1.2 million customers acquired with the purchase of Fastweb.

Revenue from its mobile business gained 24 percent due to the repurchase last year of a 25 percent stake from Britain's Vodafone Group PLC. (nyse: VOD - news - people )

Swisscom, a spinoff of the former state-owned PTT and still majority-owned by the government, also said it had started the process of delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.

The company is delisting - with effect from Aug. 31 - because trading volumes for Swisscom's securities is low on the NYSE compared with Swiss bourse SWX's London-based subsidiary virt-x.

[waldron] 04/8/2007 19:32

Fiat to delist shares from NYSE, deregister with SEC

The Associated Press
Friday, August 3, 2007
ROME: Italian carmaker Fiat SpA said Friday it will delist its American depository shares from the New York Stock Exchange because of sustained low share trading volume.

The Turin-based company said in a statement it expected delisting to become effective on or around Aug. 23.

The carmaker also said it would ask the Securities and Exchange Commission to terminate its duties to file reports. Fiat plans to file the necessary forms on or around Aug. 13 and expects deregistration to become effective about 90 days later.

Fiat said the delisting and deregistration would not affect its business strategy in the United States.

Its ordinary, preference and savings shares will remain listed on its primary market, the Italian Stock Exchange.

[waldron] 02/8/2007 22:03

August 02, 2007 02:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Lafarge Announces Intention to Apply for Delisting from New York Stock Exchange
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lafarge announces its intention to apply for the voluntary delisting of its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This delisting will be followed by an application to deregister under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The delisting is expected to take effect in September 2007.

The main reasons behind this decision are as follows:

Lafarge notes recent changes, in particular the merger of the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext.
Lafarge is listed on Euronext, where the average trading volume has accounted for close to 99% of trading in its securities.
Lafarge ADR trading volume has remained very low since 2002, accounting for around 1% of the total shares traded over recent years (volumes adjusted to reflect the 1 share to 4 ADRs ratio).
Lafarge was one of the very first European groups to be compliant with section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley act, attesting to the transparency and quality of the Group's internal processes. Lafarge remains committed to maintaining high standards of internal controls and financial information.
Lafarge intends to maintain its ADR program as a "level one" program, to enable investors to retain their ADRs.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Lafarge is the world leader in building materials, with top-ranking positions in all of its businesses: Cement, Aggregates & Concrete and Gypsum. With 71,000 employees in over 70 countries, Lafarge posted sales of Euros 17 billion and net income of Euros 1.4 billion in 2006.

Lafarge is the only company in the construction materials sector to be listed in the 2007 '100 Global Most Sustainable Corporations in the World'. Lafarge has been committed to sustainable development for many years, pursuing a strategy that combines industrial know-how with performance, value creation, respect for employees and local cultures, environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources and energy. To make advances in building materials, Lafarge places the customer at the heart of its concerns. It offers the construction industry and the general public innovative solutions bringing greater safety, comfort and quality to their everyday surroundings.

Additional information is available on the web site at www.lafarge.com.

[waldron] 29/7/2007 09:53

Published : Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:31
By : Agencies
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PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Sodexho Alliance said it has completed the delisting of its American depositary Receipts (ADRs) from the New York Stock Exchange.

The group also filed with the US Securities and exchange Commission to end the registration of its shares under the US Securities Exchange Act.

The decision to delist the ADRs was announced on May 30 this year.

[e-mail]

vb/gp

[waldron] 29/7/2007 09:50

AMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) - Akzo Nobel NV said it will apply for the delisting of its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) from the NASDAQ stock exchange, in a move that chief financial officer Rob Frohn said will generate cost savings of 7 mln eur.

Akzo Nobel (nasdaq: AKZOY - news - people ) said it will provide written notice to NASDAQ of its intent to delist on or about Aug 15. The delisting is expected to become effective 10 days after the filing.

Akzo Nobel intends to maintain its ADR facility with Deutsche Bank (nyse: DB - news - people ) as a Level 1 programme, which will see the ADRs traded on the over-the-counter market known as International OTCQX.

Akzo Nobel's common shares will continue to be traded on Euronext Amsterdam.

The Dutch chemicals and coatings group also said it will apply for deregistration and termination of its reporting obligations under the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Akzo Nobel will file documentation with the SEC to deregister before the end of August.

