Kering revenue €3.57bn as Gucci, Saint Laurent shine
French luxury goods group Kering said its consolidated revenue rose 28.6% on a comparable basis in the first quarter, with comparable sales its Gucci business up 48.3% and…
April 2017
840,000 granted EU citizenship in 2015
Around 840,000 people acquired citizenship of a member state of the European Union in 2015 — down from 890,000 in 2014 and 980,000 in 2013 — according…
BMW profit up 27% to €3bn on revenue of €23.4bn
BMW Group said its profit before tax rose 26.9% to €3.005 billion on revenue up 12.4% to €23.448 billion in its first quarter of the financial year 2017, helped by its Chinese…
May calls for snap UK election on June 8
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has announced plans to call a snap general election on June 8 — having decided she needs to win support for…
Latin America helps Carrefour sales soar to €21.3bn
French supermarket retail giant Carrefour said its sales rose 6.2% to €21.3bn in the first quarter of 2017 as its international operations boosted performance. Carrefour also said…
Shareholders seek to oust AkzoNobel chairman
Dutch paints giant AkzoNobel, which has rejected a $24 billion takeover proposal from Pittsburgh-based rival PPG Industries, said it received a request from shareholders led by Elliott Advisors to…
Pon makes €845m offer for bicycle firm Accell
Dutch bicycle firm Accell Group confirmed it received a roughly €845 million takeover proposal from Pon Holdings and was now having “exploratory discussions” with its Netherlands rival….
Bain Capital, Cinven to buy Stada for €5.3bn
Private equity firms Bain Capital and Cinven won the bidding war for Germany’s Stada on Monday when they agreed to offer a total of €5.3 billion for the…
Deutsche Bank raises €8bn and looks for growth
Deutsche Bank said it raised €8 billion in its latest capital increase as 98.9% of share subscription rights in its rights issue were exercised — with the bank planning to sell…
EU needs ‘counterweight to US capital market machine’
Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan voiced support for a Capital Markets Union in Europe during a panel discussion at the German Banking Congress in Berlin. “It…
VW invests $180m in artificial intelligence JV
Volkswagen and leading Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company Mobvoi have entered a joint venture strategic partnership to develop and implement AI technologies in cars. Volkswagen…
EU’s biggest goods trade partner is US with €610bn
The United States was the European Union’s biggest goods trading partner in 2016 with €610 billion, or 17.7% of total EU trade in goods, according to Eurostat,…
JAB to buy Panera Bread Company for $7.5bn
Luxembourg-based investment group JAB agreed to acquire US bakery and cafe chain Panera Bread Company for $315 per share in cash in a transaction valued at $7.5 billion including…
EU clears ChemChina’s $43bn Syngenta takeover
The European Commission has approved the proposed $43 billion takeover of Swiss pesticide maker Syngenta AG by ChemChina — the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese…
EU unemployment 8% – lowest in eight years
The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 9.5% in February 2017 — the lowest since May 2009 — according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the…
€4bn investments by European Investment Bank
The board of the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Tuesday approved €4.1 billion of new financing for projects including an extension of the Warsaw Metro, upgraded electricity distribution…
EU probes RBS alternative to Williams & Glyn sale
The European Commission said on Tuesday it opened an “in-depth investigation” to assess whether an alternative package proposed by UK authorities “is an appropriate replacement for…
EIB provides €350m loan to TenneT for NordLink
The European Investment Bank (EIB) said it will provide a €350 million loan to TenneT Holding B.V. to finance “NordLink”, the first interconnection between Germany and…