2025-07-29 11:32
Baker offers $210/shr, about 22% premium, to buy Chart Chart had previously agreed a merger of equals with Flowserve Expects $325 million in annual cost synergies in third year July 29 (Reuters) - Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O) , opens new tab said on Tuesday it would buy Chart Industries (GTLS.N) , opens new tab in a $13.6 billion all-cash deal, including debt, topping a previously-agreed merger offer that Chart struck with rival Flowserve (FLS.N) , opens new tab last month. The deal will give Baker Hughes greater exposure to industrial technology servicing liquefied natural gas and data centers, at a time when American energy exports and digital infrastructure growth are garnering huge interest from companies and investors. Sign up here. It forms part of Baker Hughes' efforts to leverage its industrial and energy technology portfolio, which helped boost second-quarter earnings, and continues a rebalancing of its business away from its traditional oilfield services focus. "The deal could check some notable strategic boxes for Baker, including increased industry diversification, higher aftermarket services revenue, and margin accretion," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Keith Mackey. Baker will pay Chart shareholders $210 per share, representing a 22% premium to the previous close, according to a statement which said the deal is expected to close by mid-year 2026. This values Chart's equity at around $9.44 billion, per Reuters calculations. Chart jumped 15.8% to close at $198.80, while Baker fell 1.7%. "The acquisition expands our offerings in core customer sectors while broadening our exposure to high-growth markets and strategic industrial segments like metals and mining," Baker Hughes CFO Ahmed Moghal said on a conference call. The Baker unsolicited offer follows Chart's June 4 agreement to merge with flow control systems maker Flowserve. Having been made aware of the Baker proposal and it being deemed "superior" by Chart's board, Flowserve decided not to submit a revised offer, the Dallas-based company said in a separate statement. By going with Baker, Chart's management secured both a higher effective price versus the Flowserve tie-up - which valued the company at around $160 per share - and also brought forward gains which Chart shareholders would have only gotten following the integration of Flowserve, a source familiar with the matter said. Shares of Flowserve, which will receive a $266 million breakup fee, closed up 2.4%. Chart manufactures industrial equipment such as valves and measurement technology for gas and liquid molecule handling and operates 65 manufacturing locations with over 50 service centers globally. Baker Hughes said $325 million in annualized cost synergies were expected to be realized at the end of the third year, with half from lower selling, general and administrative expenses. Goldman Sachs (GS.N) , opens new tab, Centerview Partners, and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) , opens new tab were Baker's financial advisers, with Wells Fargo (WFC.N) , opens new tab advising Chart. https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/baker-hughes-bets-lng-data-center-demand-with-136-billion-chart-industries-deal-2025-07-29/
2025-07-29 11:32
Stockholm talks aim to extend tariff truce by 90 days China seeks reduction of US tariffs and tech export controls Trump pushes back at suggestions he is seeking a meeting with Xi China aware of strong negotiating hand, analyst says STOCKHOLM, July 29 (Reuters) - U.S. and Chinese officials began a second day of talks in Stockholm on Tuesday to resolve longstanding economic disputes and step back from an escalating trade war between the world's two biggest economies. The meetings may not yield immediate large breakthroughs but the two sides could agree to another 90-day extension of a tariff truce struck in mid-May. It may also pave the way for a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the year, though Trump on Tuesday denied going out of his way to seek one. Sign up here. The delegations met for more than five hours on Monday at Rosenbad, the Swedish prime minister's office in central Stockholm. Neither side made statements after the first day of talks. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was seen arriving at Rosenbad on Tuesday morning after a separate meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. China's Vice Premier He Lifeng also arrived at the venue. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with Trump's administration, after reaching preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals. Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from U.S. duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo. The Stockholm talks follow Trump's biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday for a 15% tariff on most EU goods exports to the United States, and a deal with Japan. That agreement has brought a measure of relief to the EU but also frustration and anger, with France denouncing the deal as a "submission" and Germany, Europe's largest economy, also warning of "significant" damage. China can exercise a degree of leverage with its grip on the global market for rare earths and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, analysts say. Unlike the EU, it also does not rely on the United States for security ties and can let trade talks play out for several more months, Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, told Reuters. "China is well aware of its strong negotiating position, as could clearly be seen in the temporary escalation observed in April," he said. "But over Europe always hangs the Damocles sword of the U.S. withdrawing its security guarantee, and that is why the EU did not escalate the situation like China did." TRUMP ON XI MEETING The Financial Times reported on Monday that the United States had paused curbs on tech exports to China to avoid disrupting trade talks with Beijing and support Trump's efforts to secure a meeting with Xi this year. Trump pushed back against suggestions he was seeking a meeting with Xi. "This is not correct, I am not SEEKING anything! I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest!" he wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. Previous U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing U.S. and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia's (NVDA.O) , opens new tab H20 AI chips, and other goods halted by the United States. Among broader economic issues, Washington complains that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, while Beijing says U.S. national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth. Bessent has already flagged a deadline extension and has said he wants China to rebalance its economy away from exports to more domestic consumption -- a decades-long goal for U.S. policymakers. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-china-resume-talks-stockholm-ease-tariff-hostilities-2025-07-29/
2025-07-29 11:32
LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Uber's (UBER.N) , opens new tab rival taxi operators in England and Wales will not face a 20% VAT charge on their profit margins outside of London after the ride-hailing firm lost its appeal on Tuesday against a previous ruling. Uber had sought a declaration that rival private-hire taxi operators enter into a contract with passengers, meaning operators must charge a 20% value added tax (VAT) outside London as Uber is required to do. Sign up here. It brought the case after a 2021 Supreme Court ruling that Uber drivers were workers, making them eligible for the minimum wage and holiday pay, and making Uber subject to VAT for rides. Uber sought to have the same terms applied to rival operators and the High Court ruled in its favour last year. The ruling applied to rides in England and Wales outside London, which has a different regulatory regime. However, that ruling was reversed by the Court of Appeal in July 2024 following a challenge by private hire operators Delta Taxis and platform Veezu. Uber then brought an appeal to the Supreme Court, which on Tuesday unanimously dismissed the appeal, ruling that operators are not required to enter into a contract with passengers. An Uber spokesperson said the ruling "confirms that different contractual protections apply for people booking trips in London compared to the rest of England and Wales", but has "no impact on Uber's application of VAT". Delta Taxis' lawyer Layla Barke Jones, from Aaron & Partners, said a victory for Uber would have badly affected many private hire operators, adding: "A crisis has been averted." Veezu said the ruling avoided significant fare increases, with its chief legal officer Nia Cooper saying the decision was "a triumph for the UK private hire sector". In a separate case, Estonian ride-hailing and food delivery startup Bolt this year defeated an appeal by Britain's tax authority HMRC on what it has to charge VAT at 20%. HMRC has since been granted permission to challenge the ruling that Bolt is only liable for VAT on its margin, rather than the full cost of the trip, at the Court of Appeal. Kimberly Hurd, Bolt's senior general manager for the UK, welcomed the Supreme Court's decision on Uber's appeal, but said a new regulatory framework was needed so that rules were consistent across the UK. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/uber-loses-uk-supreme-court-appeal-over-tax-rival-apps-2025-07-29/
2025-07-29 11:32
CANELAS, Portugal, July 29 (Reuters) - More than 1,300 firefighters backed up by a dozen waterbombing planes battled three big wildfires in central and northern Portugal on Tuesday, with authorities putting most of the country on red alert for fires after weeks of hot weather. In the Arouca area, some 300 km (185 miles) north of Lisbon - where the largest of the fires has been raging since Monday -the civil protection service evacuated several dozen villagers from their homes and closed the scenic trails of Passadicos do Paiva, a popular tourist attraction. Sign up here. "It's desperate to see this ... we need help, we need air support," said Rafael Soares, a resident of the village of Canelas, recalling a devastating wildfire last September which burned 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of forest near Arouca. He blamed the fires on droughts linked to climate change that have left the area's forests bone-dry. Further north, a wildfire has been raging since Saturday in the Peneda-Geres national park near the Spanish border, enveloping nearby villages in thick smoke that led to orders for residents to stay at home on several occasions. Spain sent several waterbombing aircraft to help control the flames in the area. Three wildfires were raging in Spain's region of Castile and Leon early on Tuesday, the most severe one near Avila, about 100 km (62 miles) west of Madrid. People in the town of Mombeltran were ordered to remain inside due to the smoke. Hot and dry summers are common across the Mediterranean region, but more intense heatwaves have contributed to destructive wildfires in recent years amid fast-rising temperatures around the globe. Turkey has suffered dozens of wildfires in recent weeks as temperatures have soared, and 10 firefighters were killed last week battling a blaze in the central Eskisehir province. At the weekend, several villages in Greece were evacuated and five people were injured in separate wildfires. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/portugal-battles-three-large-wildfires-sweltering-summer-heat-2025-07-29/
2025-07-29 11:31
LUANDA, July 29 (Reuters) - Violent protests in Angola over a fuel price hike killed at least four people and led to hundreds of arrests, with unrest continuing in a few parts of the capital Luanda on Tuesday, police said. Monday's violence, which involved looting, acts of vandalism and clashes with police, followed a government decision early this month to increase the diesel price by one-third to ease the strain of costly fuel subsidies on public finances. Sign up here. Minibus taxi associations, which in turn hiked their fares by up to 50%, launched a three-day strike to protest the move on Monday, when the violence erupted. More than 500 people were arrested, and shops, banks, buses and private vehicles were vandalised, national police spokesperson Mateus Rodrigues told a press conference, saying there were still "pockets of disorder" in parts of Luanda. The Southern African oil-producing country has been gradually cutting fuel subsidies since 2023, when protests over a petrol price hike also turned deadly. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/four-killed-hundreds-arrested-angola-fuel-hike-protests-2025-07-29/
2025-07-29 11:30
FRANKFURT, July 29 (Reuters) - Germany's energy use rose 2.3% in the first half of 2025, industry statistics group AGEB said on Tuesday, citing cooler weather and a small uptick in economic performance as drivers. Energy usage in Europe's biggest economy increased to 187.3 million metric tons of coal equivalent, an industry standard measure, from 183.1 million in the first six months of 2024, AGEB's January-June report showed. Sign up here. Usage for the whole of 2024 , opens new tab was 359.6 million tons, down 1.1% on the year before. In the first half of 2025, natural gas usage rose by 4.7%, while light heating oil was up by nearly 18% due to weather patterns, AGEB said. Usage of imported hard coal was flat overall, but varied between sectors. Coal inputs in power stations rose by 23% as more conventional power was needed to offset weather-related declines in wind and hydro-electric generation. However, photovoltaic power consumption increased by 25%. The steel industry, on the other hand, used 12% less hard coal, in line with its lower pig iron production. AGEB estimated that the increase in thermal power plants' production led to 2.6% more CO2 emissions in the six months. *Energy use numbers in million tons coal equivalent units. One unit equals 29.308 petajoules. Table allows for rounding errors. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germanys-energy-use-rises-23-first-half-2025-2025-07-29/
