Thu, Jun 01, 2017 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  RIDE-HAILING

  Uber fires Levandowski

  Uber Technologies Inc on Tuesday said it had fired Anthony Levandowski, a star engineer brought in to lead the company’s self-driving automobile efforts who was accused of stealing trade secrets when he left a job at Google. “Over the last few months Uber has provided significant evidence to the court to demonstrate that our self-driving technology has been built independently,” Uber associate general counsel for employment and litigation Angela Padilla wrote in an e-mail to employees. “Over that same period, Uber has urged Anthony to fully cooperate in helping the court get to the facts and ultimately helping to prove our case. We take our obligations under the court order very seriously and so we have chosen to terminate his employment at Uber.” What Levandowski did when he quit Google to start his own company, which was acquired by Uber for nearly US$700 million last year, is the key question in a lawsuit that pits one of the world’s most powerful companies against Uber. Google was a pioneer in autonomous car technology and has spent nearly a decade on its effort, which is now run through Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. Uber chief executive officer Travis Kalanick has said the future of his ride-hailing company, privately valued at nearly US$70 billion, hinges on work being done to create cars that can drive themselves.

  BANKING

  Deutsche hires tax expert

  Deutsche Bank AG has hired an expert in tax structuring as a managing director at its investment bank. The bank on Tuesday said that it had hired Jeffrey Mensch, who was most recently at MacAndrews & Forbes as a senior vice president of finance. He is the seventh managing director Deutsche Bank has hired in its Americas corporate finance group, as well as the second for its Americas mergers team. The firm, which has been rebuilding itself after years of legal troubles and declining business, is shoring up its banking business in the US. Mensch, who had also worked at the investment banks Evercore Partners, UBS Group AG and Deutsche Bank, has focused on the tax aspects of corporate finance. The specialty has become more prominent in recent years as companies have tried to use dealmaking to lower their taxes.

  COMMUNICATIONS

  American Tower mulls bid

  American Tower Corp is exploring a bid for Cellnex Telecom SA to expand in Europe as the Spanish tower operator’s main shareholder considers selling assets as part of a merger, people familiar with the matter said. Any offer from American Tower would hinge on the successful combination of the Spanish company’s largest shareholder, Abertis Infraestructuras SA, with Atlantia SpA, the people said. Atlantia would determine whether to sell the Abertis assets once the deal is concluded, the people said. American Tower, which has a market value of about US$56 billion, has yet to make a formal offer for the Spanish firm, another person said. No final agreements have been reached with any of the parties and the discussions might not result in a deal, the people said.

  TRADE

  US ‘open’ to resuming talks

  The US is “open” to resuming talks with the EU on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a senior US official said on Tuesday. “It makes sense to continue TTIP negotiations and to work towards a solution that increases overall trade while reducing our trade deficit,” US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said on CNBC.
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