Here's a quick overview of the main events of the day:
Bayer receives €3 billion from Apollo
Niel acquires a stake in Vodafone through e&
Apollo outbids Castlelake for easyJet
Morgan Stanley enters the French waste management sector
MSA Safety completes the acquisition of Autronica
Public Storage finances the acquisition of NSA
The EU is putting pressure on Meta regarding addictive features
Britain is regulating cloud giants in finance
Foreign Investments
German pharmaceutical and agrochemical company Bayer has announced that it will receive €3 billion from funds managed by the Apollo group. This isn't a complete sale, but rather an equity investment into a newly created entity that will house the long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) business. Bayer will retain a majority stake and full operational control. The company says it will use the transaction to improve its capital structure in light of higher liquidity needs due to maturing bonds and legal proceedings.
French entrepreneur Xavier Niel is shaking up the telecommunications market in Europe. His investment vehicle Vega is buying approximately 16.2% of Vodafone from the Emirati group e& for about £4.4 billion, or nearly $6 billion. According to Reuters, Niel will become the largest shareholder in the British operator, which is entering a new phase of restructuring after selling assets in Spain and Italy and merging with Three UK.
A bidding war is underway for easyJet. American investment group Apollo Global Management has offered £5.7 billion for the British low-cost airline, surpassing a previous offer from the fund Castlelake. According to Reuters, easyJet's management preferred the higher offer of £7.15 per share. The significance of this transaction is that one of Europe's leading low-cost carriers could obtain capital for fleet renewal and further growth in its holiday business.
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners is entering the European infrastructure sector, having agreed to acquire a majority stake in the French company Nicollin Environnement. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed, but the target company is one of the major independent players in waste management, urban cleaning, and water services. The company employs approximately 4,800 people, manages about 360 public contracts, and the Nicollin family will remain a co-investor.
American MSA Safety has completed the acquisition of Autronica Fire and Security in a transaction worth approximately $555 million. The acquisition strengthens its offering of fire and gas detection for critical infrastructure, energy, and marine applications. Meanwhile, real estate group Public Storage has priced a senior bond issuance at $900 million, which will help finance the planned acquisition of National Storage Affiliates Trust.
Significant Events with Global Impact
```Regulation of the digital economy has intensified again in Europe. According to its daily overview, the European Commission has preliminarily found that Meta is violating the Digital Services Act with addictive design features in Instagram and Facebook. AP added that the dispute concerns issues such as infinite scrolling and autoplay.
If these findings are confirmed, the company could face a fine of up to six percent of its annual global turnover.
At the same time, Britain will designate Microsoft, Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle as critical third parties for the financial sector from July 13th. According to the British government and the Bank of England, these new powers are intended to reduce the risk that a disruption to a major cloud provider could affect banks, insurance companies, or market infrastructure.
In the markets, nervousness persisted due to oil prices and developments in the Middle East. AP reported that Wall Street was trading mixed, and oil prices fluctuated following unannounced attacks in southern Iran. Brent crude traded around $77 per barrel, while investors were also monitoring risks to the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global trade in oil and gas.
Tradingeconomics.com