Headlines:
Sale Chatter Lifts Shares of Egg PLC
Shares of Egg PLC, the United Kingdom's biggest Internet banking company, had their strongest gain Wednesday in more than a year, amid renewed speculation that Prudential PLC plans to sell its 79% stake.
Egg shares rose 8.75%, to $2.19, giving the company a market capitalization of $1.79 billion.
Prudential, the country's second-largest insurer, abandoned plans to sell Egg in August after a seven-month search for a buyer. Analysts had said the potential bidders last year included the U.S. financial companies MBNA Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Capital One Financial Corp.
"It can't be ruled out that some party or parties have approached Prudential to see if they'll reconsider selling it," said Roman Cizdyn, an analyst at Oriel Securities in London, on Wednesday.
Clare Staley, a spokeswoman for Prudential, and Mark Maguire, a spokesman for Egg, declined to comment.
Wausau Sold, Names Delgadillo Its CEO
Joseph L. Delgadillo, a former chief executive of Metavante Corp., has reemerged on the banking technology scene as the president and CEO of Wausau Financial Systems Inc.
Wausau, a transaction processor based in Mosinee, Wis., announced the hiring Wednesday in the same press release announcing its purchase by the Chicago private equity investment firm Frontenac Co. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
Wausau also announced an acquisition of its own, of Kyris Imaging Software, its product development partner. That price was not disclosed.
Frontenac said its strategy is to pair companies with new leaders but that it will keep Wausau's core management team intact.
Mr. Delgadillo spent 17 years at Metavante. He left in March 2003, less than two months after being named chairman to go along with the CEO post he had held since January 1998.
Metavante, which is owned by the Milwaukee banking company Marshall & Ilsley Corp., said at the time that Mr. Delgadillo left to "pursue other opportunities."
