Tag: Steve

Lordstown Motors Pursuing $200 Million U.S. Retooling Loan, will Show EV Truck at Detroit Auto Show

January 28, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: A sign welcomes visitors to the General Motors Lordstown Complex assembly plant in Warren, Ohio

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Electric pickup truck start-up Lordstown Motors is pursuing a $200 million loan from a U.S. Energy Department program to retool a former General Motors <GM> factory in northeast Ohio, Chief Executive Steve Burns told Reuters.

Burns met with Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette on Monday for about an hour and the company was holding additional talks with officials on Tuesday from the Energy Department’s Loan Program Office.

“We think we are worthy of government help. We don’t want a handout – we want a loan,” Burns told Reuters in an interview. “It’s just going to be more jobs faster if we get it. We are viable without it.”

Burns disclosed the company plans to unveil a drivable version of its electric truck at the Detroit auto show in June. It hopes to begin production by year-end.

The Energy Department declined comment.

Burns said the company hopes to receive funding from the Energy Department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program that in 2009 awarded loans to Ford Motor Co <F>, Tesla Inc <TSLA> and Nissan Motor Co <NSANY> to retool factories, but has not issued loans since 2011. Nissan and Tesla previously repaid their loans.

The fate of the sprawling plant became a political lightning rod after GM announced its planned closure in November 2018, drawing condemnation from U.S. President Donald Trump and many U.S. lawmakers.

A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers wrote Brouillette last week offering “strong support” for the loan, saying northeast Ohio was dealt a “severe blow” by the plant closing.

Lordstown Motors Corp, which is 10% owned by Workhorse Group Inc <WKHS>, bought the plant and equipment for $20 million as part of its ambitious plan to begin building electric pickup trucks by the end of 2020.

“It’s cool to bring something back to life,” Burns said.

The company is working to raise additional funding and is in advanced talks with a large strategic investor, Burns said.

GM last year agreed to loan Lordstown Motors $40 million to acquire and retool the plant. Burns hopes to repay GM’s loan “in a few weeks.”

Burns plans to start crash-testing vehicles in July, hiring about 400 hourly workers in September and to begin production in November or December.

Electric vehicle startup Rivian, backed by Amazon.com Inc <AMZN> and Ford, plans to build an electric pickup truck and companion starting in late 2020. GM plans to build its first electric pickup truck starting in late 2021. Tesla plans to start building its electric Cybertruck in late 2021.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Delta, LATAM to Launch Codesharing as Carriers Build Leading Partnership in Latin America

December 2, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Important step begins to deliver benefits to customers with expanded connectivity to up to 51 destinations in South America.

Delta and LATAM will launch codesharing for flights operated by certain LATAM affiliates in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru beginning in the first quarter of 2020, pending receipt of applicable government approvals.

The codeshare will offer customers increased connectivity between up to 74 onward destinations in the United States and up to 51 onward destinations in South America.

Delta expects to expand codeshare opportunities to include more destinations in the near future. The airlines are also working toward introducing frequent flyer program reciprocity and reciprocal lounge access.

“This is an important milestone for customers as we begin to deliver on the transformative partnership between Delta and LATAM announced earlier this year,” said Steve Sear, Delta President – International and Executive Vice President – Global Sales. “Once fully realized, this partnership will give us the ability to offer our shared customers an industry-leading network and superior service across the Americas.”

In September, Delta and LATAM announced an agreement that would bring together the leading airlines in North and South America, which once fully implemented will offer significantly expanded travel options for customers with access to 435 destinations worldwide. The enhanced cooperation is subject to governmental and regulatory approvals.

British Airways CFO to Take Over as IAG Finance Chief

April 15, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

The G-EUPH British Airways Airbus A319-131 makes its final approach for landing at Toulouse-Blagnac airport, France, March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/Files

(Reuters) – IAG said on Monday British Airways’ finance chief Steve Gunning will replace company veteran and chief financial officer Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, who steps down after more than eight years in the role.

