The $10 mn bag: Original Birkin smashes records at Paris auction
Paris, France -- The first-ever Birkin bag designed by French luxury brand Hermes for celebrity Jane Birkin sold for 8.58...
Arts & Culture
SAIB profit jumps 17% in 2023
Business
AD Ports Group, KPT ink pact
Business
Aldar nets $953m in sales at Fahid
Aldar said 42 percent of the buyers are under the age of 45.
Geostrategy
GSK profit in 2023 falls
Business
TECOM Group net profit up 49%
Business
Business
Amazon to pour US$4bn into Anthropic
Its investment will heat up the race for dominance in AI.
- As part of the deal, Anthropic will use Amazon's chips and its cloud services -- the data cen that store and process data on a vast scale -- for "mission critical workloads"
- The deal intensifies competition between Amazon and Google, which had earlier opened its cloud services to Anthropic and invested $300 million to acquire 10 percent of the company
Business
Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard makes popular games like "Call of Duty".
- The transaction faced scrutiny from regulators in the United States as well as Britain, where the CMA blocked a similar deal in April.
- Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said the UK regulator's announcement was "a significant milestone for the merger".
Business
ADIB completes $750m sukuk redemption
The sukuk, issued on Sept 20, 2018, carried profit rate of 7.125%.
- ADIB redeemed them at the trustee call amount, equivalent to the prevailing face value of the certificates along with any outstanding payments as of September 20, 2023.
- Earlier in July 2023, ADIB had successfully raised an additional $750 million through the issuance of new additional tier-one (AT1) perpetual sukuk.
Business
Cisco buys Splunk for US$28bn
Splunk is a software platform that uses AI to identify malware.
- Cisco will pay a premium of $157 per share, up from the $120 Splunk traded at before the announcement.
- According to the company's website, Splunk was founded in 2003 and holds over 1,100 patents.
Business
Securiguard Middle East renews contract
Firm won $109 million contract extending over four years.
- The contract can be extended for an additional two years in the event of satisfactory service.
- The firm will deploy a team of over 2,000 experienced and qualified guards across Abu Dhabi.
Business
MODON inks $133 m pact
The pact will help manufacture vaccines in Saudi Arabia.
- MODON and Vaccine Industrial Company will set up a joint venture factory in Sadeer City to strengthen the pharmaceutical security system.
- It is in line with MODON's strategy to create an integrated industrial and investment community to attract national and foreign investor partners.
Business
Aramco, Cenomi see 4 negotiated deals
The $32.81 million deals were registered by Tadawul.
- A negotiated deal involves a stock purchase based on a bargain between buyers and sellers, apart from the market price.
- The negotiated deal does not directly impact the last deal price, highest/lowest stock price and opening/closing price.
Business
stc’s acquisition of Telefonica stake okayed
Spain's Securities Market Regulatory Authority cleared the deal.
- Morgan Stanley, which advises on the deal from the buyer's side, accumulated a little less than 3 percent of Telefonica’s capital during an unspecified period of time.
- Media reports said that stc announced recently it acquired a 9.9 percent stake in Telefonica for SAR 8.5 billion (2.1 billion euros).
Business
DAE closes $1.6 billion loan
DAE said this is the company's largest ever loan facility.
- The facility enabled DAE to tap the Islamic banking liquidity and consolidate its existing banking relationships in the Middle East, Asia, North America, and Europe, it said.
- Proceeds from the facilities will support the future financing needs of the business and refinance a maturing credit facility.
Business
EIH buys stake in Al Ain Pharmacy
Move aligns with EIH's aim to diversify sources of investment.
- The acquisition is vital for EIH as it seeks to strengthen its investment in healthcare through its subsidiary Health Plus Holding.
- The move will help provide additional and sustainable value to investors and achieve the maximum return on investment.
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The $10 mn bag: Original Birkin smashes records at Paris auction
Paris, France -- The first-ever Birkin bag designed by French luxury brand Hermes for celebrity Jane Birkin sold for 8.58...
Arts & Culture
Company News
SAIB profit jumps 17% in 2023
Business
AD Ports Group, KPT ink pact
Business
Latest News
GSK profit in 2023 falls
Business
Chevron $53bn Hess deal in danger
Rivals' challenge to the control of a key oil asset can derail the acquisition.
Business
Most Read
US downs three Houthi drones, strikes anti-ship missiles
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting shipping for months and their attacks have persisted despite repeated American and British strikes...
- CENTCOM said US forces destroyed "seven Iranian-backed Houthi mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that were prepared to launch towards the Red Sea."
- US Central Command said those strikes , carried out between 12:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Sanaa time, were made in self-defense
Business
Lloyds Group profit is $6.2bn
High interest rates benefitted the British lender and banking sector as a whole.
- "The group delivered a robust financial performance in 2023, meeting our guidance," said chief executive Charlie Nunn
- Banks in the UK and elsewhere are gaining from higher interest rates as central banks, including the Bank of England
Business
Rolls-Royce back into profit
The engine maker swung to profit of $3bn from a loss of $1.64bn in 2022.
- Shares in Rolls soared almost ten percent in afternoon trading, topping London's benchmark FTSE 100 index
- Its share price more than trebled last year but at the end of 2023 it was still only up 6.5 percent over the previous five years.