PRODUCE
Dole Food seeks US$400m
Fruit and vegetable producer Dole Food Co is seeking to raise about US$400 million in its third initial public offering, a person familiar with the matter said. Dole’s 94-year-old chairman and 100 percent owner, David Murdock, is bringing the company to market for the third time in its 166-year history. The company raised US$446.4 million the last time it went public in 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp and Deutsche Bank AG are leading the offering, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission last month.
RESTAURANT
Chuck E. Cheese talks sale
The owner of Chuck E. Cheese is in talks with investment firm Ares Management LP over a sale that could value the children’s pizza and arcade chain at about US$2 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said. Ares is negotiating with owner Apollo Global Management LLC over the precise valuation, the people said, adding that Bain Capital, Hellman & Friedman and Warburg Pincus dropped out of the bidding process over pricing. Apollo hired Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group AG to run an auction process for the company, with the US$2 billion valuation equating to about nine times its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, they said.
FINANCE
Brexit may stall London
Development of London’s financial center will “stall” owing to Brexit, but is unlikely to “totally reverse,” Goldman Sachs chief executive officer Lloyd Blankfein said in an interview on Friday. “It will stall, it might backtrack a bit, it just depends on a lot of things about which we are uncertain, and I know there isn’t certainty at the moment,” he told the BBC. “I don’t think it will totally reverse.” The British government is to soon start negotiations to set the terms of its EU departure.
BANKING
India appoints new CEOs
India appointed new chief executive officers at seven state-controlled lenders, including Punjab National Bank and Bank of India. Sunil Mehta has been appointed managing director and chief executive officer of New Delhi-based Punjab National Bank, and Dinabandhu Mohapatra is to assume charge as managing director and chief executive officer of Bank of India, a statement dated on Friday said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government announced the appointments on the same day it empowered the Reserve Bank of India to clean up as much as US$180 billion of soured loans on their balance sheets, which have been choking credit and weighing on growth.
CANADA
Airport might be for sale
The government is considering the sale of at least a minority stake in Toronto Pearson International Airport that values the nation’s busiest airport at about C$5 billion (US$3.7 billion), people familiar with the matter said. The stake sale, just one of many options laid out in a report to government prepared by Credit Suisse Group AG, would free up billions of dollars for new infrastructure projects, the people said. Selling the airports would cut costs for travelers and create opportunities for more shops and services, C.D. Howe Institute estimates said.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
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