Here is a selection of announcements that have made (or will make) move the prices of these companies:
(Come back and read us from time to time
so as not to miss an update)
The American investment fund Blackstone (BX, US $ 122.28) on Monday announced the sale of its casino and hotel The Cosmopolitan, located in Las Vegas, Nevada, for US $ 5.65 billion. Blackstone bought the complex, which sits just south of the Bellagio, from German bank Deutsche Bank in 2014 for US $ 1.73 billion. The fund says it has spent more than US $ 500 million, including renovating the hotel’s 3,000 rooms and building new ones. The transaction is divided into two parts: the operations of The Cosmopolitan are sold to the leisure group MGM Resorts for US $ 1.625 billion, while the land ownership will be the subject of a partnership between the funds Cherng Family Trust, Stonepeak Partners and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. Blackstone intends to finalize the operation by the first half of 2022. The hotel industry and casinos, which drain a large portion of Las Vegas’ revenue, have suffered from restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the sector has seen a rebound in recent months. Blackstone assures that “The Cosmopolitan’s recent performance has been stronger than ever and has even reached levels above pre-COVID levels in the second quarter of 2021”.
The British industrial group Rolls Royce (RR.L, £ 147.48), which specializes in aircraft engines, announced on Monday the sale of Spanish engine manufacturer ITP Aero to a consortium led by US fund Bain Capital as part of its restructuring plan. At the head of a consortium comprising the Basque industrialist SAPA and the JB Capital fund, Bain Capital intends to maintain the track record and the workforce of ITP Aero, which will remain a strategic supplier to Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce shares soared 10.34% to 146.20 pence late Monday afternoon on the London Stock Exchange. The Spanish group also supplies components for the engines of the 400M and the Eurofighter combat aircraft. He is also involved in the development of the engine of the future Future Air Combat System (Scaf), with the German MTU and the French Safran, when Rolls-Royce is in charge of the engine design of the competing Tempest program. The sale, which is due to be concluded in the first half of 2022, is part of Rolls-Royce’s strategy to sell activities in order to strengthen its balance sheet, while maintaining its links with its suppliers, says the British engine manufacturer in a press release. ITP Aero achieved in 2020 a turnover of 735 million euros for an operating profit of 40 million. Rolls-Royce also won a contract of up to US $ 2.6 billion on Friday for the supply of engines to the US Air Force’s B-52 bomber fleet. The British manufacturer, which has reduced its workforce by 8,000 employees since the start of the pandemic, returned to profit in the first half, posting a profit of 393 million pounds, thanks to its restructuring and the start of a recovery in the aviation.
The shares of the electric vehicle subsidiary of Evergrande, the Chinese real estate developer in great difficulty, were down sharply on Monday, after the cancellation of a new IPO project. The titles ofEvergrande New Energy Vehicle (0708.HK, $ 2,020 HKD) lost more than 10% on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, falling to 1.95 HKD, after the company announced on Sunday that it was withdrawing from listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. In a statement released on Sunday, Evergrande NEV explained that the cash flow problems of its parent company would have “a negative material impact” on its plans to produce large-scale electric cars. Evergrande NEV acknowledged that “there can be no guarantee that the group will be able to honor its financial commitments”. The subsidiary, which dreamed of competing with the electric vehicles of the American Tesla, very popular in China, has already lost 80% of its value on the stock market since the beginning of the year. The conglomerate for its part somewhat reassured the markets last week by announcing a last-minute agreement with Chinese bondholders. But Evergrande also had to pay interest on a dollar loan, a deadline that passed Thursday without the group announcing whether or not it had made the payment.
www.lesaffaires.com