Assassination attempt on Rheinmetall CEO
Cracking the Vault: Your weekly roundup on all things finance
Good morning and happy Monday.
US and Germany foiling alleged Russian plot to kill Rheinmetall CEO over Ukraine weapons; auditor BDO sued amid claims Signa's insolvency was missed; Migros tapping banks for $1bn asset sale; problems mounting at Aleph Alpha as outdated models cause key departures; Deutsche Bank settling €500m claim from Spanish hotel chain; and BASF closing two more plants due to rising energy costs and pressure.
Let’s jump in!
Table of contents
Markets
Headline recap
Earnings this week
Transaction update
People moves
Macro perspective
Podcast picks
Markets
Headline recap
Top stories
US, Germany foil alleged Russian plot to assassinate CEO of German arms firm Rheinmetall sending weapons to Ukraine (CNBC)
Auditor BDO being sued amid fierce accusations that Signa could have faced insolvency much earlier had BDO conducted a proper audit (FM)
Migros taps banks for $1bn asset sale, picking Alantra for the sale of Mibelle Group and Houlihan Lokey to help with Hotelplan (BBG)
Problems mounting at German AI start-up Aleph Alpha, as their outdated language models have fallen far behind the competition, leading to key managers leaving (MM)
Chaos at power exchange in late June cost many companies millions, with total damages estimated to reach €350m (HB)
Deutsche Bank resolved a €500m claim from Spanish hotel chain over losses suffered on foreign-exchange derivatives sold by the lender (HB)
Chemical giant BASF suffering from increased energy prices and cost pressure, closing two more production plants (MM)
Other noteworthy news
US judge dismissed a $750m lawsuit accusing Volkswagen of unfair business practices, the latest ruling in a long clash between the German vehicle maker and automotive parts supplier Prevent USA (REU)
Porsche’s deliveries declined 7% in the first half of the year as the German manufacturer introduced a number of new models and demand in China softened further (MM)
Germany will remove Huawei components from the country’s 5G mobile networks by the end of 2029 for national security reasons (WSJ)
Delivery Hero faces a higher fine than previously expected due to alleged violations of EU antitrust law (MM)
Industrial-technology company ABB took unusual step of decentralizing corporate venture investment among its 19 divisions (WSJ)
Bavarian Baywa Group, billions in debt and recently in the red, is now relying on a restructuring report commissioned by the board (HB)
BMW extending lead over German rivals in shift to EVs with a jump in the second quarter as Mercedes-Benz and Audi struggled (BBG)
Consumer goods company Unilever, having already announced cost-saving measures, is now making concrete plans to cut over 3,000 positions of its office jobs in Europe (MM)
German bank Solaris faces financial penalties if it doesn’t meet deadlines for fixing controls, after failing to do so for years (BBG)
Department store Manor returning to Zurich's city center and will occupy three floors of the former Jelmoli building belonging to Swiss Prime Site (FN)
Earnings
Tuesday: DKSH, Telecom Austria
Thursday: ABB, Bawag, Georg Fischer, Novartis, SFS, VAT
Friday: Sartorius, Schindler
Transaction update
M&A
Major deals
KKR and Axel Springer said to be negotiating a split-up of the media group (FM)
FNB Private Equity buys Nestlé’s baby food assets in France, including NaturNes, Babicao, Babivanille brands and the P'tit franchises (PEH)
Capri-Sun, the maker of juice drink pouches, is exploring the sale of a minority stake (BBG)
Cinven-backed German life insurance consolidator firm Viridium Group attracting early interest from suitors including Apollo’s affiliate Athora and Blackstone-backed Resolution Life (BBG)
MSC's entry into HHLA drawing closer, as the Hamburg parliament approved controversial deal in the first reading (MM)
German listed SNP Schneider-Neureither and its controlling shareholder are exploring a potential sale after the German software provider received initial takeover interest (BBG)
Other notable deals
At AVM, the manufacturer of Fritz!Box, the founders and managing partners ensure succession with the takeover by Imker Capital Partners (NW)
