Tag: bank (Page 3 of 4)

China’s BAIC Willing to Increase Daimler Holding after 5% Stake Buy

November 25, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: BAIC Group automobile maker at the IEEV New Energy Vehicles Exhibition in Beijing

BEIJING/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Daimler’s <DDAIF> main Chinese joint venture partner BAIC Group has signalled its intention to increase its stake in the German luxury car manufacturer, sources briefed on the matter said, after it built up a 5% Daimler holding in July.

Officials at BAIC’s listed company, BAIC Motor Corp Ltd, said at investor conferences in mid-October that “both sides are willing to increase stakes in the other”, responding to questions about future relationship between BAIC Group and Daimler, the sources said.

Daimler said in a regulatory filing on Friday that HSBC held 5.23% in Daimler’s voting rights directly as well as through instruments such as equity swaps as of Nov 15. BAIC has used HSBC to help it build its initial 5% stake.

Sources declined to be named as they are not allowed to speak to media.

A Daimler spokesman on Monday said, that the company had received notification from HSBC that the voting stake of 5% has been exceeded.

While the spokesman would not say whether BAIC played a role in the transaction, he added that Daimler welcomed long-term shareholders such as BAIC, who support the carmaker’s strategies.

“Daimler AG appreciates BAIC as long-standing partner and long-term investor,” the spokesman said in a written statement.

“Such shareholders help us to further safeguard and strengthen the capitalization of our company,” the statement continued.

BAIC was not immediately available for comment.

Geely, Daimler’s biggest shareholder with a 9.7% stake, said: “We are a long-term investor in Daimler. We do not react spontaneously to any volatility and we support Daimler’s management and their strategy.”

BAIC (Beijing Automobile Group Co Ltd) has been Daimler’s main partner in China for years and operates Mercedes-Benz factories in Beijing through Beijing Benz Automotive.

Two months before its July stake deal was announced, sources told Reuters that BAIC wanted to invest in Daimler to secure its investment in Beijing Benz Automotive.

In March, sources told Reuters Daimler had asked Goldman Sachs <GS> to help it explore increasing its stake in BAIC’s Hong Kong-listed company.

The partners also planned to revamp manufacturing facilities to make Mercedes Benz-branded trucks via their commercial vehicle joint venture Foton Daimler Automotive (BFDA), Reuters reported in August citing a document and sources familiar with matter.

The companies also said Daimler and BAIC’s new energy vehicle unit BluePark have jointly developed a battery research lab in Beijing.

State-owned BAIC built its stake after Li Shufu, chairman of rival private automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, built a 9.69% stake in Stuttgart-based Daimler in early 2018.

By using Hong Kong shell companies, derivatives, bank financing and structured share options, Li kept the plan under wraps until he was able, at a stroke, to become Daimler’s single largest shareholder.

Since the investment, Geely and Daimler have said they plan to build the next generation of Smart electric cars in China through a joint venture.

Zhejiang-based Geely owns Volvo while BAIC in addition to Daimler has a partnership with South Korea’s Hyundai Motor <HYMTF>.

Daimler said it had collaborated with BAIC in areas such as production, research and development and sales since 2003.

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Edward Taylor; additional reporting by Arno Schuetze and Ludwig Burger; editing by Brenda Goh, Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)

China’s BAIC willing to increase Daimler holding after 5% stake buy – sources
FILE PHOTO: Ola Kaellenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, speaks at a media event during the Guangzhou auto show in Guangzhou

Warburg Pincus Sells Airline Services Firm Accelya to Vista

November 18, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. buyout fund Warburg Pincus said on Monday that it had clinched a deal to sell its European airline services firm Accelya to rival private equity fund Vista Equity Partners for an undisclosed amount.

The deal, which was first reported by Reuters, allows Warburg Pincus to fully cash out after backing the Barcelona-based company for the past two years.

The U.S. investment firm launched an auction process during the summer to find a new owner for the business which serves more than 200 airlines including British Airways, Lufthansa and EasyJet.

