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Aeromexico, backed by Apollo, seeks a valuation of up to $2.9 Billion in US IPO
Grupo Aeromexico announced on Friday that it was aiming for a valuation up to $2.92billion in its U.S. Initial Public Offering, as the Mexican airline looks to go back public after more than two years. Aeromexico, based in Mexico City, and its existing shareholders seek up to $234.5 millions by offering 11,7 million American depositary shares priced between $18 and 20 each. After a successful bankruptcy reorganization, mature companies are often looking to return to the public markets. Aeromexico filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, with $2 billion of debt. The pandemic had a major impact on travel demand. Aeromexico, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2022, is now backed by the alternative asset manager Apollo Global as well as U.S. carrier Delta. PAR Investment Partners, a private investment fund, intends to buy $25 million worth of Aeromexico stock in a simultaneous private placement. The price per share will be 95% of the IPO. Aeromexico was one of the first names to be used in the United States. IPO pipeline Publicly File paperwork In May 2024, LATAM Airlines, based in Chile Return to the Homepage After a $456,000,000 IPO, the New York Stock Exchange will be open in July 2024. PUBLIC MARKETS RETURN The legacy airline, founded in 1934 under the name Aeronaves was nationalized in 1959 by the Mexican Government. In 1971, it began operating under the name "Aeromexico". Aeromexico had been owned by the state for many decades, until 2007 when an investor group led by Citigroup bought it for $250 million. Bidding war Saba Family - The full-service carrier first went public in 2011, and traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange until 2022. Delisted As part of its bankruptcy restructuring. Aeromexico is a low-cost carrier that competes with Volaris, a low-cost airline focused on leisure and business passengers. Barclays, Morgan Stanley J.P. Morgan, and Evercore are all joint book-running managers. Aeromexico intends to list at the New York Stock Exchange using the symbol "AERO." (Reporting and editing by Anuj T. in Bengaluru, Arasu Kanagi Basil; Shrey Biswas).
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FAA: Boeing can increase 737 MAX production up to 42 planes per monthly
Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday that the Federal Aviation Administration has lifted the 38-plane-per-month limit in place since January 2024. The FAA set the record-breaking production cap after an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 was involved in a mid-air incident that occurred in 2024. Four key bolts were missing. This announcement marks a major milestone for the U.S. aircraft manufacturer, which has been thrown into a safety emergency following a mid-air accident. The FAA announced on Friday that its safety inspectors had "conducted extensive review of Boeing's manufacturing lines to ensure this small increase in production rate will be done safely." A person with knowledge of the situation said that FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford spoke to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg Friday to confirm that the planemaker was able to increase the rate up to 42 aircraft. Boeing will begin production of planes as soon as possible, at the rate of 42 per monthly. Boeing expressed its appreciation for "the work done by our team, suppliers and the FAA in order to ensure that we are ready to increase production while safety and quality is at the forefront." David Shepardson, reporting;
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Trump Administration freezes an additional $11 billion infrastructure spending as part of the shutdown fight
Russell Vought, the White House Budget Director, said that due to the government shutdown the Trump Administration will freeze an additional $11 billion in infrastructure projects for Democratic states. Vought announced on social media that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would halt work on projects of "low priority" in cities like New York, San Francisco and Boston. He said that the projects may be cancelled in the future. The White House Office of Management and Budget stated that President Donald Trump wants to "reorient the federal government's priorities for Army Corps projects." The Trump administration already has frozen At least $28 billion for transportation and energy projects in Democratic-controlled cities and states, as the president pressures his opponents in Congress to end the shutdown, which began October 1. Trump also vowed that he would cut "Democrat Agencies", and he has sought to eliminate 4,100 jobs in the federal government as a way to hurt his political opponents. OMB reported that the Army Corps' projects include a waterfront in San Francisco, bridge extensions in Cape Cod (Massachusetts), and water and waste-water systems in New York City. New York's projects account for 7 billion dollars of the total. OMB also said that other affected projects include those in Illinois, Maryland and New Mexico as well as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware. These states all voted against Trump at the 2024 presidential elections. OMB stated that many of the projects are located in "sanctuary jurisdictions", which have been able to resist the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The Army Corps didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. Reporting by Christian Martinez, David Shepardson and Andy Sullivan; editing by Cynthia Osterman and Andy Sullivan
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Sources say that FiberCop, a company backed by KKR, has filed a complaint with the EU regarding alleged Italian aid to KKR's rival.