Aurea Holding reportedly in exclusive talks to buy The Body Shop from Aurelius out of administration, following a successful bid in the auction process (GCN)
Credit Agricole in advanced talks to buy Societe Generale-owned Hanseatic Bank in a potential deal that would value the German consumer-finance business at around €600m (MS)
French specialist in outdoor and garden furniture, Peugeot Frères, made binding offer to acquire Lafuma Mobilier from Calida (FuW)
TowerBrook Capital Partners to acquire a majority stake in Swiss frozen food specialist IDAK Food Group from Invision and Nord Holding (RD)
Germany’s Katjes Group becoming majority shareholder in local organic muesli maker Mymuesli, upping its stake to around 56% via venture-capital leg Katjesgreenfood (JF)
Pictet snaps up Technology Services Group, a managed IT services provider in the UK (PEH)
Product testing group SGS makes an acquisition in France and acquires the Institut d'Expertise Clinique (IEC), a research institute active in the field of cosmetics (FuW)
Revizto, a Lausanne-based company specializing in collaboration solutions for architects and construction, received a minority investment from Summit Partners (FS)
Venture capital
German AI start-up Helsing raised fresh capital of €450m from investors at a valuation of €5bn (HB)
SciRhom secures €63m Series A financing round to accelerate iRhom2-targeting Therapies in autoimmune diseases, co-led by Andera Partners, Kurma Partners, Hadean Ventures, MIG Capital, and Wellington Partners (MAJ)
Hero Software, a SaaS company for craft businesses, successfully completed a Series B funding round of €40m, led by Eight Roads Ventures (EUS)
Exein, an embedded IoT cybersecurity company, raised €15m in a Series B funding round, led by 33N, an investor specializing in cybersecurity and infrastructure software (MAJ)
HepaRegeniX raises €15m in a Series C round for the clinical development of HRX-215 for liver regeneration, led by Vesalius Biocapital (MAJ)
Berlin-based brokerage-as-a-service platform lemon.markets completed a funding round of €12m, with CommerzVentures as the lead investor (FFN)
Cologne-based startup epilot received €10m in funding from Expedition Growth Capital to further develop its platform to support the energy transition (EUS)
Fundraising & Financing
Landlord Peach Property weighing options to raise fresh cash, as specialist in German residential properties prepares to address a €300m bond maturity due next year (BBG)
German lower midmarket investor Sophora closed inaugural fund at hardcap of €50m (RD)
VC fund BOOOM completed its initial fundraising of €17m, planning to invest in European B2B software startups (SFT)
Bankruptcies
Big City Beats from Beyond Capital Partners is insolvent (FM)
Postfinance quietly shutting down Valuu, its mortgage platform intended to become Switzerland's largest, after substantial investment ended in failure (NZZ)
People moves
Partners Group appointed Michael Marquardt, Partner and head of business services, to the firm's executive team (FN)
Patrick Prinz named new head of the Swiss market at Julius Bär (FN)
Timo Weber expected to become new CEO of the KaDeWe Group, recently acquired by Thai Central Group (MM)
Regine Wiedmann new head of distribution for DACH region at Edmond de Rothschild asset management (FN)
Mediobanca returning to Germany looking to ramp up investment banking with ex-Alantra boss Schmerlthe in the lead (FM)
Macro perspective
Switzerland applied to join the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) air defence scheme at a time of heightened anxiety over security (REU)
German inflation confirmed at 2.5% in June (REU)
Germany needs investments of around €300bn by 2050 to equip power grids for decarbonization (REU)
China significantly increased global exports in June, but imports from other countries declined, with imports from Germany experiencing a sharp drop (MM)
Podcast picks
F1’s American test drive (Behind the Money)
The Jonathan Haidt Interview (All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg)
VW und das Fünf-Milliarden-Joint-Venture mit Rivian: Guter Deal oder riskantes Investment? (Handelsblatt Deals - der M&A Podcast)
Until next week, stay curious!
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