【ROYAL DUTCH SHELL】
Ferrari and Shell Extend Partnership Till 2030
Ferrari and Shell who have been associated since 1929 have extended their partnership till 2030, meaning they will be partners for over 100 years when this new contract ends.
'The relationship between Scuderia Ferrari and Shell dates back to 1929, the year our team was founded,' said Mattia Binotto, Ferrari Managing Director and team principal.
'In that time we have produced so many victories together. We are delighted therefore that our collaboration is now set to go on even longer.' The partnership has resulted in 10 constructors’ F1 World Championships and 12 drivers’ titles.
【SAUDI ARAMCO】
Apollo, GIP Bid for $10 Billion Aramco Pipeline Stake
Apollo Global Management Inc. and Global Infrastructure Partners are among suitors that bid for a roughly $10 billion stake in Saudi Aramco’s oil pipelines, people familiar with the matter said.
Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc., BlackRock Inc., sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. and Beijing-backed Silk Road Fund Co. have also made non-binding offers, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Pension funds in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia have separately submitted initial bids, the people said.
Aramco is studying the proposals before deciding which companies will be invited to make binding offers, the people said. Bidders may team up later in the process, the people said. Some prominent family-owned groups in Saudi Arabia are also considering partnering with other investors, according to the people.
【AMAZON】
SpaceX’s Elon Musk and Amazon’s Project Kuiper stir up a war of words over satellites
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Amazon’s Project Kuiper escalated a different kind of Star Wars today, over the orbital parameters for their rival satellite constellations.
Musk complained that Amazon’s protest would “hamstring” SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites, while Amazon replied that SpaceX was seeking to “smother competition in the cradle if it can.”
It’s just the latest space spat between the world’s two richest individuals, pitting Musk against Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Starlink, which is currently operating on a beta-trial basis, and Amazon’s yet-to-be launched Project Kuiper constellation both seek to make global broadband internet access available to billions of people who are currently underserved — as well as to specialized markets ranging from military communications to cloud computing.
【TOYOTA MOTOR】
Toyota Myanmar's new plant delayed in operation Impact of coup d'etat
Following a coup d'etat in Myanmar, Toyota Motor Corp. announced that it would delay the start of operations of its new local plant, which was originally scheduled for February.
A military coup is affecting local business activities.
Toyota Motor decided to build a new factory in Myanmar, where the new car market was growing rapidly, and planned to start operation of the factory and assemble pickup trucks by the end of this month.
【EXXON MOBIL】
ExxonMobil To Sell U.K. Upstream Central And Northern North Sea Assets To HitecVision
ExxonMobil said Wednesday that it agreed to sell most of its non-operated upstream assets in the United Kingdom central and northern North Sea to HitecVision for more than $1 billion. The sale price has additional upside of about $300 million in contingent payments based on potential for increase in commodity prices.
The agreement includes ownership interests in 14 producing fields operated primarily by Shell, including Penguins, Starling, Fram, the Gannet Cluster and Shearwater; Elgin Franklin fields operated by Total; and interests in the associated infrastructure. ExxonMobil's share of production from these fields was approximately 38,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day in 2019.
ExxonMobil said it will retain its non-operated share in upstream assets in the southern North Sea, and its share in the Shell Esso gas and liquids (SEGAL) infrastructure that supplies ethane to the company's Fife ethylene plant.
ExxonMobil expects to close the sale by the middle of 2021.
【APPLE】
Apple's First Retail Store to Sit on Water Opening in Singapore
Apple has a number of iconic retail store designs, with New York's Fifth Avenue store probably being the most well known. Singapore is set to get the next unique Apple Store, though, both in design and location.
As The Straits Times reports, Apple has confirmed that the Marina Bay Sands store is set to open in the very near future, with a statement from the company explaining why it's set to be so unique, 'Apple Marina Bay Sands is coming soon to Singapore, celebrating the first Apple store in the world that sits on the water.'
【AT&T】
AT&T to spin off troubled satellite TV unit DirecTV
AT&T is spinning off its troubled DirecTV service into a new company with TPG Capital.
The Dallas communications giant and TPG Capital announced Thursday that they planned to establish a new company, which will be called DirecTV and contain all of AT&T's U.S.-based pay-TV subscription businesses: DirecTV, AT&T TV and U-Verse. Six years ago, AT&T boasted 25 million pay-TV customers. Today, there are about 17 million.
AT&T will own 70% of the new entity, and TPG will pay $1.8 billion for its 30% stake in the company. The new venture will be valued at $16.25 billion, including debt — a fraction of what AT&T paid six years ago for the El Segundo satellite TV giant.
【ALPHABET】
Alphabet-backed Oscar Health eyes as much as $6.7 bln IPO valuation
Adds details on IPO, background on telehealth demand
Feb 22 (Reuters) - Oscar Health, a health insurance start-up backed by Google parent Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O, will raise as much as $1.05 billion in its initial public offering, according to a regulatory filings on Monday.
The offering is expected to be priced between $32 and $34 per share, valuing the company at $6.7 billion at the upper end of the pricing range.
The company, founded in 2012, allows patients to schedule physician visits, check lab results, make emergency virtual appointments and refill prescriptions through its mobile app or online platform.