Gunning, who joined British Airways in 1998 and has been its CFO since January 2016, will take over from de Lôme at IAG’s annual general meeting in June, the company said.

“After eight years as CFO of IAG and prior to that, 20 years as CFO of Iberia, I believe now is the right time for me to leave IAG,” de Lôme said.

IAG did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reason for de Lome’s departure.

Gunning takes the role as the airline industry braces for a potential hit from Britain’s impending exit from the European Union.

Shares of IAG jumped to session highs after the announcement and were last up 1.1 percent at 548.4 pence on London’s main index.

(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Wynn Ends Acquisition Talks with Australia’s Crown Resorts

April 9, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO – The logo of Australian casino giant Crown Resorts Ltd adorns the hotel and casino complex in Melbourne, Australia, June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Picture

(Reuters) – Wynn Resorts Ltd, the world’s No. 2 casino operator, said on Tuesday it scrapped preliminary talks to acquire Crown Resorts Ltd for A$10 billion ($7.1 billion), after the Australian Financial Review broke news of the negotiations.

Wynn’s backtracking illustrates how media leaks of deal talks can test the resolve of potential acquirers. Crown shares jumped as much as 22 percent on the news to A$14.37, close to the $A14.75 per share level that Crown said Wynn’s latest cash-and-stock offer valued the company.

This can make deal negotiations more difficult by emboldening acquisition targets to drive a hard bargain, analysts said. In this case, Wynn’s inexperience with pursuing big deals also likely played a factor, some analysts added.

“(Wynn) management’s experience with acquisitions is limited, so when you target synergies it’ll be nice to have more of a track record for such a large transaction,” said Roth Capital Partners analyst David Bain, calling the termination of the deal talks a positive development for Wynn.

After the Australian Financial Review revealed Wynn’s takeover approach, Crown not only confirmed the confidential talks on Tuesday, but also disclosed the price that Wynn was offering. It added that Crown’s board had not yet considered Wynn’s latest offer.

Wynn then issued two statements, first confirming the talks, and, a few hours later, stating that they had ended.

“Following the premature disclosure of preliminary discussions, Wynn Resorts has terminated all discussions with Crown Resorts concerning any transaction,” the company said in a statement.

Wynn’s shares were down 3.2 percent at $140.21 in New York at mid-afternoon.

Examples of companies confirming acquisition talks only to back out hours later are few and far between, because they reflect a lack of conviction on the part of the aspiring acquirers.

Last year, drug maker Allergan Plc confirmed it was in the early stages of making an offer for peer Shire Plc, after Reuters broke news of the deliberations, only to issue a second statement a few hours later stating it would not make an offer.

Insurer Aon Plc said last month it would not pursue a merger with rival insurance brokerage Willis Towers Watson Plc, a day after it confirmed it was in early stages of considering an all-stock offer for the Irish company following a Bloomberg News report revealing the deliberations.

HEDGE AGAINST MACAU

Wynn was founded in 2002 by Steve Wynn, who started his casino business in Las Vegas in the 1960s and created some of the city’s most iconic landmarks – the Mirage, Bellagio and Treasure Island – before selling them. Beset by sexual misconduct allegations, Wynn left the company and sold his entire 11.8 percent stake in Wynn Resorts for $2.1 billion last month.

Wynn operates large resort-and-casino complexes in Las Vegas and Chinese gambling hub Macau, with another under construction in Massachusetts. The deal would have offered a hedge against Macau, where its licences are up for renewal, by giving it two lavishly revamped Australian casinos and a third being built on the prized Sydney harbour front.

Buying Crown would also fit in with Wynn’s strategy to diversify geographically to protect its growth prospects if its Macau licences are not renewed.

The company’s efforts so far have included ramping up promotion of a resort in Japan, a market seen as the next potential goldmine to Macau and a former expansion target for Crown.

“Wynn has typically grown through building their own facilities, not through acquisition,” said Bain, the Roth Capital Partners analyst.

