Europe

Northvolt Collapse Countdown Started With BMW Pullback

For Northvolt AB, the Swedish startup that became a poster child for Europe’s electric-driving future, the route to collapse started in June when BMW AG canceled a multi-billion-dollar order, Bloomberg News reported. Back then, few saw the significance of the move, which effectively started a countdown that would culminate in a Chapter 11 filing less than six months later. Northvolt scrambled to keep the financing flowing, but as Germany’s car industry fell deeper into its own crisis, it became clear orders would dry up.
Sweden
Read more

France Offers Atos Up to €625 Million for Strategic Assets

The French government offered to buy Atos SE’s advanced computing assets for as much as €625 million ($653 million) after an earlier offer from the state expired, Bloomberg News reported. The non-binding bid gives the business an enterprise value of €500 million and may include additional payments based on future earnings, the company said in a statement on Monday. The offer, which expires in May, includes Atos’s artificial intelligence business as well as its supercomputers, which are used by researchers, the nuclear power industry and the military.
France
Read more

Sports Goods Manufacturer Le Coq Sportif Placed Under Bankruptcy Administration

The sports equipment manufacturer Le Coq Sportif has been placed under judicial restructuring proceedings by the Paris Commercial Court, FashionUnited.uk reported. "Le Coq Sportif is relying on this procedure to respond to the challenges facing the brand while protecting its 330 employees and hundreds of indirect jobs," parent company Airesis said on Friday. The troubled company said in October that it was looking for "financing solutions".
France
Read more

German Businesses Grow More Pessimistic as Geopolitical Pressures Mount

Business confidence in Germany slipped this month, amid mounting pressures on the country’s industrial base, alongside concerns raised by the fracture of its governing coalition and the threat of U.S. trade tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Ifo Institute said Monday that its business-climate index fell to 85.7 in November from 86.5 last month, the fifth fall in six months. The reading also lagged economists’ expectations of 86.1, from a poll compiled by The Wall Street Journal.
Germany
Read more

Northvolt CEO Steps Down, Saying Group Needs Up to $1.2 Billion

Northvolt's CEO and co-founder Peter Carlsson stepped down on Friday, a day after Europe's biggest hope for an electric vehicle battery champion filed for U.S. chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported. The Swedish maker of battery cells went in a matter of months this year from being Europe's best shot in a vital industry for the energy transition to racing to stay afloat, hobbled by production problems and dwindling funds. Its collapse deals a big blow to Europe's hopes of reducing its auto industry's reliance on Chinese battery suppliers such as CATL and BYD.
Sweden
Read more

European Economies Slow as Tariff Threats Compound Political Turmoil

Eurozone business activity declined this month as the threat of higher duties on exports to the U.S. exacerbate political uncertainties at home, according to surveys released Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported. With businesses cutting payrolls for a fourth straight month, the European Central Bank is likely to extend its series of rate cuts and may accelerate their pace. The euro fell to a near two-year low against the U.S. dollar following the release of the surveys, a sign that investors see an increased likelihood of faster rate cuts.
Europe
Read more