Bottomline
NEW YORK:
US antitrust regulators on Monday ordered General Electric to divest one of its units in order to win approval for the merger of its oil services business with Baker Hughes.
Without the sale, the proposed merger would threaten competition in the petroleum refining business where the two companies compete vigorously, the Justice Department said.
Both companies supply chemicals to prevent corrosion and damage to petroleum refinery equipment, and the department said the sale of the GE’s water and process technologies business would resolve the competitiveness concerns and allow it to approve the deal with Baker Hughes.
“Competition to provide refinery chemicals and services benefits a vital sector of our economy,” said acting assistant attorney general Andrew Finch of the antitrust division. (AFP)
NEW YORK:
Sears Holdings says it will cut about 400 full-time jobs as part of the troubled retailer’s plan to turn its business around.
The company, which owns the Sears and Kmart chains, says the cuts include some at its corporate offices in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, support functions globally, certain field operations positions and jobs related to store closures. The eliminated jobs represent less than half a percent of the 140,000 full-time and part-time employees it had at the end of January.
Sears Holdings Corp. said Tuesday that the job cuts are part of its previously announced plans to save $1.25 billion in costs a year. The retailer, which has been losing money for years, has been closing stores, selling locations and putting some of its famous brands up for sale. The company is reportedly closing an additional 66 stores by early September. That’s on top of the 150 stores that closed in April. (AFP)
WASHINGTON:
Children’s clothing seller Gymboree Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest sign of traditional retailers’ struggles as shoppers shun stores and buy online.
The San Francisco-based company said it is seeking to reduce its debt load by $900 million, and it expects to operate its business and majority of its 1,300 stores during the restructuring.
Gymboree is the latest retailer this year to file for Chapter 11, close stores or go out of business entirely. Mall-based clothing stores have been especially hard-hit. The owner of brands including Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant, Dress Barn and Justice has said it plans to close at least 250 stores. Ascena said about 400 more will be shut if the company doesn’t get rent concessions. (AP)
LONDON:
US financial technology provider Fiserv said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy British financial services technology firm Monitise Plc for about 70 million pounds ($88.72 million).
AIM-listed Monetise, worth about 2 billion pounds at its peak in early 2014, blazed a trail by linking banks and mobile operators to build a business capable of handling billions of dollars in mobile payments, purchases and money transfers.
But the company, founded in 2003, then faced increased competition from free mobile payment systems offered by the likes of Alphabet Inc and Apple Inc. (RTRS)
LOS ANGELES:
Singaporean media mini-conglomerate MM2 Asia is buying the 50% stake in the Golden Village theater chain currently owned by Australia’s Village Roadshow. It disclosed a price of US$133 million (S$184 million) for half of the company.
Golden Village is Singapore’s leading cinema chain, currently operating 11 multiplexes of different sizes across the city state. It also acts as a distributor, both acquiring some titles and jointly distributing others with Singapore’s independent distributors.
The company was established 25 years ago as a joint venture between Hong Kong’s Golden Harvest and Australia’s Village Roadshow. After the sale, Golden Village will become a joint venture with Orange Sky Golden Harvest, the successor company to Golden Harvest. (RTRS)
LOS ANGELES:
Imax will lay off roughly 100 full-time employees as part of a company-wide effort to rein in costs, Variety has learned.
The pink-slipping will take place across nearly every division, including its finance, marketing, and entertainment arms, as well as staffers in its China subsidiary. The layoffs are taking place on Monday and are expected to result in a one-time impairment charge of approximately $15 million related to severance packages and other costs associated with the job cuts. The move comes as Imax’s stock is languishing after investors have grown concerned about an industrywide box office downturn. Shares in the company are down nearly 30% since last April, hitting their lowest levels in nearly four years. (RTRS)
FRANKFURT AM MAIN:
German airline Lufthansa said Tuesday it would transfer five mammoth Airbus A380 planes from its Frankfurt home base to Munich, as a dispute with airport operator Fraport rumbles on.
“Starting in summer 2018, Lufthansa will introduce the Airbus A380 in Munich on long-haul destinations to Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Beijing,” the firm said in a statement.
Five of the airline’s 14 A380s – the world’s largest airliner – will move to the Bavaria state capital in southern Germany for the first time. (AFP)
BRUSSELS:
The European Commission is seeking a solution for two ailing banks from Italy’s Veneto region that would avoid losses for senior bondholders, a spokesman said on Tuesday, stressing that in any case depositors would not be hit.
Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca are seeking public and private support to avoid a possible liquidation by the end of the month. (RTRS)
JAKARTA:
Indonesia has reached an agreement with Google over payment of taxes, the country’s finance minister said Tuesday, after a long-running dispute with the US tech giant.
The two sides have been locked in a row since last year when the government alleged that the California-based company had refused to cooperate with its tax office.
A senior tax official had claimed the company had not fulfilled its obligations and owed over $400 million in taxes and fines for 2015 alone.
Google insisted it had paid all taxes due in Indonesia since opening its Jakarta office in 2011. (AFP)