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☆ Brenntag to reshuffle divisions amid investor calls for break-up
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 5 (Reuters) - German chemicals distributor Brenntag (BNRGn.DE), which has come under pressure from activist investors to break up its businesses, on Tuesday said it would reshuffle its units to drive "independence and autonomy" of its two global divisions. The company will transfer all pharmaceutical activities from its essentials divisions to its specialities arm, while moving water treatment and finished lubricants businesses along with some semi-speciality products in the opposite direction. Brenntag is the latest in a series of old and famous German companies, such as Bayer (BAYGn.DE) and Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE), that have been targeted by activist investors to divest part of their business to improve profitability. It said the "operational and legal disentanglement" of the specialities and essentials divisions would create optionality and make Brenntag ready for next strategic steps by 2026. Reporting by Tristan Veyet and Matteo Allievi in Gdansk; editing by Milla NissiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tristan Veyet, Matteo Allievi, Milla Nissi Organizations: Bayer, Thomson Locations: Gdansk

It forecast an adjusted core loss of 30 million to 40 million Swiss francs ($33.4 million to $44.5 million) in 2023, compared to the previous range of 20-40 million. DocMorris also cut its 2023 external revenue outlook, expecting a high single-digit percentage decline in local currency, from a previously expected mid-single-digit drop. Its external revenue fell by 5.8% to 256 million Swiss francs in the third quarter, below the 262 million francs expected by analysts polled by the company. Redcare Pharmacy (RDC.DE) earlier in October said its third quarter sales rose by two thirds, aided by double-digit growth in sales of non-prescription products. But analysts said DocMorris had weighed on the wider sector and Redcare Pharmacy's shares fell around 3% on Thursday.

Persons: DocMorris, Redcare, Baader Helvea, Pharmacy's, Tristan Veyet, Milla Nissi, Barbara Lewis Organizations: DocMorris, Thomson Locations: Swiss, Germany, Gdansk

☆ Suse drops out of SDAX, Krones to take its place
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Oct 5 (Reuters) - Software provider Suse (SUSEG.DE) is to drop out of the German small-caps index SDAX (.SDAXI) following an announcement by Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE), with packaging and bottling machine maker Krones AG (KRNG.DE) to take its place. The German stock exchange operator said late on Wednesday that Suse no longer met the basic criteria required to remain in the selection indices after its free float dropped below 10%. Last August, private equity firm EQT AB (EQTAB.ST) said it was planning to take Suse private, in a deal to be funded by a special dividend issued by the Frankfurt-listed software company. Suse's stock was down 0.59% at 0707 GMT whereas Krones rose 0.37%. Reporting by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk, Editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tristan Veyet, Rachel More Organizations: Deutsche Boerse, Krones, EQT, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Gdansk

☆ Novartis' Sandoz valued at $11.2 bln in market debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A sign marks the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., June 16, 2021. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 4 (Reuters) - Sandoz (SDZ.S) made its market debut with a lower-than-expected valuation of 10.3 billion Swiss francs ($11.2 billion) on Wednesday, after the generic and biosimilar drugmaker was spun off from Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis (NOVN.S). Deutsche Bank had said Sandoz, which accounted for 11% of Novartis' group operating profit in 2022, would likely be valued at $11-$13 billion, while brokerage Berenberg had forecast $17-$26 billion. The shares, which opened at 24 Swiss francs, became members of the Swiss Performance Index and the Swiss Leader Index, among other stock market gauges, and American depositary receipts also started trading on Wednesday. Novartis shareholders received one Sandoz share for every five Novartis shares they held as part of the transaction.

Persons: Brian Snyder, drugmaker, Sandoz, Berenberg, Vas Narasimhan, Ludwig Burger, Tristan Veyet, Clarence Fernandez, Mark Potter Organizations: Novartis, Research, REUTERS, Sandoz, Analysts, Deutsche Bank, Swiss, Thomson Locations: Cambridge , Massachusetts, U.S, Swiss, generics

☆ European countries who put curbs on Huawei 5G equipment
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The European Union's industry chief Thierry Breton in June urged more EU countries to join the efforts to curb or block Huawei and ZTE equipment from the bloc's 5G telecoms networks. FRANCEFrench authorities in 2020 told telecoms operators planning to buy Huawei 5G equipment that they would not be able to renew licences for the gear once they expire, effectively phasing Huawei out of mobile networks. ITALYWhile Italy has not outright banned Huawei equipment, it prevented telecoms group Fastweb in 2020 from signing a deal for Huawei to supply equipment for its 5G network. LATVIALatvia and the U.S. signed an agreement in 2020 on 5G security aimed at limiting the operations of Chinese companies. SWEDENSweden in 2020 banned telecoms equipment from Huawei and ZTE in its 5G network.

