—— Boeing to Raise $19bn from Historical Share Sale; VW to Close At Least 3 Factories; Two Ex-Goldman Partners Land $1.6bn Investment; UK Fertility Rate Drops to Historical Low; Aeromexico Offers $1.1bn Notes to Refinance; Israel Could Consider Brief Truce; US Treasury Lowers Borrowing Estimate
1. Boeing to Raise $19bn from Historical Share Sale
Boeing Co. initiated a nearly $19 billion stock sale, marking one of the largest ever by a publicly traded company, to address its liquidity challenges and prevent a potential downgrade of its credit rating to junk status.
The company announced plans to sell 90 million common shares and approximately $5 billion in depositary shares, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News.
Based on Friday’s closing price of $155.01, the sale of common shares alone would amount to nearly $14 billion, making it the largest U.S. stock sale since SoftBank Group Corp. sold part of its stake in T-Mobile US Inc. in 2020, according to Bloomberg data.
Boeing’s shares dropped by 1.9% at 9:35 a.m. in New York. The stock had already fallen about 40% this year through Friday’s close, the second-worst performance in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Including overallotments, the fundraising could reach approximately $21.8 billion, according to Bloomberg’s calculations.
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2. VW to Close At Least 3 Factories
Volkswagen AG is set to close at least three factories, cut thousands of jobs, and reduce wages for tens of thousands of German employees as the automaker attempts to reverse its downturn.
These restructuring measures for the struggling VW brand represent historic cuts, highlighting the depth of Volkswagen’s crisis. Notably, the company has never previously shut down a factory in Germany, and a proposed 10% pay reduction could impact around 140,000 workers.
Following weeks of tension after Volkswagen canceled a job security agreement this summer, about 25,000 employees gathered at the company’s Wolfsburg headquarters on Monday.
Daniela Cavallo, the head of Volkswagen’s influential works council, disclosed the carmaker’s proposals at the rally-to-rally opposition. While negotiations have been underway for weeks, the full extent of the planned cuts had not been clear until now.
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3. Two Ex-Goldman Partners Land $1.6bn Investment
5C Investment Partners, a private-credit firm co-founded by two former Goldman Sachs partners, is set to start investing after raising $1.6 billion for senior direct-lending transactions.
This total includes leverage and a co-investment program, with Liberty Mutual Investments joining Michael Dell’s family office, DFO Management, as anchor partners, according to founders and co-managing partners Tom Connolly and Michael Koester.
“The private-credit market we are targeting is nearly $2 trillion and expanding,” Connolly and Koester stated in an email, adding that both private-capital providers and banks have ample opportunities in this sector.
5C plans to lend to upper middle-market companies, which it defines as those with EBITDA of $50 million or more and “durable competitive advantages.”
While primarily serving private equity-backed companies, 5C also intends to work with independent firms, including family-owned businesses.
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4. UK Fertility Rate Drops to Historical Low
The fertility rate in England and Wales dropped to a historic low in 2023, as economic pressures and societal changes discouraged young people from starting families.
According to the Office for National Statistics, women had an average of 1.44 children, the lowest rate since records began in 1938 and a significant decline from 1.94 in 2010. In London, the rate was even lower at 1.35.
These figures signal a worsening demographic crisis, with increased strain on the workforce and public finances.
The national rate is far below the 2.1 needed for natural population replacement, making Britain increasingly dependent on immigration for population growth amid rising political tensions around immigration.
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5. Aeromexico Offers $1.1bn Notes to Refinance
Grupo Aeromexico SAB is turning to the private debt market to raise up to $1.1 billion, aiming to refinance notes maturing in 2027.
The airline plans to issue five-year and seven-year notes, with the transaction expected to be priced on Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter who requested anonymity.
The proceeds will be used to refinance $663 million in senior secured notes due in 2027, as stated in a company announcement. On Monday, these bonds increased by 0.6 cents to 102.95 cents on the dollar, according to Trace data.
Since emerging from bankruptcy protection over two years ago, Aeromexico has boosted its profits and filed for a U.S. initial public offering earlier this year.
Improved credit metrics and profitability margins led S&P Global Ratings to upgrade Aeromexico’s rating from B to B+ on October 22.
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6. Israel Could Consider Brief Truce
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed openness to a brief truce in the conflict with Hamas to secure the release of a limited number of the approximately 100 hostages held by the Iran-backed militant group in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s comments came after his chief negotiator met with senior Qatari and U.S. officials in Doha on Monday to revive stalled cease-fire discussions, which had paused after Israel’s recent killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Talks focused on an Egyptian plan, mediated by Egypt, one of the intermediaries in the conflict.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi proposed a two-day pause in fighting, with four hostages released in exchange for a group of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
El-Sisi outlined that further negotiations could take place over the following 10 days, aiming for a comprehensive cease-fire and coordinated aid delivery.
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7. US Treasury Lowers Borrowing Estimate
In the lead-up to Election Day, Republican voters have cast more early ballots than Democrats in three key swing states—Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina—offering potential encouragement for the GOP with less than two weeks to go.
According to state data, more registered Republicans than Democrats have voted early in these states. However, since party affiliation doesn’t guarantee a vote for that party’s candidate, it remains uncertain how these voters actually cast their ballots. Polls indicate a highly competitive race between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. Although early voting data isn’t predictive, it helps guide party strategies as they intensify get-out-the-vote efforts for the Nov. 5 election.
Despite Trump’s past criticisms of early and mail-in voting, Republicans have recently ramped up efforts to build confidence in these practices to encourage turnout and compete with Democrats.
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本文内容来自《Financial Times》、《Bloomberg》，以及《The Real Deal》等多家财经新闻媒体。