ExxonMobil returns to Iraq after two years
Iraq and ExxonMobil agreed on Wednesday to manage, develop, and operate the Majnoon oilfield in southern Iraq, Bloomberg reported, citing Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.
The agreement, marking ExxonMobil’s return to the Gulf nation after a two-year interruption, includes a joint co-operation with SOMO, Iraq’s oil marketing company, to explore joint opportunities. Reuters
Musk’s X settles execs’ $128m severance pay lawsuit
Elon Musk and X have reached a settlement in a lawsuit by four former top executives at Twitter, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, who claim they were not paid $128m in promised severance pay after Musk acquired the social media company and fired them.
The terms of the settlement, which was first announced in a filing in San Francisco federal court last week, were not disclosed. A federal judge on October 1 pushed back filing deadlines and a hearing in the case so the settlement can be finalised. X in August agreed to settle a separate lawsuit by rank-and-file Twitter employees who lost their jobs during mass layoffs and claimed they were owed $500m in unpaid severance. Reuters
Helsing dives deeper with drone deal
Germany’s Helsing will buy Australian underwater drone maker Blue Ocean, the defence start-up said on Wednesday, as it looks to expand its AI-powered autonomous systems in the marine sector.
Helsing, which did not disclose the price, said that it would integrate Blue Ocean's hardware and manufacturing capabilities with its own AI.
The acquisition will enable it to speed up plans to develop and mass produce autonomous underwater drones to protect countries' maritime domains, Helsing said. Reuters
Daimler Truck hits third-quarter roadblock
Daimler Truck sales were hit by weakness in the group’s Trucks North America segment in the third quarter, the German truck maker reported on Wednesday.
Sales in the segment shrank by nearly 40% from the year before to 30,225 units, sending the company’s shares 2%.
An already weak German automotive sector faces US import tariffs, which President Donald Trump earlier this week said would be ramped up to 25% from November 1 for all medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
Daimler Truck’s overall group sales fell to 98,009 trucks and buses from 114,917 units in the same quarter last year. Reuters
TopBuild adds to building materials portfolio
TopBuild Corp has bought Specialty Products and Insulation (SPI) for $1bn cash, about a year after the two building material makers had terminated their initial agreement over antitrust concerns.
The deal, which closed on October 7, excludes SPI’s metal building insulation (MBI) business, TopBuild said.
The US department of justice had raised concerns that the deal could harm competition, prompting the companies to terminate their agreement last year.
TopBuild expects annual cost savings of $35m-$40m within two years. Reuters
Zenas BioPharma seals $2bn China deal
Zenas BioPharma has secured global rights to develop and commercialise an experimental drug from China-based InnoCare Pharma for multiple sclerosis and other auto-immune conditions under a licencing deal potentially worth more than $2bn.
The deal grants Zenas worldwide rights to the drug, orelabrutinib, outside oncology. The US-based drug developer will pay as much as $100m in upfront and near-term milestone payments and issue up to 7-million shares to InnoCare.
The agreement also covers two additional drug candidates, both slated for early-stage trials next year. Reuters
Verisure soars on Stockholm debut
Shares of security services group Verisure rose 13% on their first day of trading on the Stockholm bourse on Wednesday after the biggest initial public offering (IPO) of a European company since 2016, according to LSEG data.
Verisure soared as much as 25% above its offering price of €13.25 — which valued the group at €13.7bn — and was last trading 18% higher at €15.64.
The Switzerland-based alarm systems provider’s listing comes amid a broader revival in Europe’s IPO market after a sluggish first half of the year when several listings were withdrawn as a result of trade tensions and concerns over conflict in the Middle East. Reuters
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