Trending tickers: Boeing, Harland and Wolff, oil, BlackRock
Boeing (BA)
Boeing and Airbus (AIR.PA) have secured a deal to divide up Spirit AeroSystems (SPR), with the former paying $4.7bn (£3.7bn) for the supplier, rising to $8.3bn including assumed debt. This reverses a move made 19 years ago to spin out the fuselage manufacturer.
Spirit was the fuselage and wing supplier at the centre of the crisis surrounding Boeing's 737 Max airliner which has faced a series of manufacturing issues, including a midair blown-out door panel in January.
Airbus will acquire assets involved predominantly in the production of its own planes for a nominal sum of $1, while receiving $559m in compensation from Spirit.
Dave Calhoun, Boeing chief executive, said: "We believe this deal is in the best interest of the flying public, our airline customers, the employees of Spirit and Boeing, our shareholders and the country more broadly.
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"By reintegrating Spirit, we can fully align our commercial production systems, including our safety and quality management systems, and our workforce to the same priorities, incentives and outcomes — centred on safety and quality."
Spirit was originally spun off from Boeing in 2005 as part of a cost-cutting drive.
Harland and Wolff (HARL.L)
Harland and Wolff shares were suspended on Monday after the company failed to publish its annual results on time.
The shipbuilder, which owns the shipyard where the Titanic was built, said delays to its results were caused by “ongoing discussions with its auditors regarding revenue recognition relating to the multi-year and complex nature of some of the contracts under which the company is working.”
It said its annual report was set to be published during the week beginning 8 July, more than a week past the deadline according to AIM rules, and that shares would be suspended until that time.
The Belfast-based firm plunged into uncertainty last month when it was reported that the UK government was withholding the approval of a £200m loan guarantee promised in December to shore up its finances.
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"The assessment of the split in revenues between current year’s revenues and deferred revenues has caused a delay to the audit process and hence the publication of the company’s annual report and audited financial statements," it said.
The company was able to publish unaudited accounts in which it posted an operating loss of £24.7m for the 12 months until 31 December 2023, an improvement on a £58.5m loss a year earlier. Revenues increased from £27.8m in 2022 to £86.9m this year.
Oil (BZ=F)
Brent Crude oil was trading above $86 after rising 6% last month, while West Texas Intermediate jumped to around $82.
It comes as a private gauge of China’s manufacturing activity showed an expansion last month to the highest in three years. This diverged from official data showing a contraction, clouding the outlook.
“Increasing geopolitical tensions, which could disrupt the global supply of oil from major producing regions,” are supportive of prices, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova Pte. "Fears of a global slowdown are highly likely to keep any upswing in oil prices capped.”
Read more: UK house prices rise in June, despite high mortgage rates
Crude remains higher this year, with the latest upward move coming as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) has shored up prices by saying that any plan to add barrels back to the market will be dependent on market conditions.
BlackRock (BLK)
BlackRock stock edged up in pre-market trading on Monday on news that it was set to buy UK data group Preqin for $3.2bn (£2.55bn) in cash.
The firm, which manages more than $10tn, is seeking to capitalise on a boom in demand from investors for alternative assets. This includes anything from private equity to infrastructure.
Earlier this year, BlackRock announced a deal to buy Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for $12.5bn, while other investment firms have also struck recent deals.
In a statement, BlackRock said that the acquisition would complement its Aladdin tech business by bringing together data, research, and investment process for fund managers.
"Together with Preqin, we can make private markets investing easier and more accessible while building a better-connected platform for investors and fund managers," said Sudhir Nair, global head of BlackRock's Aladdin.
Preqin, established in 2003, will continue to be offered as a standalone solution, the company confirmed, expected to generate about $240m of recurring revenue in 2024.
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