DWS inflatng asset inflows by billions
Cracking the Vault: Your daily roundup on all things finance
Cracking the Vault is your daily news roundup with a focus on Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
VP Bank CEO stepping down; Cartier watch prices surging; new allegations raised against Flatexdegiro chairman; DWS inflated client asset inflows; and EnBW concluding LNG supply contract.
Let’s jump in!
Headline recap
CEO of VP Bank stepping down and COO taking over ad interim (FuW)
Cartier watch prices gain as Rolex, Patek fall on Subdial Index (BBG)
Major shareholder Förtsch raises new accusations against Flatexdegiro's chairman (HB)
Deutsche Bank’s DWS inflated client asset inflows by billions of euros (FT)
EnBW concludes liquefied natural gas supply contract with Adnoc (HB)
Earnings
BMW says costs, low used car prices to weigh on 2024 pre-tax profit (MM)
Munich Re Q1 net profit up 68%, in line with preliminary figures (MM)
Siemens Energy to cut jobs, output to turn around problematic wind unit (BBG)
Fresenius lifts forecast, confirms exit from Vamed business (BBG)
Puma upbeat on growing demand, shares jump 10.1% (REU)
Continental keeps guidance despite weak first quarter (WSJ)
Henkel lifts full-year sales, earnings outlook after good first quarter (ESM)
Transaction update
M&A
Austrian Vamed activities sold to a consortium of the construction companies Porr and Strabag (FM)
Mercedes-Benz considers sale of Daimler Truck shares (MM)
Austria's Raiffeisen drops bid for stake linked to Russian tycoon after US pressure (FT)
Shell to sell Singapore refinery and petchem assets to Chandra Asri and Glencore (REU)
Leica Microsystems, the global manufacturer of high-end cameras and lenses, acquired Lausanne-based startup Viventis (ST)
Equistone-backed Heras acquired BA-KRO, a German installation specialist (MAJ)
Bregal-backed BuildTec acquires majority stake in DigiPara, a German provider of BIM-based elevator design software (MAJ)
Patrimonium and Wille Finance invest in EM Engineering Methods (RD)
Venture capital
Axmed raises $2m from Founderful to streamline drug supply chains in underserved markets (TC)
Cleantech start-up Green-Y Energy raised CHF3m in from existing lead investor Schweizer Kapital Global Impact Fund (ST)
Bankruptcies
Following insolvency of The Body Shop, financial investor Aurelius passed on subsidiaries of the natural cosmetics chain to Friedrich Trautwein, taking over bankrupt companies from Aurelius surprisingly often (WiWo)
Podcast picks
Take-private frenzy heralds return of M&A confidence Down Under (Dealcast: The M&A Podcast)
The Impact of Debt (The Memo by Howard Marks)