BMW uncovering €1bn braking defect after 2-year probe
Cracking the Vault: Your weekly roundup on all things finance
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BMW uncovering €1bn braking defect after two-year probe; former ZKB employee arrested for blackmailing bank with stolen data; European governments selling €16bn in bank shares amid profit rise; UBS maintaining $414bn in Swiss loans post-Credit Suisse acquisition; and ON founders selling $80m in shares as stocks hit record high.
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Table of contents
Markets
Headline recap
Earnings this week
Transaction update
People moves
Podcast picks
Markets
Headline recap
Top stories
BMW took over two years to uncover full scope of braking system defect affecting 1.5m vehicles, expected to cost the company nearly €1bn to rectify (BBG)
Former employee of ZKB among suspects arrested for attempting to blackmail bank using stolen customer data (FN)
European governments sold bank shares worth €16bn, capitalizing on rise in European banks' profits (MM)
UBS commits to maintaining approximately $414bn in loans to Swiss market following acquisition of Credit Suisse (BBG)
Other noteworthy news
Partners Group and BlackRock collaborating to develop private equity investment solution aimed at providing private investors easier access to alternative investments (FuW)
Former SAP technology executive Jürgen Müller faces legal consequences as prosecutors and police have launched an investigation on suspicion of sexual harassment (MM)
Hindenburg Research alleges Swiss authorities are investigating Adani Group for money laundering and have frozen over $310m in funds (BBG)
ON founders and executives sold over $80m worth of shares as company's New York-listed stocks reach an all-time high (TP)
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Earnings
Tuesday: Ferguson
Transaction update
M&A
Major deals
DSV is acquiring Deutsche Bahn's logistics division DB Schenker for €14bn, marking Deutsche Bahn's largest transaction (MM)
Adnoc reportedly preparing formal offer of €14.4bn to acquire German chemical company Covestro (REU, read our deep-dive here)
Italy opens in-depth antitrust probe into Swisscom-Vodafone deal (REU)
Commerzbank preparing for a potential takeover attempt by Italy's Unicredit, with Goldman Sachs providing defensive assistance (FM)
German billionaire Mathias Döpfner and KKR reportedly close to finalizing €13.5bn deal to split up media company Axel Springer (HB)
Swiss firm SoftwareOne explores merger with Norwegian competitor Crayon as Apax Partners considers acquiring both companies (BBG)
Other notable deals
Swedish investor Cevian Capital increases stake in Baloise to 9.4%, pressuring management for strategic realignment and higher dividends (TP)
H.I.G. Capital reportedly investing €50m in Berlin-based property developer Ziegert amid slump in Germany's real estate market (BBG)
Palero Capital acquires Wiedenmann Group, a turf maintenance equipment manufacturer (RD)
Stefan Herzberg aims to revitalize The Body Shop in Germany after its sale, taking over 21 of the former 45 stores (WiWo)
IPO
Springer Nature, a major scientific publisher, plans to go public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by end of 2024 (MM)
SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, operator of ImmoScout24, considering strategic options including an IPO and sale (BBG)
Venture capital
Reverion, a Munich-based startup, raises $62m in Series A funding to scale production of its carbon-negative power plants (HB)
CorFlow Therapeutics raises €44m to advance its microvascular obstruction diagnostic and treatment system (ST)
CPTx, a Munich-based biotech startup spun off from TU Munich, raises $29m from investors led by Blueyard Capital and SPRIND (STU)
TriLite, an Austrian augmented reality startup, extends Series A funding round by €12m with investments from Continental's CVC unit and an undisclosed global electronics supplier (BK)
Lendorse, a Munich-based student loan startup, secures €10m in debt financing from Swiss i2 Group to expand its lending offerings (FWD)
Zurich-based Cerrion raises $5m to expand AI-powered video technology for automating manufacturing processes (MC)
Fundraising & Financing
EnBW considering a €3bn capital increase to support planned €40bn investments by 2030, including expanding hydrogen pipelines (MM)
AMS Osram raises €200m through private placement of senior notes to refinance short-term debt (FuW)
People moves
In November, Zug-based Cinerius Holding appointing Joël Schüepp, an experienced wealth management professional, as new CEO (FN)
Technology company Voith appointed Dirk Hoke as new CEO, who will transition from leading the flying taxi company Volocopter over the next few months (MM)
Podcast picks
Private equity investing with Blackstone’s Joe Baratta (Goldman Sachs Exchanges)
So, About Those 79 Cents . . . (The Ragin' Moderate Podcast)
The World is Different Now (The Macro Trading Floor)
Leading from the inside-out: Why CEOs must make time for self-reflection (The McKinsey Podcast)
Until next time, stay curious!
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