【MICROSOFT】
Microsoft Reportedly Holding a ‘What’s New for Gaming’ Event on March 23rd
Renowned Microsoft insider Paul Thurrott revealed in a tweet that the Xbox company will hold a 'What's New for Gaming' event on March 23rd.
Thurrott didn't really follow up with any information on what kind of announcements might be featured in this event. However, this lines up with rumors from Jeff Grubb that Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda could be unveiled (unless this lawsuit holds it back) with a major event happening in the latter half of March.
Beyond the Bethesda news, here's a recap of what Microsoft has in the works at its Xbox Game Studios and could make an appearance at this upcoming event.
【MARATHON PETROLEUM】
Marathon Restarting CDU, VCU, and FCCU at Galveston Bay Refinery
Marathon Petroleum Corp began restarting a crude distillation unit (CDU) at its 585,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, as the refinery recovers from the effects of severe cold weather a week ago, said sources familiar with plant operations.
In addition to the 225,000-barrel-per-day CDU, Marathon is also restarting a 112,500-bpd vacuum distillation unit (VDU) and the 140,000-bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker (FCC).
Marathon spokesman Jamal Kheiry declined comment on Monday.
CDUs break down crude oil into hydrocarbon feedstocks for all other production units at the refinery. The VDU, which is paired with the CDU, refines at vacuum pressure residual crude oil from the CDU, which operates at atmospheric pressure.
【PHILLIPS 66】
Phillips 66 and Faradion Developing Sodium-ion Battery Materials
Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) and Faradion, one of the U.K.-based companies behind the first demonstration of a sodium-ion powered vehicle, have launched a technical collaboration to develop lower-cost and higher-performing anode materials for sodium-ion batteries.
Sodium-ion battery technology has an inherent advantage over other power-storage technologies because it uses low-cost materials that are sustainable and widely available. Carbon is the preferred anode material for the batteries, and the collaboration is expected to leverage Phillips 66’s experience developing specialty carbon materials and Faradion’s work as a leader in sodium-ion battery technology.
【ASSICURAZIONI GENERALI】
Generali launches Fenice 190, a five-year € 3.5 billion plan to support the sustainable recovery in Europe and the real economy
Fenice 190 is the initiative to launch the 190th anniversary of Assicurazioni Generali, founded in Trieste in 1831
Over € 1 billion has already been allocated through 10 investment funds focused on infrastructure, innovation and digitalization, SMEs, green housing, health care facilities and education
The initiatives planned to celebrate the 190th anniversary include the opening
of the Procuratie Vecchie in Venice to the public for the first time in 500 years as it becomes the global hub of The Human Safety Net
The first edition of EnterPrize, dedicated to the most sustainable SMEs, will be launched.
【DEUTSCHE TELEKOM】
Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson partner on renewable energy for mobile sites
Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson test autonomous energy supply for mobile sites aimed at reducing carbon footprint and saving energy costs.
In a German village about 100 miles north of Munich, Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson are pioneering the use of solar energy for mobile broadband sites. The use of renewable energy is increasing in sectors across Germany, but solar modules have not yet been used to power commercial mobile broadband sites. Through the joint initiative, the two companies want to show that independent energy supply for mobile phone sites with solar power is possible.
As part of the project, small solar modules – with a total surface area of about 12 m2 (129 ft2) - were erected at a Deutsche Telekom mobile site in Dittenheim. The Ericsson Power System is handling maximum power point tracking (MPP) as well as the necessary voltage conversion. The solution also includes integration of the solar solutions into the same management system that also controls the Radio Access Network (RAN).
【AVIVA】
Aviva To Sell French Business To Aéma Groupe For EUR 3.2 Bln
Aviva plc (AV.L, AV) said Tuesday that it agreed to sell its French business to Aéma Groupe for 3.2 billion euros.
The transaction covers the French life, general insurance, and asset management businesses and the (75%) shareholding in UFF5 collectively called as 'Aviva France'.
As part of the transaction with Aéma Groupe, Aviva has agreed to customary warranties and indemnities.
Aviva said it expects to use increased capital and cash to support its previously communicated capital framework of debt reduction, investment for long-term growth and return of excess capital to shareholders.
【SOFTBANK GROUP】
SoftBank says deal reached with WeWork founder, directors
SoftBank Group Corp. has reached a settlement in a U.S. legal dispute with directors of office space-sharing venture WeWork Inc. and its founder Adam Neumann, the Japanese technology company said Saturday.
The terms of the settlement in the Delaware Court of Chancery were not disclosed. The statement said the agreement was not yet final. Other details were not immediately available.
The wrangling began more than a year ago after SoftBank acquired shares in WeWork, which was suffering after its failed IPO. But some investors and Neumann were not satisfied with the monetary deals offered by SoftBank.
【BOEING】
Boeing 777 makes an emergency landing in Moscow after engine sensor problem
A Rossiya Airlines Boeing 777 cargo plane made an emergency landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on Friday due to a problem with an engine control sensor, the airline said.
The plane was a 15-year-old 777-300ER, according to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, which means it has General Electric engines.
Those are different from the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines under scrutiny after an engine fire aboard a United Airlines 777 on Saturday which prompted the suspension of operations involving planes using those engines.
General Electric did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.