Three sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that KKR-backed FiberCop, a telecom network company, has filed a complaint at the European Commission alleging Italy gave state aid to Open Fiber, in violation of EU competition laws. The complaint, in which it is alleged that Italy has altered the competition in the ultra-broadband sector, escalates a dispute between KKR, the U.S. Fund, and the Rome Government, Fibercop's co-shareholder. FiberCop sent an email to and confirmed that it had lodged a complaint at the EU. However, they did not provide any details. "FiberCop has brought to the European Commission's attention a number circumstances that it feels warrant scrutiny from the perspective of competition." All three companies, KKR, Open Fiber and the Italian Treasury declined to make any comments. The EU Commission didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. KKR has a 37.5% stake in FiberCop which is Italy's largest telecom network. The government owns a 16.1% stake. The complaint filed by FiberCop on Monday targets a number of measures Italy took in 2024-2025 with regards to Open Fiber. Sources said that FiberCop's complaint estimated the value of the measures at up to 4.5 Billion Euros ($5.3 Billion). People said that the measures included direct grants, the extension and strengthening of concessions already in place, guarantees by the state on credit lines, as well as the suspension or reduction of fines for delays with state-sponsored fiber rollout plans. FiberCop claimed that the measures transferred economic and financial risk from Open Fiber to the state, in violation of EU competition laws. The EU was not informed about the measures. KKR is at odds with Italy over the future of FiberCop. FiberCop was sold to a KKR led consortium last year in a deal worth 19 billion euros. Sources told us earlier this week that the U.S. Fund is opposing Italy's efforts to combine FiberCop and Open Fiber, a smaller competitor controlled by CDP, a state investor, and Macquarie Australia, whose fund is Australian. CDP declined comment. Macquarie didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. As part of the network-spin-off deal, a tie-up between FiberCop & Open Fiber could trigger an extra payment up to $2.55 billion from KKR. Open Fiber, the Italian company that was tasked almost a decade earlier with laying fibre optic cables throughout Italy, reported a loss of 364 million euros last year. It expects to reach a positive cashflow by 2028.
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Envoy Air is targeted by hacking campaign linked to Oracle
Envoy Air is the largest regional airline of American Airlines. The company confirmed that Envoy Air was hacked in the last few days, as part of a wave of extortion attacks by hackers who exploited Oracle E-Business Suite software, according to the company. In an email, a spokesperson for Irving, Texas based company that operates over 160 aircraft and 875 daily flights said that they are aware of the incident and have contacted the law enforcement authorities. The spokesperson stated that "we have reviewed the data in question and confirmed that no sensitive data or customer information was affected." A limited number of commercial and business contact details could have been compromised. This is the second company to confirm that it has been hacked. The hacking was a result from a campaign against Oracle E-Business Suite software, which was claimed by "CL0P," a group of cybercriminals who have a long history of extortion attacks on third-party software and service providers. CL0P posted American Airlines as a victim on its website late Thursday. It was unclear when the attack took place. CL0P failed to respond immediately to an email sent to the group's address. A spokesperson for American Airlines referred all questions regarding the hacking incident to Envoy Air. Google experts, an Alphabet unit, stated on October 9th that "massive amounts of customer data were stolen" in a hacking operation that began as long ago as three months. According to the Record, a cybersecurity news outlet, Harvard University confirmed that it was attacked in a similar manner earlier this week. (Reporting from AJ Vicens, Detroit; Editing and proofreading by Matthew Lewis.)
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Interfax reports that Russian Railways will cut managerial jobs due to the slowdown in the economy.
