Company news in brief

  • 4 Months Ago - 2023-12-19 00:00:00
Volkswagen November deliveries up
Volkswagen said group deliveries rose by 22.6% in November to 824 300 vehicles, thanks to strong demand in North America and China.
The German automaker's sales in North America and China jumped 47.2% and 32.4% respectively.
Sales rose by 16.7% in Central and Eastern Europe and by 14.8% in Western Europe. - Reuters

Vodafone up as Iliad proposes merger
liad said yesterday it had submitted a proposal to Vodafone to merge their Italian units, a move that would combine its fast-growing consumer base with the British company's strength in business in a highly competitive market.
Shares in Vodafone, which said last month it was reviewing options for its Italian operation, rose 5.5% in early trading on the Iliad joint-venture proposal.
The French company's move comes as Vodafone also explores a potential deal with Swisscom's Fastweb Italian unit, a source familiar with the matter said.
Iliad, which only launched in Italy six years ago, said the merged business would be expected to generate revenues of around 5.8 billion euros and core earnings (EBITDA) of approximately 1.6 billion euros for the year ending March 2024. - Reuters

Airbus in talks to buy Atos division
Airbus is in talks with Atos to buy its cybersecurity division BDS, a person familiar with the matter said, rekindling interest in one of France's prized security assets after opposition from the aerospace group's own investors earlier this year.
Atos and Airbus declined to comment on "market rumours".
Airbus said in March it had decided not to make an offer for a 29.9% stake in Atos' division Evidian, later renamed Eviden, sending shares in Atos tumbling.
The future of Atos has been under close French government scrutiny since its shares collapsed last year.
Airbus is itself in the midst of reorganising to give CEO Guillaume Faury more time to focus on problem-strewn defence and space activities, with the more vibrant commercial planemaking arm to be placed under its own dedicated CEO, Christian Scherer.
Airbus is concerned that its position in an increasingly software-focused defence industry would be at risk if the Atos activities were absorbed by a rival such as French defence electronics maker Thales. – Reuters