Quick overview of the day's main events:
Bending Spoons to acquire Miro for $1.355 billion
Positron secures $875 million for new AI chips
Constellation acquires Shell's power plant for $715 million
Nasdaq invests $100 million in Payward
ECB raises deposit rate to 2.50 percent
US producer prices rose 5.4 percent year-on-year
Foreign investments
The Italian technology group Bending Spoons has agreed to acquire the platform Miro, which is used for collaboration among corporate teams. The company's valuation reaches $1.355 billion, and its stock value, including net cash, is approximately $1.79 billion. The sellers are the current shareholders of Miro, some of whom will reinvest $295 million of the proceeds into new shares of Bending Spoons. Miro is used by over 250,000 organizations and has annual recurring revenue of approximately $600 million, making this a significant consolidation in the market for work software.
The chip manufacturer Positron AI raised $875 million in an investment round at a valuation of $5 billion. The financing was jointly led by NEA, Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners, Andra Capital, and other investors; the Qatar Investment Authority also participated. The funds will be used to accelerate the completion of the new Asimov chip and the production of Titan systems designed for more energy-efficient operation of artificial intelligence models.
The American energy company Constellation is acquiring a 100 percent stake in the company RISEC Holdings from Shell Energy North America for $715 million. The transaction includes the Rhode Island State Energy Center power plant, with a capacity of 609 megawatts. Constellation will incorporate the facility into its portfolio in New England, where it will support grid stability and electricity supply as consumption grows.
The stock exchange group Nasdaq is investing $100 million in the company Payward, the parent company of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, through its division Nasdaq Ventures. The size of the stake acquired was not disclosed. The companies will also expand their cooperation on Nasdaq Equity Tokens and on oversight of trading. The transaction connects traditional stock market infrastructure with continuously operating digital markets.
Significant events with global impact
The European Central Bank raised all three key interest rates by 0.25 percentage points. The deposit rate rose from 2.25 to 2.50 percent, the main refinancing rate to 2.65 percent, and the marginal lending facility rate to 2.90 percent. According to Reuters, this was the second rate hike this year. The ECB reacted to persistent inflationary pressures caused by higher energy prices and warned that the return of inflation to its two percent target may take longer.
US producer prices rose 5.4 percent year-on-year in August, after a pace of 4.8 percent in July, according to the Department of Labor. The month-over-month increase was 0.4 percent. Core prices, excluding food and energy, increased by 4.6 percent. The data adds to uncertainty ahead of the Federal Reserve's September decision, as higher production costs could translate into consumer prices.
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