Warburg Pincus bought Accelya from French private equity firm Chequers Capital in 2017 and quickly tripled its revenues by merging it with Mercator, a Dubai-based travel services group in which the U.S. buyout firm had been an investor since 2014.

Vista Partners, whose portfolio is mostly focused on software companies, was recently vying to buy a majority stake in WPP’s (WPP) data analytics firm Kantar but lost it to Bain Capital.

Its Chief Executive Robert Smith said Accelya was “at the forefront of innovation and positioned to shape the airline and travel industry for decades to come.”

Accelya employs 2,500 employees across 24 offices in 14 countries and recently signed a long-term deal as the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) technology partner.

Bank of America (B AC) and Evercore advised Warburg Pincus on the deal while Vista hired Goldman Sachs (GS) and Houlihan Lokey to work on the purchase.

Law firm Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher served as the legal advisors to Warburg Pincus and Vista, respectively.

Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Susan Fenton

Electric Vehicle Startup Rivian Gets Big Van Order From Amazon.com

September 20, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

DETROIT, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive LLC got a big boost from one of its investors on Thursday when Amazon.com announced it was ordering 100,000 electric delivery vans.

Before Rivian has even begun commercial production at its factory in Normal, Illinois, the Amazon order rocketed it to the forefront of electric vehicle makers.

Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in Washington that as part of the online retailer’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2040 it would order the electric vans from Rivian, with deliveries starting in 2021. The goal is to deploy all the vehicles by 2024.

Rivian, a potential rival to Silicon Valley’s Tesla Inc, unveiled its electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV last November, but had piqued Amazon’s interest earlier. Bezos personally reached out to Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe last summer to express interest in an investment, sources previously said.

Plymouth, Michigan-based Rivian, founded in 2009, has raised close to $1.9 billion from investors, including a $700 million February round led by Amazon.

The deal solidifies Rivian’s place among EV builders, said Sam Fiorani, a vice president with Auto Forecast Solutions. “It helps boost the image of the (Rivian) brand,” he said.

Rivian aspires to be the first to produce a mass market electric pickup. It intends to begin selling its R1T by the end of 2020, a target that has not changed with the Amazon deal in place, said Rivian spokeswoman Amy Mast said.

Traditional U.S. automakers Ford Motor Co, a Rivian investor, and General Motors Co, as well as Tesla, are pushing to develop their own electric pickups.

The Amazon vans, under the exclusive deal, will be built at Rivian’s plant, a former Mitsubishi factory in Normal, Illinois, Mast said. The first vehicles will be delivered in 2021 and 10,000 should be on the road by late 2022, she said. The vehicles will be serviced by Rivian.

Scaringe has described the Rivian vehicle’s platform as a skateboard that packages the drive units, battery pack, suspension system, brakes and cooling system all below wheel height to allow for more storage space and greater stability due to a lower center of gravity.

Amazon is looking to speed packages to shoppers’ doorsteps regardless of spikes in consumer demand or shortages of delivery personnel. Last year, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz said Amazon had become the biggest customer of its Sprinter vans, securing 20,000 vehicles for delivery contractors.

Ford invested $500 million in Rivian in April with plans to use the Rivian EV platform to build a new vehicle in North America. Details of that vehicle were not disclosed. Ford is not involved in the Rivian deal, Mast said.

Cox Automotive Inc, the owner of the Autotrader online automobile market and the Kelley Blue Book car valuation service, invested $350 million in Rivian this month. The companies will explore partnerships in digital retailing, service operations and logistics.

Other backers include Saudi auto distributor Abdul Latif Jameel Co, Sumitomo Corp of Americas and Standard Chartered Bank.

Amazon’s reputation and the contract size would raise Rivian’s status with potential customers and investors, Fiorani said. It also offers the advantage of not having to chase buyers or ship vehicles all over the country.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by David Gregorio)

Brookfield, GIC to Buy Railroad Owner Genesee & Wyoming

July 1, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

July 1 (Reuters) – Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC on Monday agreed to buy U.S. freight railroad owner Genesee & Wyoming Inc for about $6.4 billion in cash.

