Discovery gets green light for WarnerMedia deal from EU competition watchdog Media M&A Discovery today announced that the European Commission has granted unconditional antitrust approval to its proposed acquisition of WarnerMedia assets from telecoms giant AT&T. “Approval from the European Commission is a key milestone toward completing our proposed transaction with AT&T,” said Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav – the future CEO of the combined company. “Today [...]
British biotech payday: Syncona sells portfolio startup Gyroscope to Novartis for £1.1bn Life sciences Shares in life sciences investor Syncona closed 5.5 per cent higher today after it announced the sale of its London-based gene therapy portfolio company Gyroscope Therapeutics to Novartis for up to £1.1bn. In one of the UK biotech industry’s biggest cash exits to date, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis will pay £604m now for Gyroscope, and [...]
Credit Suisse sacks staff with links to Greensill funds after review into collapse Greensill Capital Credit Suisse has fired staff and imposed “severe” financial penalties on various individuals, as the bank investigates the failings that led to the collapse of its Greensill-linked supply chain finance funds. The Swiss banking giant commissioned the investigation after its asset management division had to suspend a $10bn range of supply chain finance funds that [...]
SEC rejects Apple’s bid to block three activist shareholder proposals at next AGM December 22, 2021 The US financial watchdog has denied Apple its bid to block three activist shareholder proposals calling for the tech giant to explain allegations of forced labour in its supply chain, its use of non-disclosure agreements, and the deletion of some apps from the App Store in China. Now that the US Securities and Exchange Commission [...]
UK buys 4.25m more Merck and Pfizer Covid pills to ramp up Omicron defences December 22, 2021 The UK health department has fast-tracked two new deals with Merck and Pfizer to secure an additional 4.25m courses of their anti-Covid pills as it lines up defences for the NHS ahead of an expected winter wave of the new Omicron variant. In the deals announced today, the government has secured 1.75m additional courses of [...]
Cash-stripped SoftBank turns to Apollo-led group for $4bn loan December 21, 2021 Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is turning to a group of investors led by private equity giant Apollo Global Management for a $4bn loan as it scrambles to recover its cash on hand after a series of portfolio setbacks. A group including Apollo, SoftBank’s insurance affiliate Athene Holding, and other investors including financial institutions, mutual funds and [...]
Rio Tinto acquires $825m Argentine lithium project after Serbia plans blocked December 21, 2021 Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto today announced it has agreed to buy the $825m Rincon lithium project in Argentina from Rincon Mining, in an effort to keep the momentum going for its push into battery materials as a way to future-proof for the transition to net zero. The world’s second-largest miner said it has purchased the lithium [...]
FDA set to give both Pfizer and Merck Covid pills the green light this week December 21, 2021 The US Food and Drug Administration is poised to authorise two pills developed by Pfizer and Merck for the treatment of Covid as early as Wednesday this week. Continuing a trend for rapid drugs innovation in the fight against Covid this year, the US watchdog is set to announce the authorisation of the new pills [...]
Boris Johnson rules out any further restrictions before Christmas December 21, 2021 The Prime Minister has confirmed that the government will not introduce any further Covid restrictions in England before Christmas, but cautioned that the situation remains “finely balanced” thereafter. In a video posted on Twitter from Downing Street, Boris Johnson delivered a message ensuring “people can go ahead with their Christmas plans” and said that the [...]
ING quits French retail banking market in strategic overhaul December 21, 2021 Dutch financial services company ING today announced it is ditching its French retail banking business, in a move that could jeopardise the jobs of its 460 employees, who were also informed of the move today. “A social plan concerning our 460 employees affected has been agreed on with local unions,” the group said in a [...]