Persons: China's, Thierry Breton, Tristan Veyet, Antonis Pothitos, Laura Lenkiewicz, Milla Nissi, Jan Harvey Organizations: China's Huawei, Huawei, DENMARK Danish, FRANCE French, ZTE, U.S, LITHUANIA Lithuania's, Thomson Locations: Germany, European, BRITAIN Britain, ESTONIA, DENMARK, FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY, Italy, LATVIA Latvia, LITHUANIA, PORTUGAL, ROMANIA, U.S, China, SWEDEN Sweden

☆ Strabag maps out next step to decrease Russian investor's stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Logo of the construction company Strabag is seen at a construction site in front of the Supreme Court in Warsaw, Poland September 13, 2018. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 11 (Reuters) - Austrian construction group Strabag (STRV.VI) set out details on Monday of a planned capital reduction in its latest step aimed at decreasing the stake held by a company belonging to sanctioned Russian shareholder Oleg Deripaska. The move will decrease MKAO Rasperia Trading Limited's stake in Strabag from a current 27.8% to below 25%, ridding the company of its blocking minority, the Austrian firm said. Free reserves will be distributed to existing shareholders, who have the choice between a share option at a ratio of one new share per four already held or a cash option of 9.05 euros per share. Reporting by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk Editing by Miranda Murray and Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kacper, Oleg Deripaska, Strabag, Vladimir Putin, Tristan Veyet, Miranda Murray, Rachel More Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, Strabag, Austrian, Ukraine, Gdansk

☆ Austria's Uniqa and Raiffeisen to sell stake in Raiffeisen Life to Russian insurer
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of the Austrian insurer Uniqa is seen in front of its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 24 (Reuters) - Austria's Uniqa (UNIQ.VI) and Raiffeisen Bank (RBIV.VI) are to sell their stakes in Raiffeisen Life to Russian insurer Renaissance Life, becoming the latest move by Western companies to pare back business in Russia. Uniqa held 75% of Raiffeisen Life and RBI held the remaining 25%. "This means we are withdrawing from Russia," Uniqa's Management Board Member for Customers & Markets International Wolfgang Kindl said in the statement. In the first six months of 2023, Uniqa's technical result in Russia shrank to 5.8 million euros ($6.30 million) from an adjusted 8.5 million euros in the first half of 2022.

Persons: Leonhard Foeger, Uniqa, Wolfgang Kindl, pare, Tristan Veyet, Alexandra Schwarz, Andrey Sychev, David Evans Organizations: Uniqa, REUTERS, Raiffeisen Bank, Customers, Markets, Kremlin, Erste Group, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, Western, pare, Russia, Ukraine, Gdansk

☆ Accor plans to add more than 1,200 hotels
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 27 (Reuters) - Accor (ACCP.PA) plans to open more than 1,200 hotels in the next five years, increasing the number of its resorts by more than one-fifth, Europe's biggest hotel group said on Tuesday. Accor also raised its outlook at its capital markets day, forecasting its 2023 revenue per room (RevPAR) to grow by 15% to 20% amid reorganisation plans that were implemented in January. Accor said it plans to return around 3 billion euros to shareholders in that period via dividends and share buybacks. "We expect a positive share price performance today and we will probably upgrade our recommendation on Accor as the updated mid-term guidance is stronger than expected," said analyst Yi Zhong at AlphaValue. ($1 = 0.9153 euros)Reporting by Tristan Veyet and Gaëlle Sheehan in Gdansk; editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Accor, Sébastien Bazin, Yi Zhong, Tristan Veyet, Gaëlle Sheehan, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: Europe's, Barclays, Thomson Locations: Accor, AlphaValue, Gdansk

☆ Volkswagen, Bosch give up joint venture plans for battery cells
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A Volkswagen logo is seen during the New York International Auto Show, in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., April 5, 2023. REUTERS/David 'Dee' DelgadoMay 4 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and Bosch (ROBG.UL) have cancelled their plans to create a joint venture to equip battery cell factories, Bosch said on Thursday. "We are not setting up a joint venture," Bosch Chief Executive Officer Stefan Hartung said, adding that the partnership with the German carmaker to digitise its battery factories would continue. The joint venture, announced at the beginning of 2022, was designed to deliver battery production systems, as well as assisting battery cell manufacturers in scaling up and maintaining their production sites. "Volkswagen and PowerCo are sticking to their plan to get involved in equipping battery cell factories in the future.