Interfax reported Friday that Russian Railways, the state-owned railway company in Russia, plans to cut management positions as it faces lower freight volumes, and a general slowdown of the Russian economy. The Russian industrial giants - from automakers and railways to producers of metals, coal and cement - are suffering due to a weakening demand at home, low cost Chinese imports, rising interest rates, and shrinking markets. Sources say that Russian Railways (which employs 700,000 people) has already asked its central office staff to take 3 unpaid days per month. Other Russian companies such as carmaker Avtovaz and cement maker Cemros, have reduced their working hours and terminated staff. Interfax reported that the company stated "the optimization of its management structure" aimed to improve efficiency in a context of declining work volume and a challenging economic situation. Russian Railways has not responded to a comment request. Interfax also stated that the first step will be to freeze hiring and eliminate existing vacancies.
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IndiGo, India's largest airline, doubles its widebody order with 30 Airbus A350 Conversions
IndiGo, India's budget carrier, announced on Friday that it had signed a contract confirming the conversion 30 of its 70 A350-900 purchase rights into firm orders. This doubled its widebody order list to 60 from 30, and increased its total number of A350-900s ordered. This move is part of India's strategy to increase its long-haul services and capture more international traffic away from Gulf carriers like Emirates. According to government and industry data, India's international air traffic is expected to grow from 64 million passengers in 2019 to 160 million passengers by 2030. However, the majority of this traffic will still be carried out by foreign airlines. IndiGo has 60% of the Indian domestic market. Double its capacity by the end decade and expand the international network. In April 2024, the Gurugram-based carrier placed its initial order for 30 Airbus A350 900 aircraft. This was their first widebody purchase. IndiGo also retained the right to purchase an additional 70 Airbus A350 aircraft in case of future requirements. IndiGo will still have the right to purchase 40 additional wide-body aircraft after conversion. (Reporting and editing by Tasim Zaid in Bengaluru, Ananta Aggarwal)
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Sources say that U.S. Navy warship holds survivors of Caribbean vessel strike, after sources.
Three sources with knowledge of the situation said that the U.S. Military is currently holding two survivors on a Navy Ship after they rescued them from a suspected drugs vessel in the Caribbean which was hit by an American strike, which killed two other people. The revelation, which was not previously reported, could mean that the survivors of the strike on Thursday are the first prisoners in the conflict declared by Donald Trump to combat a "narco-terrorist" threat, which he claims is coming from Venezuela. The Pentagon didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. One source said that the vessel which was struck on Thursday had moved under the water. It could have been a semisubmersible. This is a vessel similar to a submarine used by drug traffickers in order to avoid detection. Before Thursday's operation U.S. military attacks against suspected drug ships off Venezuela had left no survivors known and videos shown by the Trump administration show vessels being destroyed. Legal experts and Democratic legislators who are concerned about whether the strikes were in accordance with the laws of war have raised alarms. The attacks come as Trump escalates his standoff with Venezuela's government. This includes a U.S. buildup of military forces in the Caribbean, including F-35 fighter planes, nuclear submarines and guided missile destroyers. Trump revealed on Wednesday that he had given the Central Intelligence Agency permission to conduct covert missions inside Venezuela. This has added to the speculation in Caracas about the United States' attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (Reporting and editing by Alistair Bell, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart)
Ukraine increases grain exports regardless of intensified Russian attacks
Ukraine is rushing to ship as much grain as it can this summer season, making the most of military gains it has actually made in the Black Sea location to enhance exports even as Russia has assaulted its ports.
Ukraine is a significant international wheat and corn grower and in the past Russia's intrusion in 2022 the nation exported about 6 million lots of grain alone monthly through the Black Sea.
Grain sales are an essential earnings source and while global prices are weak, Ukraine's cash-strapped farmers have little option but to press ahead with exports since they require to money the next winter sowing season.
Ukraine doubled food exports in July to over 4.2 million metric loads from the very same month in 2015, according to information from Ukraine's UGA traders' union, regardless of intensified Russian attacks on Odesa, an essential Black Sea export center, and Izmail, a. major port along the Danube River taking grain into Europe.
Ukraine has actually not yet reported the destinations of its exports. in July, but last season it exported the majority of its wheat to Spain,. Egypt and Indonesia, with its corn primarily heading for Spain and. China.
The surge comes in spite of this season's drop in output triggered. by war-related disturbances, and there is no guarantee that Kyiv. can sustain the pattern into the complete 2024/25 season.
