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UniCredit $21 Billion Bad-Loan Sale Said to Draw ECB Review

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The European Central Bank is examining UniCredit Spa’s landmark bad-loan sale of 17.7 billion euros ($20.6 billion) to assess if the price the bank reported is inflated by fees that should be stripped out, according to people familiar with the matter. Some of the commissions the Italian bank will pay to the buyers to manage the loans over coming years could affect the price, the people said, asking not to…

Linde Eases Share Tender Requirements to Get Praxair Deal

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Linde AG, seeking to save a planned $41 billion tie up with Praxair Inc. to create the world’s biggest gases supplier, lowered the number of shares its investors need to tender for the deal to go through, after struggling to reach a previous requirement before a looming deadline. The new minimum threshold of 60 percent has to be reached by Nov. 7, the Munich-based company said in a statement on Monday. The previously-agreed condition was…

Merkel Upends United Kingdom Skeptics and Comes to May’s Aid on Brexit

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered Theresa May the political cover she’s been asking for to take further steps in Brexit talks, calling on both sides to move so that a deal can be reached by year-end. The U.K. prime minister, who was upbeat about the prospect of reaching a good deal, offered a shade more clarity on the divorce bill and said negotiating teams would continue to hash out the details. “We’re going…

Bosch May Not Derail VW Dealers’ $4 Billion Defeat Device Suit

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BERLIN (Capital Markets in Africa) – A federal judge was sceptical of Robert Bosch GmbH’s arguments that it shouldn’t have to face racketeering and corruption claims by more than 600 Volkswagen AG dealerships over its role in the emissions-cheating scandal. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco rejected Bosch’s argument that dealers only suffered “contingent and speculative” injuries. The racketeering claims could result in triple damages — as much as $4 billion — if the dealers can prove Bosch…

Online Fashion Retailer Zalando Warns It May Have Had Loss

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BERLIN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zalando SE, Europe’s largest online retailer, warned it may have become unprofitable in the third quarter after spending more to gain market share as Amazon.com Inc. encroaches into its territory. Zalando may have had a loss before interest and taxes of as much as 5 million euros ($6 million) on an adjusted basis, according to a preliminary calculation, the Berlin-based company said Wednesday. The company gave a range for results where the top end…

Merkel Faces `Divided’ Germany as Talks on Coalition Begin

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BERLIN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angela Merkel is facing pressure to put her stamp on Germany’s next government as the chancellor begins talks on uniting four disparate parties into a coalition to govern Europe’s biggest economy. Almost a month after her Christian Democratic-led bloc emerged weakened from a national election, Merkel meets separately with the pro-market Free Democratic Party and the Greens on Wednesday to sound out the potential for a pact on cabinet posts and policy….

U.S. Treasury Keeps Currency Spotlight on Swiss, Germans

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BERLIN (Capital Markets in Africa) – The U.S. Treasury once again singled out Switzerland and Germany for the value of their currencies and exports, suggesting the former could cut interest rates further to alleviate deflationary pressures. While the department said no major trading partner was manipulating its currency to gain an advantage, it kept the two on the list of countries it considers to have a big trade surplus with the U.S., a high current-account surplus or to…

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