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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)
Maguire: Power sector trends show a growing divide between EU and Russia
The rapid divergence in power generation and emission trends between the European Union and Russia highlights a growing energy gap between some of Europe's biggest economies and the former leading supplier of energy products for the region.
Data from the energy think tank Ember show that for the first time in 2024, Russian power producers emitted more CO2 from the use of fossil fuels than their counterparts in the EU.
This change in emission loads is primarily due to the substantial and durable changes that have been made over the last three years to Europe's power generation systems, which has led the EU to become less dependent on imported energy products for its electricity.
The higher Russian fossil emission load also reflects Moscow’s increasing dependence on fossil fuels to generate electricity, which reached record highs by 2024.
The contrast in power trends highlights the differences between the energy systems of Russia and the EU since the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022, which triggered sanctions and an acceleration of energy transition across Europe.
The fact that Europe is less dependent on imports of power products also shows how Russia has a much smaller influence over its European neighbors than it did a few short years ago. This could weaken Russia's position in any future peace talks.
Quick Cuts
Ember data show that in 2024 Russian power companies will emit 536 millions metric tons (CO2) of carbon dioxide from the use of fossil fuels, compared with 520 million tons by EU power companies.
The deviation in emissions trends since then shows the magnitude of the generation shifts in Europe over the last three year.
Total EU power emissions from fossil-fuels fell by 31% between the years 2022 and 2024, as sanctions against Russia after the invasion of 2022 roiled regional supplies of gas and caused a spike in electricity prices.
Gas supplies are tightening and wholesale electricity prices will more than double in 2022 compared to the average of 2020 and 2021. This has forced European power companies and industrial gas consumers to reduce their gas-fired production.
According to Ember, the total gas-fired electric generation in Europe by utilities has dropped 19% between 2022-2024. Gas consumption by industry also decreased sharply.
The European power producers have also reduced coal-fired production by 40% between 2022-2024. This has resulted in a 27% drop since 2022, making it the lowest fossil fuel-fired electricity output ever recorded.
During the same time period, businesses and power companies made significant investments in the production of clean energy and the electrification and use of energy, reducing the dependence on fossil fuels in the region.
RUSSIAN GROWTH
While the EU has seen a reduction in fossil fuel usage, Russian counterparts have increased their reliance on fossil fuels.
Gas-fired production of electricity in Russia will grow by 2% between 2022 and 2024 while coal-fired production will rise by 12%, both reaching record highs.
The share of fossil fuels in both the Russian and EU power systems has increased.
In Russia, fossil fuels accounted for 64% of electricity production in 2024, up from 63% in 2012.
In the EU this share has dropped from 39% to 29%, a record-low in 2024.
The EU's share of fossil fuels is likely to continue to decline in the future as the capacity for renewable energy continues growing.
Russia, a major producer in the world of coal, crude oil and natural gas, may have to increase its consumption of these commodities at home, if Europe continues to restrict purchases.
This could lead to the development of drastically different energy systems, which may reduce the potential trade ties that Russia and the EU have in the future.
These are the opinions of a market analyst at.
(source: Reuters)