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☆ Exclusive: EU may pay more for Pfizer COVID shots in return for lower volume
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A Pfizer spokesperson declined to comment on details of the discussions, but said the company has shown ongoing commitment to accommodating EU member state concerns. Most people in the EU who wanted a primary course of the COVID-19 vaccine, and those who were later eligible for boosters, have received them. In May 2021, Brussels signed a contract with Pfizer and BioNTech to buy 900 million doses, with an option for an additional 900 million doses, by the end of 2023. Around half or more of the first 900 million doses from that contract have not yet been delivered because demand dropped last year. That came after EU governments warned Pfizer and other companies that millions of doses could go to waste.

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Jan 19 (Reuters) - BASF (BASFn.DE) investors said that oil and gas business Wintershall Dea's exit from Russia, though painful, clears the way for plans to take it public and for BASF to focus on its chemicals operations. Portfolio manager Arne Rautenberg of mutual fund company Union Investment, among the 10 largest BASF shareholders, welcomed BASF drawing a line. "This step will facilitate an IPO of Wintershall Dea," said Cornelia Zimmermann, a corporate governance specialist at mutual fund group Deka Investment. BASF said last year that the oil and gas company's exposure in Russia was the reason for it to hold off on plans to take Wintershall Dea public. Before the Ukraine war, Russia had accounted for roughly half of WD's global oil and gas output.

Both are legacy issues from Monsanto, which Bayer acquired for more than $60 billion in 2018. Another activist, Elliott, took a 1.1 billion euro stake in Bayer in 2019 but has kept a low profile. The next-generation blood thinner is one of four new drug hopefuls that Bayer said on Tuesday had combined peak sales potential of more than 12 billion euros. That included an improved outlook for kidney drug Kerendia, with potential annual sales now seen at more than 3 billion euros. ($1 = 0.9313 euros)Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

But a new U.S. law offering hefty subsidies to local manufacturers of green technology has given the company pause for thought. That is roughly four times what the German government is offering, he said, with cheaper energy prices in the United States on top. The act introduces tax credits related to investment in green technology, plus tax breaks for consumers buying an electric vehicle or other green product made in North America. German carmakers and suppliers, for which the United States is a main export market, are among its biggest victims. "If we don't do anything, a lot will emerge in the United States," said Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE) Chief Executive Christian Bruch.

☆ Investor Elliott has taken stake in Germany's Fresenius -Bloomberg
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Makiko Yamazaki | David Carnevali | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FRANKFURT, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Elliott Investment Management has taken a stake in Fresenius SE (FREG.DE), seeking to potentially break up the diversified healthcare company, Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying. Fresenius and Elliott were not immediately available for comment. Shares in the company, which is controlled by charitable trust Else Kroener Fresenius-Stiftung, were up 9% at 1202 GMT. Fresenius controls the world's largest dialysis company Fresenius Medical Care (FMEG.DE). Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Ludwig Burger, Patricia Weiss and Hans Seidenstuecker, editing by Kirsti KnolleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German chemical sector employers, union agree wage hikes of 3.25%
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Matthias Inverardi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Germany's chemical and pharmaceutical industry agreed on two wage hikes of 3.25% each for its workers on Tuesday, one for the beginning of 2023 and the other a year later. While trade union IG BCE had not published a specific demand, the industry, which is among those most heavily affected by surging energy costs, managed to keep the wage agreement well below inflation in the region. German public sector unions this month demanded a 10.5% wage increase, or at least 500 euros more per month, over a year for some 2.5 million workers. The larger metal engineering sector is also in negotiations, with the trade union pushing employers to respond to its demand for 8% higher wages. Workers' purchasing power has already taken a hit, with German consumer price inflation at almost 11% in September.

A logo is seen on the facade of the BASF plant in Schweizerhalle near Basel July 7, 2009. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File PhotoFRANKFURT, Oct 12 (Reuters) - BASF (BASFn.DE) is to reduce annual costs by 500 million euros ($485 million) in Europe up to 2024, including job cuts, as the German chemicals group took a 740 million euro writedown linked to the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. BASF cited significantly weaker earnings in Europe due to "deteriorating framework conditions" and a loss in Germany in the third quarter as reasons for the cutbacks. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe group said its third-quarter net income was below market expectations due to the 740 million euro writedown linked to the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. A BASF spokesperson said job cuts would be part of the efficiency drive, declining to give a number.

The annual energy price increase in Germany in August on average was 139%, latest producer price data showed this week. In a BDI survey of 593 businesses, more than a third said their existence was threatened by higher energy prices, up from 23% in February. Industry group VKU has also joined the chorus of concern, warning that local utilities faced insolvency due to high energy prices and possible defaults from their customers. read moreThe head of the German Chemicals Industry Association VCI on Tuesday said rising energy prices were a "huge alarm call" for Germany as a place to do business. He welcomed Buschmann's initiative to relax insolvency rules but added that suspending them outright again would be a "serious mistake".

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