BUSINESS LIVE: No deal for LV and Royal London; GSK beats expectations with strong Covid sales; Arm snubs London for IPO
Speculation of a merger between mutuals LV and Royal London has been put to an end, with the former confirming that discussions between the firms had revealed that such a deal ‘would not be in the best interests of LV members’.
Group CEO Barry O’Dwyer said nothing changes for Royal London members and the firm looks forward ‘to sharing a substantial level of profits with our eligible customers in April, as we normally do’.
GlaxoSmithKline posted a total operating profit of £6.2billion for 2021, with the drugmaker citing pandemic sales, growth in pharmaceuticals sales and tight control of ongoing costs as the key drivers of a strong fourth quarter.
GSK racked up £1.4billion in Covid-related sales last year, as it beat quarterly forecasts, and the firm expects pandemic-related sales to reach similar levels this year.
British chip designer Arm looks set to join the stock market in New York following the collapse of a £50billion takeover by American suitors.
In a bitter blow to the City of London, the company’s owner, Masayoshi Son, said he plans to float the Cambridge firm on the technology-heavy Nasdaq exchange.
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GSK said it expected pandemic-related sales in 2022 to be at similar levels to 2021 but that these would contribute less to profit due to lower margins on its antibody treatment
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