Lidl entering cloud and cybersecurity business
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.
Lidl launching cloud & cybersecurity offering; Unzer expanding mobile checkout to Austria; Get Your Guide ramping up US ads; BNP considering Geneva job cuts; and Swiss voters supporting healthcare cost limits.
Let’s jump in!
Headline recap
Lidl and Kaufland Group to attack tech companies with own cloud and cybersecurity offering (MM)
Fintech Unzer launches mobile checkout solutions in Austria (FWD)
Swiss start-up Get Your Guide investing millions in TV commercials in the US (TA)
Watch manufacturer Omega to invest up to CHF30m in Biel Campus (HZ)
BNP weighing up to 150 job cuts in Geneva to slash costs (BBG)
Poland probes state oil group’s Swiss subsidiary Orlen Trading for alleged Hizbollah links (FT)
Swiss voters set to back limits for health-care costs, poll shows (BBG)
Berlin pioneers new market for urban solar power (BBG)
Bonus: AI engineers report burnout and rushed rollouts as ‘rat race’ to stay competitive hits tech industry (CNBC)
Earnings
Upcoming:
Tuesday: UBS, Siemens Helthineers, Deutsche Post, Infineon, Heidelberg Cement, Geberit, Fresenius Medical Care, Adecco
Wednesday: BMW, Munich RE, Fresenius, Siemens Energy, Verbund, Continental, Henkel, Puma
Transaction update
M&A
Julius Bär sells Italian subsidiary Kairos to Milan-based Anima Holding (FuW)
Financial investors squeeze out minority shareholders at Aareal Bank (MM)
Glencore-backed group said near deal for Shell Singapore assets (BBG)
Berlin-based Tier sold rental bike provider Nextbike to the British investor Star Capital (NAU)
Food supplement Bio-Strath purchased from Ebi-Pharm, a Swiss company specializing in the distribution of health products (TA)
German government looking into Raiffeisen-Strabag deal (REU)
Venture capital
British investor Chrysalis writing down stake in insurtech Wefox by a third (HB)
Lausanne-based startup Testmate Health raised $6m, led by RH Capital (ST)
Bankruptcies
Outdoor retailer McTrek is being liquidated (WiWo)
Podcast picks
We turned $5m into $419m buying cashflow businesses ft. Jeremy Giffon (My First Million)
CrunchLabs w Mark Rober (How I Built This with Guy Raz)