Brookfield and GIC’s offer of $112 per share represents a premium of 12 percent to Genesee’s closing price on Friday. Genesee shares were up about 8 percent in trading before the bell.

Including debt, the deal is valued at about 8.4 billion, the companies said in a statement.

Genesee & Wyoming’s revenue have increased at a compound annual growth rate of 16.8% since it floated in the stock market in 1996, rising to $2.3 billion in 2018 from $77.8 million, according to Genesee & Wyoming’s latest annual report.

The company owns a portfolio of 120 short-line railroads, predominantly in North America, with operations in Europe and Australia.

Reuters had reported on the deal on Sunday, citing sources.

The deal, which is expected to close by year end or early 2020, would be the latest big leveraged buyout by Brookfield, which agreed last year to buy Johnson Controls International Plc’s power solutions business for about $13 billion.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc served as the financial adviser to Brookfield and GIC, while BofA Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley & Co LLC advised Genesee.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

Pilot Dead in Manhattan Skyscraper Helicopter Crash

June 10, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A helicopter made a crash landing onto the roof of a midtown Manhattan skyscraper on Monday, killing at least one person and sending a plume of smoke skyward from the top of the building. The person deceased is “presumed” to be the pilot.

The crash occurred shortly before 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) on a rainy, foggy day at the 750-foot (229m) AXA Equitable Center at 787 Seventh Avenue. Dozens of emergency vehicles swarmed the busy area, a few blocks north of Times Square.

The chopper took off from a heliport on Manhattan’s east side and crash-landed on the building 11 minutes later, emergency officials said.

The site is about half a mile from Trump Tower, where U.S. President Donald Trump maintains an apartment. The area has been under a temporary flight restriction since his election in November 2016.

Nathan Hutton, who works in information technology for the French bank BNP Paribas on the 29th floor, said the building shook when the helicopter slammed into the roof.

“It felt like you were just standing there, and someone takes their hand and just shoves you,” he said. “You felt it through the whole building.”

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the aircraft was an Agusta A109E, a twin-engine, lightweight helicopter. The pilot was the only person aboard, and FAA air traffic controllers did not handle the flight, according to the agency.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash, the FAA said.

Melvin Douglas, 50, who was selling umbrellas on the street, said he heard a “rumble” when the helicopter crash landed.

“I didn’t see it, but I felt it,” said Douglas. “Smoke was on top of the building.”

A fire that broke out on the roof was quickly brought under control, the fire department said. The building was evacuated after the crash.

Trump called New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was at the scene soon after the crash, to offer assistance if needed, the governor’s office said.

“Phenomenal job by our GREAT First Responders who are currently on the scene,” Trump said on Twitter after being briefed on the crash. “The Trump Administration stands ready should you need anything at all.”

The AXA Equitable Center was built in 1985 and includes more than 50 floors. A roof helipad is not listed as one of the building’s amenities on its website.

In addition to BNP Paribas, the building houses offices for a number of other corporate tenants, including law firms Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Sidley Austin and investment manager New Mountain Capital. Le Bernardin, one of New York City’s most celebrated restaurants, is also located in the AXA building.

The skyscraper is managed by the Los Angeles-based CommonWealth Partners. Reached by telephone, LeAnn Holsapple, the office manager for CommonWealth, said the company had “no comment at this time.”

Helicopters are a regular sight in the air around Manhattan, and they have occasionally been involved in crashes.

Nearly a month ago, a chopper crashed into the Hudson River in New York City shortly after taking off from Manhattan, injuring two people. A sightseeing helicopter went down in New York City’s East River in March 2018, killing five passengers.

Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Additional reporting by Peter Szekely and Jonathan Allen; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by David Alexander and Bill Rigby

WestJet To Be Taken Private In C$3.5 Billion Cash Deal

May 13, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Canada’s WestJet Airlines Ltd said on Monday it will be acquired by private equity firm Onex Corp in an all-cash deal for C$3.53 billion ($2.63 billion).

Including debt, the deal is valued at about C$5 billion.

As part of the deal, WestJet shareholders will receive C$31 for each share held, representing an about 67% premium to its closing price on Friday.

The investment will be led by Onex Partners, Onex’s private equity platform focused on larger investment opportunities and WestJet’s board has recommended that its shareholders vote in favor of the deal.

The private equity fund has a history of investing in aerospace, having previously held a major stake in Boeing supplier Spirit Aerosystems.

The deal is expected to close in the latter part of this year or early next year, the company said.

CIBC Capital Markets and B of A Merrill Lynch were the financial advisers to WestJet, while Barclays, Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets advised Onex.

(Reporting by Debroop Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

Alaska Air Group Stock Upgraded

April 30, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Every day, Wall Street analysts upgrade some stocks, downgrade others, and “initiate coverage” on a few more. But do these analysts even know what they’re talking about? Today, we’re taking one high-profile Wall Street pick and putting it under the microscope…

After underperforming the S&P 500 by more than 17 points over the past year, Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK) delivered a pleasant surprise to its shareholders last week, outperforming analyst expectations and beating on both earnings and revenue. The $0.17 per share that Alaska earned in fiscal Q1 2019 topped consensus estimates by more than 50% — and the airline even eked out a small sales beat with its $1.88 billion in Q1 revenue.

Not everyone was impressed.

Click the link for the full story! https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alaska-air-group-stock-upgraded-182034848.html

Jet Airways to Suspend Operations After Banks Reject Funding

April 17, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, April 17 (Reuters) – India’s embattled Jet Airways Ltd is set to temporarily halt operations from Wednesday onward after its lenders rejected the airline’s plea for emergency funds, three sources from inside the company said on Wednesday.

The airline, saddled with roughly $1.2 billion of bank debt, has been teetering for weeks after failing to receive a stop-gap loan of about $217 million from its lenders, as part of a rescue deal agreed in late March.

Separately, two sources at state-run banks told Reuters on Wednesday that the lenders had rejected the 4 billion rupees ($58 million) that Jet had sought to keep itself temporarily afloat, while its lenders attempted to identify an investor willing to acquire a majority stake in the airline and attempt to turn it around.

“Bankers did not want to go for a piecemeal approach which would keep the carrier flying for a few days and then again risk having Jet come back for more interim funding,” said one of the bank sources directly involved in Jet’s debt resolution process.

All five sources declined to be named as they have not been authorized to discuss the matter with media.

Jet and its lead lender State Bank of India (SBI) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

($1 = 69.4120 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta and Promit Mukherjee in Mumbai and Aftab Ahmed and Aditi Shah in New Delhi; Writing by Euan Rocha; Editing by Susan Fenton)

German Wind Turbine Maker Senvion Files for Insolvency

April 9, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FRANKFURT, April 9 (Reuters) – A German court on Tuesday approved an application for insolvency from wind turbine manufacturer Senvion, although the company said it was also continuing to look at new funding options and various potential investors had shown interest.

The Hamburg-based company, which has more than a billion euros of debt, said it had applied for preliminary self-administration proceedings because refinancing discussions with lenders had not yet been successful.

Shares in Senvion were down 40.5 percent at 1519 GMT, having fallen as much as 55 percent earlier in the day.

Senvion has faced delays and penalties related to big projects, while the wind industry as a whole has seen falling prices and increased competition as it moves away from governments guaranteeing generous fixed subsidised tariffs for power towards an auction-based system that favours the lowest bidders.

Market leaders Siemens Gamesa and Vestas have more pricing power, putting smaller suppliers under pressure.

Financial sources had told Reuters Senvion needed at least 100 million euros ($112 million) in the short term to keep operating.

