Volkswagen said on Thursday it will end production of the ID.4 electric SUV out of its Tennessee plant this month, citing a challenging time for the US electric vehicle market.
Automakers have scaled back or cancelled production of EVs after the federal government last fall ended the use of a $7,500 tax credit towards the purchase of an EV.
Volkswagen is shifting production at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant to its higher-volume gas-powered SUVs, the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport.
Volkswagen is planning a future version of the ID.4 for the North American market but did not provide timing on its release. Reuters
Germany ‘must up stake in Leopard tank maker KNDS’
Germany must ensure it matches France’s holding in a planned €20bn listing of Leopard tank maker KNDS, a high-level German labour leader said, adding that this will require Berlin taking more than a blocking minority of 25%.
Juergen Kerner, deputy head of Germany’s most powerful union IG Metall, said that ownership parity was key “to safeguard German technology and jobs” and that Berlin “must not miss the right moment to do so.”
Kerner, one of Germany’s most senior worker representatives, holds supervisory board seats at numerous German industrial firms including Siemens Energy, Thyssenkrupp, Siemens and Traton.
KNDS is owned through a 50-50 split between the French government and the family owners of Germany’s former Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, or KMW, who plan to sell their entire stake in an inial public listing which sources say is planned for June or July. Reuters
Loeb’s hedge fund averts CoStar Group proxy fight
Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund, Third Point, will not pursue a proxy fight at real estate data company CoStar Group and sold its entire stake in the owner of Apartments.com and Homes.com, according to sources familiar with the matter and a letter seen by Reuters on Friday.
The hedge fund changed course at CoStar after it became clear to Loeb and his team that their plans to pressure the company into focusing more squarely on the core business might not salvage the company after all.
“We no longer believe that our original thesis holds true today and have disposed of our position in its entirety,” Loeb wrote in a letter to investors seen by Reuters.
The hedge fund never disclosed the size of its stake, but it ranked among the company’s 15 biggest investors. Reuters
IBM to pay $17m to settle US probe over DEI
IBM has agreed to pay $17m to settle a US government probe over the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, which President Donald Trump’s administration has cracked down on during his second term in office.
The settlement marks the first resolution from the US department of justice’s unit formed last year called the “Civil Rights Fraud Initiative” to crack down on DEI policies using a civil anti-fraud law.
Trump has targeted public and private organisations ― from government agencies to private universities ― over DEI practices that civil rights advocates say help address historic inequities for marginalised groups like women and ethnic minorities. Reuters
Encore reveals higher revenue for US listing
Blackstone-backed event management company Encore revealed higher annual revenue in its paperwork for a US initial public offering (IPO) on Friday.
The Schiller Park, Illinois-based company reported a net loss of $27.2m on revenue of $3.4bn for the financial year ended December 31, compared with a net loss of $176.1m on revenue of $3.2bn a year earlier.
The US IPO market has been accessible despite the ongoing Middle East conflict, with some issuers in recent weeks braving volatility to push ahead with their listings.
Encore is a live-event services company that provides event technology, production as well as exhibit and trade show support for business meetings, conferences and other corporate gatherings. Reuters
Nexstar Media clamps down on rival newscasts
US broadcast station owner Nexstar Media is seeking to counter national networks through its affiliate stations, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing a regulatory document and sources.
The largest US local-TV broadcasting group has begun preventing its stations from filling local newscasts with segments produced by national networks such as ABC, NBC and CBS and is asking them to use content from its NewsNation cable channel instead, the report said.
Nexstar declined to comment. Reuters
