Sabadell board unlikely to recommend the new offer
Madrid — Spain’s stock market supervisor said on Thursday it had authorised banking group BBVA’s improved €17bn bid for smaller rival Sabadell, which was announced on Monday.
Shareholders will now have until October 10 to tender their shares, compared with October 7 for the previous offer, with results expected to be published seven days after the end of the acceptance period.
Sabadell has up to five days from the authorisation to issue an opinion on the improved new bid, though CEO Cesar Gonzalez Bueno has already said the board would “probably” not recommend the new price he still considered insufficient.
Under the new terms, BBVA is offering one of its own shares for every 4.8376 Sabadell shares. Reuters
Bristol Myers Squibb cuts price of psoriasis drug
Bengaluru — Bristol Myers Squibb said on Thursday it will sell its psoriasis drug Sotyktu directly to cash-paying US patients at a more than 80% discount to its list price amid pressure from the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump has been pressuring drugmakers to lower the cost of medicines, demanding that they align domestic prices with the lowest levels paid by comparable high-income countries under the “most-favoured-nation” policy.
The programme would cut Sotyktu’s monthly cost to $950, or about 86% discount to the list price of $6,828, the company said.
Bristol will start selling the drug through its new direct-to-patient platform BMS Patient Connect from January, the drugmaker said. Reuters
Accenture to realign for rising digital, AI demand
Bengaluru — Accenture beat fourth-quarter revenue estimates and unveiled a six-month, $865m restructuring to realign its workforce and operations for rising demand in digital and AI services.
The restructuring programme highlights the broader trend of companies adapting their workforce and operations to meet growing demand for digital and AI services, while using restructuring to cut costs and funnel savings into training and operational efficiency.
The plan includes severance and selected divestitures, with savings redirected to staff training and operational efficiency.
The Dublin-based company expects about $250m in charges in the November quarter, on top of $615m recorded in the fourth quarter, for a total of $865m. Reuters
Chevron expects quarterly loss on Hess buyout
Bengaluru — Chevron said on Thursday it was expecting a loss of $200m-$400m in the third quarter due to the effect related to the acquisition of Hess.
Chevron closed its $55bn buyout of Hess in July after winning a landmark legal battle against larger rival ExxonMobil to gain access to the largest oil discovery in decades.
Excluding severance charges and other costs related to the $55bn transaction, the US energy major expects a hit of $50m-$150m on adjusted earnings in the quarter.
Chevron added that it was expecting net oil-equivalent production to range at 450,000-500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day for the third quarter, including some downtime. Reuters
CarMax profit falls on slow used vehicle demand
Bengaluru — CarMax reported a fall in second-quarter profit on Thursday, as waning demand for used vehicles continued to weigh on the US pre-owned vehicle market, sending the company’s shares down nearly 13% in premarket trade.
The used-car retailer is grappling with rising repair and cleanup costs, along with softening consumer demand amid elevated interest rates and tariff-related headwinds
“While this was a challenging quarter, we remain confident in our long-term strategy and the strength of the earnings model that we have built,” said CEO Bill Nash.
The Richmond, Virginia-based company sold 199,729 units of used vehicles in the June-to-August period, down 5.4% from a year ago, while sales of wholesale vehicles also fell 2.2% year on year. Reuters
BYD cuts some model prices until year-end
Beijing — Chinese carmaker BYD is offering 10,000 yuan ($1,403.80) discounts on some models of its second-generation Qin Plus sedans until the end of the year, a company executive said in a social media post. Reuters
Starbucks approves restructuring plan
Bengaluru — Starbucks said on Thursday it had approved a restructuring plan to close underperforming coffee houses in North America and cut some jobs as the company looks to revive sales and profits under CEO Brian Niccol.
The company has been overhauling its operations in the US, centred on Niccol’s plan to bring back a coffeehouse environment at its stores by introducing ceramic mugs, comfortable seating and reduced wait times.
“During the review, we identified coffeehouses where we’re unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don’t see a path to financial performance, and these locations will be closed,” Niccol said in a letter to employees.
Starbucks would also cut about 900 jobs in its support teams and close many open positions, he added. The company expects to incur about $1bn in costs under the restructuring plan, it said in a regulatory filing. Reuters
BlackBerry lifts revenue forecast
Bengaluru — Canada’s BlackBerry raised its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast on Thursday, banking on strong demand for its cybersecurity software amid a rise in online hacking.
Enterprises have been boosting their spending on software provided by cybersecurity companies such as BlackBerry to protect their digital infrastructure as the rapid advancement of AI opens up new avenues for cyberattacks.
BlackBerry raised its annual revenue forecast to between $519m and $541m, from its prior expectation of between $508m and $538m. It reported total second-quarter revenue of $129.6m, beating analysts’ average estimate of $122.1m, according to data compiled by LSEG.
BlackBerry reported earnings of 2c per share in the second quarter, compared with a loss of 3c per share a year ago. Reuters
Ryanair fares better on fares
Dublin — Forward bookings at Ryanair are up about 1% year on year and average fares on a full-year basis are close to recovering the 7% lost in the year to March 31, group CEO Michael O’Leary said on Thursday.
“Our fares are up. We think we’re getting close to fares this year being up about 7%. Last year our fares fell about 7%,” O’Leary told a news conference. Reuters
India signs deal to buy fighter jets
New Delhi — India signed a deal worth 623.70-billion rupees ($7.03bn) on Thursday to buy indigenous fighter aircraft from state warplane maker Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) in its effort to modernise its armed forces.
The acquisition comes in the face of the growing military strength and influence in South Asia of China, including defence ties with India’s arch-rival, Pakistan.
The order for 97 home-grown fighters of the Tejas Mk-1A variety, envisages completion of deliveries over a span of six years from financial year 2027-28, the defence ministry said in a statement. Reuters
Cyberattack delivers hit to Co-op Group
London — A “sophisticated” cyberattack in April will cost the Co-op Group about £120m in lost profit this year, the British retailer warned on Thursday.
The 181-year-old member-owned Co-op, which runs one of the UK’s most well-known food retail businesses as well as funeral-related services, and legal and insurance operations, said it acted “quickly and decisively” to temporarily shut down several systems to contain the threat. That led to operational disruption, including hitting food availability in stores.
British companies and institutions have been hit by increasingly aggressive and regular cyber and ransomware attacks in recent years, with the British Library, a blood testing service, the London Underground, Marks & Spencer and Jaguar Land Rover all suffering months of disruption.
The effect on the Co-op Group’s revenue in its first half to July 5 was £206m, with an £80m hit to profit. Reuters
Petershill Partners to delist in London
Bengaluru — British investment group Petershill Partners said on Thursday it planned to delist its shares from London and return money to shareholders, as the board had become dissatisfied with the share price performance and valuation, dealing another blow to the UK equity market.
A subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Group’s asset management division, Petershill was launched in 2007 and made its London market debut in September 2021.
It said it would return $921m of its capital to shareholders, following a strategic review to improve shareholder returns and market perception of the company. Reuters
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