“Lenders and major bond holders are currently continuing intensive discussions around a financing offer to secure the continuation of operations which may allow the company to successfully exit this process,” Senvion said in a statement.

Two financial sources said hedge funds Anchorage and Davidson Kempner were prepared to put up the 100 million euros in loans that CEO Yves Rannou – who took the helm in January – needs to continue restructuring and clear the backlog of orders that has recently cost the company revenues and profit.

The sources said majority shareholder Centerbridge was prepared to accept that but the banks – notably Deutsche Bank and BayernLB – would still need to agree. The banks have lent Senvion a total of 950 million euros.

BayernLB and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

Senvion also has 400 million euros in bonds bought by hedge funds including Anchorage and Davidson Kempner.

Senvion said its management board would remain in office under the initiated procedure and business operations would carry on, with both existing service and maintenance contracts continuing.

The company said the preliminary self-administration proceedings affected Senvion GmbH and a subsidiary called Senvion Deutschland GmbH. It said Senvion S.A., Senvion Topco GmbH and Senvion Holding GmbH were expected to file for insolvency later this week.

Senvion’s website says it has around 4,000 employees globally.

(By Alexander Hübner and Michelle Martin, Additional reporting by Hans Seidenstuecker; Editing by Tom Sims and Mark Potter)

Passengers Stranded After Iceland’s WOW Air Collapses

March 28, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: Bikes by bike rental service of Icelandic airline WOW air are seen in Reykjavik — FILE PHOTO: Bikes by a bike rental service of Icelandic airline WOW air are seen in Reykjavik, Iceland, August 5, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo

(Reuters) – Iceland’s WOW air became the latest budget airline casualty on Thursday, halting operations and cancelling all future flights after efforts to raise more funds failed.

WOW, which focussed on low-cost travel across the Atlantic, advised stranded travellers to seek flights with other airlines. It flew a total of 3.5 million passengers last year.

“This is probably the hardest thing I have ever done but the reality is that we have run out of time and have unfortunately not been able to secure the funding of the company,” WOW CEO and founder Skuli Mogensen wrote in a letter to the company’s 1,000 employees.

“I will never be able to forgive myself for not taking action sooner,” he added.

WOW had earlier postponed flights on Thursday as it entered what it had hoped were the final stages of an equity raising with a group of investors.

“My flight from Boston has been cancelled. Having a hard time getting through to anyone on the phone. Can you help me at all?” Twitter user Marc Solari wrote.

WOW replied with an apology and offer of further assistance.

WOW is the latest budget airline to collapse as the European airline sector grapples with over-capacity and high fuel costs. Recent failures include Britain’s Flybmi, Nordic budget airline Primera Air and Cypriot counterpart Cobalt.

“RESCUE FARES”

Other airlines including, Icelandair, Easyjet and Norwegian stepped in offering discounted ‘rescue fares’ to stranded passengers, according to the Icelandic Transport Authority

WOW has been pursuing different avenues to raise money over the past few months.

It ended talks with rival Icelandair last Sunday while veteran low-cost airline investor Bill Franke also had cancelled a proposed investment through private equity fund Indigo Partners.

Icelandair shares traded up 13 percent percent at 1215 GMT after the failure of a competitor.

Founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Mogensen, WOW used smaller single-aisle planes to fly between Iceland and many destinations in the United States and Europe.

Its website had advertised flights from London to cities such as New York and Boston for as little as 150 pounds, although the journey went via the Icelandic capital Reykjavik.

Norwegian Air has a little over half of the market share in the fast-growing, low-cost, long-haul transatlantic market, while WOW controlled a quarter in 2018.

There are fears of a knock-on effect on Iceland’s important tourism industry.

Around 30 percent of tourists visiting Iceland last year flew with WOW and the collapse could trigger a 16 percent drop in tourists this year, research from Icelandic bank Arion showed.

( By Stine Jacobsen and Tommy Lund; editing by Darren Schuettler/Keith Weir)

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