Bengaluru — Eli Lilly will buy therapy developer Orna Therapeutics for up to $2.4bn in cash, the companies said on Monday.
It is the latest in a string of deals the US drugmaker has signed over the past few months to diversify beyond obesity.
Biotech Orna is developing a new class of therapies that use a form of RNA called circular RNA, along with novel lipid nanoparticles to allow the patient’s own body to generate cell therapies, which can treat the underlying disease. Orna’s lead drug candidate, ORN-252, belongs to the class known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell, or CAR-T, targeting cells with a receptor called CD19, a marker found on certain B cells. Reuters
State company to hold Mali’s mine holdings
Bamako — Mali will create a state-owned company to manage holdings in mining companies, according to a weekend statement by the council of ministers.
The company, Sopamim, whose capital is fully owned by the state, will acquire and manage Mali’s holdings. In 2022, Mali created Sorem, a state-owned company to explore and develop mineral resources.
The country is one of Africa’s largest gold producers, with mining companies including Barrick Gold active in the gold-rich western and southern regions. Other resource-producing countries in West Africa such as Niger and Guinea have been managing their assets through similar state-owned mechanisms. Reuters
NatWest to buy major wealth manager
Bengaluru — The UK’s NatWest Group said on Monday it has agreed to buy Evelyn Partners in a deal valuing one of Britain’s largest wealth managers at £2.7bn, including debt.
The deal creates Britain’s largest private banking and wealth management business, the British lender said. NatWest expects it to generate about £100m in annual cost savings and also announced a £750m share buyback.
Evelyn’s private equity shareholders, Permira and Warburg Pincus, kicked off a sale of Evelyn in 2025, drawing interest from Barclays, Natwest, Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Canada. Reuters
TotalEnergies signs power deals with Google
Paris — French oil major TotalEnergies on Monday signed two long-term deals to supply solar power to Google’s data centres in Texas, as it looks to tap rising electricity demand driven by AI.
Total will deliver 1GW of capacity — equivalent to 28TWh of renewable power over 15 years — from two Texan sites. Construction is due to start in the second quarter.
The company has bucked the trend among oil majors by continuing to invest in renewable energy alongside gas-fired power plants, expanding its power business in deregulated markets where price volatility can create attractive trading opportunities. Reuters
Walmart turnaround king is Kroger CEO
Bengaluru — Grocery giant Kroger on Monday named former Walmart executive Greg Foran as its CEO, capping a year-long search following the ouster of Rodney McMullen last March.
Foran hails from New Zealand and was the CEO of Air New Zealand for about five years until October 2025. Between 2014 and 2019, he was the president and CEO of Walmart’s US operations, where he is credited with turning around the business by improving existing stores. Walmart reported 20 quarters of comparable sales growth under his leadership.
Kroger removed McMullen last year after a board investigation found that his personal conduct was “inconsistent” with certain company policies. Reuters
India steel exporters hurt by EU carbon tax
New Delhi — Indian steel exports will continue to be affected by the EU’s carbon tax and import quotas, and the government will take steps to help the sector, federal steel secretary Sandeep Poundrik said on Monday.
The comments came days after India and the EU signed a trade deal, which slashed tariffs on several sectors but left the bloc’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) intact. Indian steel mills ship roughly two-thirds of their total exports to Europe. Reuters
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