We are doing everything to make business feel comfy. even in wartime conditions, Dmytro Barinov, deputy head of. Ukraine's Seaport Authority, informed Reuters.
The exports are a mix of new season wheat plus corn. from stocks following in 2015's bumper harvest.
So far, Ukraine has exported 3.7 million tons of. farming products in July through Odesa and 569,000 heaps via. the Danube, export information showed. That compared with 291,000 lots. by means of Odesa and 2.07 million heaps through the Danube in July 2023.
There were 6 deliveries of corn from Ukraine's other 2. operational Black Sea ports of Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi in June. and July to Rotterdam, Europe's busiest port, and Spain's. Cartegna, separate LSEG shipping data revealed.
Given That July, Ukraine has also shipped cargoes to China, Egypt. and Turkey, separate information from Kpler showed.
In spite of last month's stronger sales, overall exports for the. 2024/25 season are anticipated to fall since of damaging. weather and the war's impact, the ASAP agricultural consultancy. stated.
We anticipate that grain exports from Ukraine might plunge by. 14.5 million heaps annually and touch nearly a decade low of 35. million heaps, ASAP stated.
PORTS TARGETED
Ukraine has actually managed to create a shipping passage after a. U.N.-backed Black Sea grain export initiative collapsed last. year. Russia's Black Sea Fleet has been required to move nearly. all its combat-ready warships from occupied Crimea to other. locations.
While the improved security circumstance has reduced insurance. and freight rates, making exports more competitive, Kyiv's. challenge is to guarantee its ports that are available can ship. out freights.
Ukraine has actually sustained several rocket and drone attacks in. recent weeks, some of which have actually targeted Odesa and Izmail.
Even as ships have actually so far avoided any major damage,. Ukrainian authorities state port infrastructure is being targeted.
The Russians are well aware of that and they're striking the. vulnerable points, stated Barinov with Ukraine's Seaport Authority.
They're striking with accuracy missiles, they're. deliberately ruining our ability to export, to process.
Barinov and other shipping officials stated Russia was. avoiding strikes at the global sea lanes outside of. Ukrainian port limits, keeping escalation consisted of.
Ukraine's military helps ships getting in and exiting ports,. with captains running under specific safety guidelines, the. nation's navy chief Vice-Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa informed. Reuters.
Ukrainian air defense forces cover these passages and. ports. All assets, from air defense groups to rocket systems. along the coast, add to this effort, Neizhpapa stated.
Nevertheless, Ukraine needs to manage a plethora of other. difficulties, consisting of energy blackouts that disrupt port. operations and exports.
Munro Anderson, head of operations at marine war threat and. insurance coverage professional Vessel Protect, part of Pen Underwriting,. said Russian strikes at targets inside Ukraine while less. frequent than earlier in the war, continued to push Kyiv.
Such attacks persist in applying pressure on the commercial. maritime environment in Ukraine and hence achieve the Russian. intent of deteriorating Ukrainian ability to completely take advantage of the. prospective output from these ports.
Additional war risk premiums for ships entering Ukrainian. ports have been quoted in current months at up to 1.2% of the. value of the ship with discount rates that could suggest a lower rate,. insurance coverage sources said. Those premiums surged to as much as 3%. in November after a missile strike damaged a ship in Pivdennyi.
This still exercises at hundreds of thousands of dollars in. extra approximated costs for a seven-day voyage and those. expenses might increase if security conditions degraded.
Market sources stated war underwriters were keeping the. situation under evaluation in the light of the current attacks.
Increased shelling of ships in passage ports might trigger. reinsurers to modify their war dangers insurance rates, stated. Maksym Dubovyi, handling partner with insurance broker Atria.
Throughout its year of operation, Ukraine's sea corridor has. enabled 2,059 ships to provide 57.7 million lots of cargoes to. 46 countries, including 39 million lots of farming. products, said Neil Roberts, head of marine and air travel at the. Lloyd's Market Association, which represents the interests of. all underwriting services in the Lloyd's of London insurance. market.
Private underwriters will decide the rate as appropriate. in the light of occasions and take their own view on the risk..
(source: Reuters)