The deregistration becomes effective 90 days after the filing, unless the documentation is withdrawn earlier by the company or denied by the SEC.

Aaron Gray-Block; [e-mail]

agb/slj

[waldron] 29/7/2007 09:47

July 25, 2007 05:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Technip to Apply for the Delisting of Its American Depositary Shares (ADS) from the New York Stock Exchange and Deregistration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

On July 25, 2007, the Board of Directors of Technip (Paris:TEC) (NYSE:TKP) (ISIN:FR0000131708) approved management's recommendation to apply for voluntary delisting of its American Depositary Shares (ADS) from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and voluntary deregistration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Accordingly, Technip intends to file the required forms with the SEC on August 6, 2007. It is expected that the delisting will take effect as of August 16, 2007, and the deregistration will become final on November 6, 2007, after the applicable 90-day waiting period.

The rationale for delisting and deregistration is principally based on the following:

Technip is primarily listed on Euronext, which is now part of NYSE-Euronext, where the average trading volume accounted for more than 95% of trading over the last twelve months, making the additional costs and expenses associated with dual registration not cost-justified,
since 2005, Technip Group has established its accounts in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It therefore no longer considers it necessary to publish its consolidated accounts under two accounting standards.
Technip remains committed to developing its contacts with American investors, who represent an important part of the Group's shareholding structure.

The Group intends to maintain its American Depository Receipt (ADR) program at "level one". This will enable investors to retain their ADRs and facilitate trading on the U.S. Over-The-Counter (OTC) market.

Technip will continue to publish its financial reports, statements and press releases in English as well as information for investors on its website (www.technip.com) pursuant to section 12g3-2(b) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act.

The delisting of Technip's ADS and deregistration will have no impact on the listing of Technip's shares on the Euronext's Eurolist.

With a workforce of 22,000 people, Technip ranks among the top five corporations in the field of oil, gas and petrochemical engineering, construction and services. Headquartered in Paris, the Group is listed in New York and Paris.

The Group's main operations and engineering centers and business units are located in France, Italy, Germany, the UK, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, the USA, Brazil, Abu-Dhabi, China, India, Malaysia and Australia.

In support of its activities, the Group manufactures flexible pipes and umbilicals, and builds offshore platforms in its manufacturing plants and fabrication yards in France, Brazil, the UK, the USA, Finland and Angola, and has a fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.


Contacts
Technip
Public Relations
Laurence Bricq, [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
or
Investor and Analyst Relations
Xavier d'Ouince, [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
or
Group website

[waldron] 27/6/2007 05:48

ZURICH (Thomson Financial) - Ciba Specialty Chemicals said it has provided written notice to the NYSE of its intent to delist, with the delisting expected to become effective on July 16, 2007.

'The delisting from the NYSE and the termination of the respective reporting obligations supports Ciba's overall direction to reduce complexity and costs,' Ciba chief executive Armin Meyer said.

The group will continue to report under US GAAP accounting norms, Ciba said.

Ciba also said it will maintain its primary listing on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SWX) with the company's ordinary shares continuing to trade on virt-x, the trading platform of the SWX in London.

[e-mail]

jmt/jag

[waldron] 27/6/2007 05:46

Sodexho Alliance SA, a provider of food and facilities management services, said Monday it is delisting its U.S.-listed shares from the New York Stock Exchange.

The Paris-based company previously announced in May it planned to voluntarily delist the shares due to low trading volume.

Sodexho requested the last trading day on the NYSE be July 13, with trading of the American depositary receipts starting on an over-the-counter basis on July 16.

Shares of Sodexho Alliance (nyse: SDX - news - people ) were flat at $69.41 in afternoon trading.

[deehill] 01/3/2005 10:16

So there!!!

[pomp circumstance] 28/2/2005 12:17

All I know is that Im already sitting on a tidy profit, so dont really care who you are.

[deehill] 28/2/2005 11:54

I fear you are as outdated as the tune you choose to fly under.

[pomp circumstance] 28/2/2005 11:48

Sheep are scared!!!!

NEC?

[deehill] 28/2/2005 11:45

Sorry. I misinterpreted. You think DIL and Deehil are the same. Think again.There are actually two of us out there.

[deehill] 28/2/2005 11:43

Oh. Do you think I was a TAD heavy handed?

[pomp circumstance] 27/2/2005 12:11

DIL DEEHILL


Make it a little less obvious please!!!