Polestar reports wider quarterly loss on US tariffs
Stockholm — Electric vehicle maker Polestar reported a wider loss for the second quarter on Wednesday, after US tariffs and intensifying price pressure led to an impairment charge of its flagship model, Polestar 3.
Despite strong sales in its home market of Europe, demand for Polestar’s vehicles was pressured in the US, a top region, as a high cost of living and worries of a possible recession prompted consumers to withhold spending on pricey electric cars.
The imposition of US trade tariffs on global trading partners has hit the automotive industry hard, with automakers including Polestar scrambling to adjust supply chains and shift manufacturing to mitigate the impact.
Polestar reported a net loss of $1.03bn for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $268m a year earlier. Reuters
MediaForEurope lifts stake in German broadcaster
Milan/Berlin — MediaForEurope (MFE) has secured a stake of above 70% in ProSiebenSat.1 after its takeover bid for the German broadcaster, sources close to the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
The takeover is part of wider push by MFE, controlled by Italy’s Berlusconi family, to create a European ad-funded TV platform.
Official results of the offer, which valued ProSieben at about €1.8bn and ended earlier this week, will be published on Thursday. Reuters
Aon agrees to sell NFP’s wealth business for $2.7bn
Bengaluru — Aon on Wednesday agreed to sell NFP’s wealth business to private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners for $2.7bn, as it looks to sharpen focus on its core insurance brokerage operations.
Aon had acquired privately held NFP in April 2024 from Madison Dearborn in a $13bn deal, aiming to expand in the fast-growing middle market for insurance brokerage, wealth management and retirement advisory services.
But the company is now shedding some of those assets. Analysts believed wealth management was a noncore business for Aon, which has traditionally focused on insurance brokerage and risk advisory.
Insurance brokers serve as a bridge between an insurer and its customers, helping clients find a policy that best suits their needs. Reuters
Novartis enters deal with Argo Biopharmaceutical
Bengaluru — Swiss drugmaker Novartis has signed an up to $5.2bn licensing and options deal with Argo Biopharmaceutical for its experimental cardiovascular drugs, the China-based biotech said on Wednesday.
The deal includes an experimental genetic medicine in mid-stage study to control high blood fat levels and an option to license two drug candidates for high levels of certain blood cholesterols, which increase the risk of heart disease.
The deals are for sales outside China, Argo said. Reuters
IQM Quantum raises $320m in new funding round
Brussels — Finnish-headquartered company IQM Quantum Computers has raised $320m in a new funding round, the company said on Wednesday, as Europe tries to keep pace with global leaders in the field from the US.
IQM said the funding round had brought in a US investor for the first time, namely Ten Eleven Ventures, along with funding from existing investors such as Tesi, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance and World Fund.
Quantum computers are faster than conventional computers. The technology is seen as crucial for cybersecurity and the sector has major research funding from technology giants such as Microsoft, Alphabet’s Google and IBM. Reuters
xAI finance chief Mike Liberatore exits
Mexico City — The finance chief of Elon Musk’s xAI, Mike Liberatore, has left the artificial intelligence start-up after just a few months on the job, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Liberatore’s departure comes amid intensifying competition among AI players such as OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, which are pouring resources into training and deploying advanced systems.
Liberatore had been xAI’s CFO since April and left around the end of July, the report said. The reasons for his departure could not be learnt. xAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Liberatore’s exit follows the departure of Igor Babuschkin, a co-founder of xAI, who left in August to launch an investment firm focused on AI safety research. xAI’s legal head, Robert Keele, had also left in August. Musk-owned social media platform X’s CEO Linda Yaccarino resigned in July, just months after the platform was folded into xAI. Reuters
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