1.PAYPAL:-U.S. payments giant PayPal Holdings Inc said it would acquire Japanese buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Paidy in a $2.7 billion largely cash deal, taking another step to claim the top spot in an industry experiencing a pandemic-led boom.
“The acquisition will expand PayPal’s capabilities, distribution and relevance in the domestic payments market in Japan, the third largest ecommerce market in the world, complementing the company’s existing cross-border ecommerce business in the country,” PayPal said in a statement on Tuesday.
Buying Paidy will help PayPal expand in a country where online shopping volume has more than tripled over the last 10 years to some $200 billion, but more than two-thirds of all purchases are still paid for in cash, PayPal said in an investor presentation.
Paidy, with more than 6 million registered users, offers payment services that allow Japanese shoppers to make purchases online, and then pay for them each month at a convenience store or via bank transfer.
2. CREDIT SUISSE: Credit Suisse Group AG on Wednesday named Rafael Lopez Lorenzo as chief compliance officer and Christine Graeff as global head of human resources.
Lopez Lorenzo, current global head of group internal audit, will take over as of Oct. 1 from Thomas Grotzer, who had assumed the role on an interim basis since April, the bank said .
Graeff succeeds Antoinette Poschung, who is retiring.
3. SANOFI--French drugmaker Sanofi said on Wednesday it would buy U.S. biopharmaceutical company Kadmon Holdings for 1.9 billion dollars, one month after announcing the purchase of another US biotech, Translate Bio , for $3.2 billion.
Sanofi said it has offered $9.50 per share in cash for Kadmon, representing a total equity value of approximately $1.9 billion on a fully diluted basis, and that both companies’ boards unanimously approved the transaction.
Sanofi’s price tag represents a 79% premium on Kadmon’s $5.30 closing price on Tuesday.
“The acquisition supports Sanofi’s strategy to continue to grow its general medicines core assets and will immediately add Rezurock (belumosudil) to its transplant portfolio,” the two companies said in a joint statement.
Rezurock, a treatment for adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), was approved in July by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA).
4. FORD: The head of Apple Inc ‘s car project, Doug Field, is going to work for Ford Motor Co to lead the automaker’s advanced technology and embedded systems efforts, a hiring coup for Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley.
Field most recently served as vice president of special projects at Apple and was previously senior vice president, engineering at Tesla. Earlier in his career, Field worked at Ford.
In his new role, Field will report to Farley, leading software and connectivity strategy, and working in partnership with Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product platform and operations officer, Ford said. Thai-Tang oversees the development and design of cars and trucks, as well as supply chain and other operations, Ford said on Tuesday.
The hire of Field and the management structure created to accommodate him underscore the rising importance of software and digital connectivity in the auto industry.
“This is a watershed moment for our company,” Farley said on a call reporters.
Since taking over as Ford CEO last October, Farley has stressed the importance of developing stronger digital services and connections to generate continuing revenue from consumer and commercial customers.
“The entire customer experience of the future goes through the embedded system,” Farley said.
.5. AIRBUS – Airbus delivered 40 jets in August to bring supplies of its new jets to 384 since the start of the year, remaining broadly on course to meet an annual goal of 600 deliveries that would preserve its crown as no.1 aircraft manufacturer.
The European planemaker also sold 269 planes in the first eight months of the year, or 132 after cancellations, company data showed on Tuesday.
Fresh sales included 28 narrowbody jets to Latam Airlines, though South America’s largest carrier simultaneously cancelled an order for two A350-1000 wide-body jets.
On deliveries, which drive most aerospace revenues, Airbus remains well ahead of U.S. rival Boeing Co which is gradually clearing a backlog of undelivered jets following the almost two-year safety grounding of its 737 MAX
However, after a lull caused by the MAX crisis and then the industry-wide impact of COVID-19, Boeing remains ahead in the number of new orders as U.S. carriers renew their fleets.
As of the end of July, Boeing had sold 630 planes or 270 after adjusting for actual and possible cancellations. Orders included more than 524 Boeing 737 MAX by the end of July, compared to Airbus’s Jan-August tally of 234 A320-family jets.