☆ DWS Q1 revenue hit by lower management fees
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 27 (Reuters) - DWS (DWSG.DE) on Thursday posted a fall in adjusted revenue in the first quarter of 2023 as Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) asset management subsidiary cited lower management fees predominantly driven by declining markets in 2022. The company recorded adjusted revenue of 610 million euros ($674.11 million) for the first three months of the year, down 12% year on year. DWS assets under management rose to 841 billion euros during the first quarter, helped by market developments and net inflows. DWS parent company Deutsche Bank posted a better-than-expected 9% rise in first-quarter profit as income from higher interest rates offset a slump in revenues at the investment bank. ($1 = 0.9049 euros)Reporting by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk, Editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vonovia to sell 1 bln eur stake in residential portfolio to Apollo
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 26 (Reuters) - Vonovia (VNAn.DE) has agreed to sell a minority stake in its Suedewo residential portfolio to U.S. investor Apollo for 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion), Germany's largest real estate group said on Thursday. The transaction could have a signal effect on the struggling German real estate market, where hardly any major sales have occurred in recent months in the face of high interest rates and falling real estate prices. The transaction values the Suedewo portfolio in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg at 3.3 billion euros, which is a discount of less than 5% to Suedewo's fair value as of December 31, Vonovia said. With the proceeds, Vonovia will generate around half of the targeted 2 billion euros in free cash flow from asset sales. To secure access to capital amidst the property market crisis, the group earmarked properties worth 13 billion euros for sale in the summer.

☆ Martina Merz seeking to step down as Thyssenkrupp CEO, shares tank
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 24 (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE) Chief Executive Martina Merz, who launched the conglomerate's largest structural overhaul, is seeking to step down, the German industrial group said on Monday, without providing a reason for the move. Shares in the submarines-to-car parts firm plunged after the announcement and were down 9.2% at 1250 GMT. This is challenging, but necessary," Thyssenkrupp Chairman Siegfried Russwurm said. "Martina Merz has taken over a very difficult task at a challenging time and since then has initiated a fundamental change process at Thyssenkrupp with great commitment and expertise," Russwurm said. Reporting by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk, Editing by Friederike HeineOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Europe's biggest meal delivery company expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 275 million euros ($301.6 million) in 2023. It had in January forecast adjusted EBITDA of 225 million euros. Furthermore, the company said it expected its gross transaction value (GTV) growth to be in a range of -4% to +2% year-on-year in 2023. Just Eat Takeaway also said it launched a share buyback programme of up to 150 million euros to be completed by the end of the year, citing an improvement of future earnings per share and covering the company's obligations. Since its IPO in 2016, Just Eat Takeaway's share price lost close to 30% of its original value.

April 13 (Reuters) - Swiss fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan (GIVN.S) on Thursday reported quarterly like-for-like sales slightly above expectations, with price rises helping to offset lower sales volumes in North America. Its first-quarter revenue rose 3.6% to 1.84 billion Swiss francs ($1.97 billion) on a like-for-like basis, beating the 1.80 billion francs expected by analysts in a poll compiled by the company. The sales growth was below Givaudan's mid-term target of between 4% and 5% on average, which it also reiterated. On a reported basis, sales fell 0.4% to 1.77 billion Swiss francs. Givaudan reported a 9.5% drop in like-for-like sales in North America, the only region to record a decline in the quarter.

☆ Givaudan's quarterly sales beat expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 13 (Reuters) - Swiss fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan (GIVN.S) on Thursday reported quarterly like-for-like sales above expectations, saying it started the year with good business momentum while maintaining operations and global supply chain at a high level. Its first-quarter revenue rose 3.6% to 1.84 billion Swiss francs ($1.97 billion) on a like-for-like basis, compared with analysts' average forecast of 1.80 billion francs in a poll compiled by the company. The sales growth was below Givaudan's mid-term target of between 4% and 5% on average, which it also confirmed in the press release. On a reported basis, its sales fell 0.4% to 1.77 billion Swiss francs. Givaudan reported a 9.5% drop in like-for-like sales in North America, the only region to record a decline in the quarter.

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