Quick overview of the day’s main events:
Microsoft backs Mistral’s European infrastructure
Samsung discusses investment in Mistral
Intersnack buys Utz for $2.9 billion
Mavis takes over Pep Boys for $700 million
Horace Mann buys Medical Mutual assets
Mark Foods acquires Endeavor Seafood
Trump prepares new tariffs on dozens of countries
Chips lifted Wall Street after previous sell-off
Foreign investment
U.S. technology company Microsoft is expanding its strategic partnership with French start-up Mistral. According to Reuters, Microsoft has committed to spending billions of dollars on the use of Mistral’s European computing infrastructure, without taking a new equity stake. The agreement is intended to strengthen European artificial intelligence capacity and bring the Mistral Medium 3.5 and OCR 4 models into Microsoft Foundry and Copilot Studio. The deal is significant because of growing demand from companies and regulated industries for so-called sovereign AI.
Other major investors are also interested in Mistral. The Financial Times, cited by Reuters, reported that South Korea’s Samsung is in talks to invest hundreds of millions of euros, possibly up to one billion euros, in a funding round that could value the French AI company at around 20 billion euros. The EQT Scaleup Europe Fund is also expected to take part in the talks.
In the food sector, Germany’s Intersnack Group announced the acquisition of U.S. salty snack maker Utz Brands. According to the company’s announcement, Intersnack will pay $14.25 per share in cash, representing a premium of about 91 percent to the closing price on July 20 and giving the deal an enterprise value of approximately $2.9 billion. After the transaction is completed, Intersnack and the Rice and Lissette families are expected to own Utz jointly on a 50:50 basis, giving the German producer a major foothold in the U.S. snack market.
The U.S. auto service market is heading for further consolidation. Mavis Tire Express Services has agreed with Icahn Enterprises to buy the Pep Boys chain for about $700 million in cash. Icahn Enterprises will retain the company’s owned real estate, as well as the AAMCO Transmissions and Precision Tune Auto Care businesses. Pep Boys operates nearly 800 locations, and after the merger the Mavis network is expected to grow to more than 4,400 service centers across the United States and Canada.
In financial and insurance services, Horace Mann announced two agreements with Medical Mutual of Ohio. For around $240 million, it will acquire employee assistance provider Employee Services and the individual supplemental insurance platform Reserve National Insurance Company. The transactions are expected to add nearly $200 million in annual revenue and more than one million covered clients.
Acquisitions are also continuing in food supply chains. Mark Foods acquired Endeavor Seafood, a Rhode Island-based importer and trader of frozen seafood products. The price was not disclosed, but the company said that after an earlier capital investment in 2021 it is now fully integrating the business into its own operations.
Major events with global impact
Global trade is watching a new tariff wave from the United States. The Financial Times, cited by Reuters, reported that President Donald Trump is preparing to announce new tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, as the temporary 10 percent duty currently applied to a broad range of imports expires on Friday. According to the FT, the nearest-term rates are expected to remain roughly at the current 10 percent level, while the administration is also looking for legal routes to impose higher tariffs.
Financial markets have so far partly pushed tariff and geopolitical risks aside. According to Reuters, Wall Street rose on July 21, with the Nasdaq gaining 1.29 percent and the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index rising 5.2 percent after a previous decline. Investors were focused mainly on the technology earnings season and on whether capital spending on AI will continue to support revenue growth among chipmakers.
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