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Man Group said it was in talks to buy U.S. asset manager Numeric Holdings and diversify its quantitative fund offering, giving the UK hedge fund manager's share price a boost. A deal for Boston-based Numeric, part-owned by private equity group TA Associates and up for sale since early 2013, would broaden a quant fund stable currently focused on Man's flagship AHL computer-driven funds. It would also boost its presence in the United States, the biggest hedge fund market in the world, as well as its foothold in the institutional market, dealing with clients such as pension funds, which are driving growth in the broader industry. "This transaction would further diversify Man away from AHL and is consistent with Man's strategy to acquire a US-based asset manager," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Peter Lenardos. "However, given the extremely limited information available, especially on profitability and price - we reserve judgment until more details emerge.

French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen ( id="symbol_PEUP.PA_0"> PEUP.PA ) launched the second stage of a long-awaited 3 billion euro ($4.2 billion) capital increase to fund its "Back in the Race" recovery plan and tie-up with China's Dongfeng ( id="symbol_0489.HK 0489.HK ). _1"> As its new board met on Tuesday, the troubled firm surprised markets by issuing more stock than expected at a larger discount to raise 1.95 billion euros from existing shareholders. Peugeot shares surged in afternoon trading, outpacing a broader European stock rally on hopes that recovering regional demand can help the recapitalized carmaker rebound. The rights issue, in addition to a 1.05 billion stock sale to the French state and Dongfeng Motor Group, allows investors to purchase seven new shares at 6.77 euros for every 12 held, a 41 percent discount to Monday's comparable closing price. That means future dividends will be divided among 877 million outstanding sh

3D printer maker 3D Systems Corp's ( id="symbol_DDD.N_0"> DDD.N ) quarterly gross margins fell for the first time in two years, raising concerns about its growth prospects in an industry, which is drawing the attention of bigger technology firms. _0"> 3D Systems shares fell as much as 11 percent, making the stock one of the top losers on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning. The company said on Tuesday that its gross margin expansion was being delayed as it printers continued to be a major source of revenue. 3D Systems printers, priced at less than $1,000 to about $1 million, generate lower gross margins than its printing materials and services. The company also said it now expects to get most of the revenue and profit it forecast for 2014 in the second half of the year when it launches new products and services. The nascent 3D printer industry has generated widespread interest in the last couple of years. It has, however, also drawn criticism

Pfizer Inc ( id="symbol_PFE.N_0"> PFE.N ) may sweeten its offer for Britain's AstraZeneca Plc ( id="symbol_AZN.L AZN.L ) to more than 63 billion pounds, or $106 billion, and raise the cash portion of the deal, to kickstart negotiations, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. _0"> Citing people with knowledge of the matter, the report said a new bid may value AstraZeneca at more than 50 pounds ($84.47) per share and could come as early as next week. Pfizer disclosed earlier this week that it had twice approached AstraZeneca about a takeover, only to be rebuffed in both cases. _1"> Pfizer and AstraZeneca declined to comment on the report. Since Pfizer went public with its approach to AstraZeneca, investors and analysts have been expecting the largest U.S. drugmaker would come back with more than its initial offer worth 58.8 billion pounds ($98.9 billion) and increase the cash component. Under British takeover rules, Pfizer has until May 26 to announce

AstraZeneca Plc laid out its defense against Pfizer Inc's $106-billion takeover approach on Tuesday by predicting its sales would rise by three quarters over the next decade, although only after a short-term drop. With promising new medicines expected to lift annual revenue above $45 billion by 2023, up from $25.7 billion in 2013, selling out to the U.S. group now would deprive investors of huge gains, it argued. "The increasingly visible success of our independent strategy highlights the future prospects for our shareholders," said Chairman Leif Johansson. "These are benefits that should fully accrue to AstraZeneca's shareholders." Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said plunging AstraZeneca into a disruptive merger would also jeopardize its ability to deliver on the new drug pipeline, which is expected to account for 30 percent of the 2023 sales total. Investors and analysts agree Britain's second-biggest drugmaker has an improving experimental portfo

Shares of Twitter Inc sank 18 percent to a new low in frenzied trading on Tuesday, wiping out more than $4 billion of its market value, as early investors sold stock in the messaging service for the first time after a six-month "lock-up" expired. The stock closed at $31.85 on the New York Stock Exchange, as losses deepened late in the session to the lowest since its debut on November 7 at $37. On a consolidated basis, more than 130 million shares changed hands - 10 times the daily average volume for the last 50 days. The lock-up agreement that expired this week applied to about 470 million shares, or 82 percent of Twitter's equity, held by insiders, venture capitalists and other investors. Twitter allowed one batch of shares to be sold in February, but that lockup governed only about 10 million shares, most of which were held by non-executive employees. "The move is bigger than expected and is indicative of the negative investor sentiment towards Twitter right n

Europe's biggest insurer Allianz defended its U.S. asset management business Pimco on Wednesday as it came under fire for failing to stem the flow of heavy investor withdrawals. Allianz is under pressure from some shareholders to step up oversight of Pimco, the world's largest bond investor with nearly $2 trillion in assets, because of a run of poor returns and the departure of CEO Mohamed El-Erian amid a row with co-founder Bill Gross. But the insurer's chief executive said that investors needed to ignore short-term volatility and take a longer-term view, pointing out that Pimco had produced better returns than many of its competitors for large parts of the past 25 years. "There is really no reason to rake us over the coals or to sense the end is at hand," Michael Diekmann told the insurer's annual shareholder meeting in Munich. Diekmann said customers had been supportive of the creation of a new team of six deputy chief investment officers to support G