For Crown’s 47 percent owner James Packer, who re-badged his father’s media empire as a gambling concern in 2007 only to withdraw from business engagements last year due to mental illness, the deal would have ended his career as a casino mogul with a A$4.7 billion payout.

He would have ended up as Wynn’s biggest shareholder with 9.8 percent of its shares, based on its current number of shares on issue.

“We think Wynn’s strategy was mostly defensive, but if they have a strong strategic rationale for wanting to acquire Crown, they would likely come back to the table when things settle down,” said John DeCree, Union Gaming Securities’ director of North America research.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye, Tom Westbrook and Paulina Duran in SYDNEY, Devika Syamnath and Nivedita Balu in BENGALURU, and Greg Roumeliotis in NEW YORK; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Shounak Dasgupta and Richard Chang)

(Nattee Chalermtiragool/Shutterstock) stock-Wynn-Macau-01-shutter Macao, China – March 12, 2016: View of Macao city at night in Macao, China

How Wynn Resorts Could Free Up Billions in Cash

March 25, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

One of the trends sweeping through the gaming industry over the past decade is selling real estate to real estate investment trusts (REITs). Sometimes companies control their REITs, like MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM) does with MGM Growth Properties (NYSE: MGP) and Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR) does with VIVI Properties(NYSE: VICI), and sometimes real estate is sold to third-party companies.

REITs free up cash for casino companies, often to the tune of billions of dollars. That money can help reduce debt or fund growth projects, which is attractive because it doesn’t fundamentally change a resort’s operations. But Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) has avoided the temptation to sell most of its real estate over the years. If it did, however, the company could free up billions of dollars in cash.

Wynn's Encore Boston Harbor. — Wynn’s Encore Boston Harbor.

Image source: Wynn Resorts.

Click the link below for the full story from “The Motley Fool”…

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wynn-resorts-could-free-billions-163400237.html

Austin FC Begin MLS Play in 2021 as league’s 27th club

January 16, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Austin FC is set to begin play in MLS in 2021 as the league’s 27th club, commissioner Don Garber announced Tuesday. The club will become the city’s first team in a major professional sports league.

The announcement was made at Rustic Tap in Austin’s West Sixth district, with Garber alongside Austin FC chairman/CEO Anthony Precourt and Austin mayor Steve Adler. The club will soon build a privately funded, $225 million soccer stadium at McKalla Place. Groundbreaking will begin this year on the 20,000-seat stadium, which planned to be completed in time for the club’s first match.

“Austin is a thriving metropolitan city – the personification of what we mean when we say MLS is a ‘League for a new America,’” Garber said in a league release. “We are extremely proud to be the first major professional sports league to become part of the culture of this historic American city. In their support of a world-class soccer stadium that benefits everyone, the leadership of the City of Austin has shown tremendous faith in our league and game, and Anthony Precourt has paved the way for Austin FC to have great success on and off the field. To the people of Austin and the surrounding community, welcome to Major League Soccer.”

Austin FC will become the third MLS club in Texas, joining FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo. Austin is the country’s 11th largest city and was selected by U.S. News and World Report in each of the last two years as the No. 1 place in the nation to live.

“This is a very proud moment for Precourt Sports Ventures, and we share it with the people of Austin, City leadership, the dedicated soccer fans of the region, and everyone who believed in our mission to bring Major League Soccer to this incredible community,” Precourt said. “The greatest way we can show our gratitude is in our actions as leaders of Austin FC. Our pledge is to build three essential pillars: a team that will be a perennial contender for MLS Cup, a stadium at McKalla Place that rivals the best sporting venues in North America, and a club that will bring people together and always give back.”

Said Mayor Adler: “This is a historic day for Austin, as MLS becomes the first major league to plant roots in our beautiful city. We believe professional soccer will bring a great and especially needed benefit to our city. In two years, this team and an elite soccer stadium will bring together all kinds of people from all over Austin in a way that we do not gather today. This is one important way we become a more socially integrated community. Thank you to Precourt Sports Ventures and MLS for bringing this opportunity to all the residents of Austin!”