—— Sanofi Sells Consumer Health Division; The Body Shop Closes Half Its Stores; U.S. Airports Receive $9.7B for Upgrades; American Airlines Increases Baggage Fees; Nvidia Earnings Impact Entire Stock Market; Capital One Acquires Discover; Princeton Issues $660M Bonds
1. Sanofi is Selling its Consumer Health Division
According to insiders, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi may be considering selling its consumer health division, with international private equity giants like Advent International and Blackstone closely monitoring the situation.
Well-known firms such as KKR, CVC Capital Partners, and Bain Capital also express interest in acquiring the division. The valuation of the division is expected to exceed $20 billion.
Sanofi’s consumer health division includes products like Phytoxil cough syrup and Icy Hot pain relief patches, and the company has stated that it will sell if the valuation is reasonable.
Today, Sanofi’s stock price in Paris rose by as much as 3.2%, marking the largest single-day increase in four months.
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2. The Body Shop to Close Nearly Half of its UK Stores
Last week, skincare retail company The Body Shop announced that it was facing a liquidity crisis. Today, the company issued a statement saying it will close nearly half of its 198 UK stores.
Additionally, the company will lay off 300 employees at its headquarters and will shift its focus to online and wholesale operations.
The Body Shop, founded in 1976, has struggled in recent years to compete with its rivals and has been consistently losing money.
Last week, private equity firm Aurelius purchased The Body Shop from Brazilian cosmetics giant Natura & Co. for $262 million.
The Body Shop has never tested its cosmetics on animals, which was one of the main reasons the company gained popularity in its early years.
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3. US Airports Receive $9.7 Billion in Upgrades
Today, the U.S. federal government announced it will provide $9.7 billion in infrastructure upgrade funding to over 100 airports.
Upgrading infrastructure has been one of President Biden’s top priorities. Over the past two years, U.S. airports have received nearly $2 billion in upgrade funds, primarily to update hardware and develop new amenities.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg stated that a passenger’s travel experience doesn’t begin when they board the plane, but when they step into the airport, so airport facilities must be excellent.
With the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, airports will also use the funds to build facilities to defend against storms and flooding.
Source：Bloomberg – US Airports Get Nearly $1 Billion in Federal Funds for Makeovers
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4. American Airlines Raises Baggage Fees
Data released today by IdeaWorks and CarTrawler shows that last year, global airlines’ baggage fees increased by nearly 15% year-on-year to $33.3 billion, surpassing pre-pandemic levels in 2019 for the first time. Baggage fees accounted for about 4.1% of airlines’ total revenue of $117.9 billion.
American Airlines announced that starting today, the fee for checking the first bag will increase from $30 to $35, and the fee for a second bag will rise by $5 to $45.
Scott Chandler, Senior Vice President of American Airlines, stated that the company has not raised fees since 2018, and the price increase is simply in response to inflation.
The report also shows that global baggage fees reached $32.9 billion in 2019.
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5. Nvidia’s Financial Report is Crucial for the Entire Stock Market
Tomorrow, chip giant Nvidia will release its highly anticipated financial report, which is extremely important for the entire stock market.
If Nvidia’s financial performance fails to meet the company’s extremely high expectations, the entire tech sector and even the U.S. stock market could be dragged down.
Nvidia, at the heart of the AI boom, saw its stock price triple last year and helped drive the entire S&P 500 index. The development of AI technology requires hardware like data centers, and Nvidia’s graphics card products and business are directly benefiting.
However, analysts believe that Nvidia’s stock price has already surged ahead of the earnings report, and many fearful investors opted to cash out today. As a result, Nvidia’s stock plummeted over 6%, and the Nasdaq 100 index fell more than 1.5%.
Nvidia holds an unshakable position in the AI training chip field, and as a result, its market value has ballooned to $1.7 trillion.
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6. Capital One to Acquire Discover
Capital One Financial announced today that it will acquire Discover Financial Services for $35 billion in an all-stock deal, creating the largest credit card loan company in the U.S. to compete with Wall Street giants.
Capital One stated that the acquisition price is 26.6% higher than the closing price on February 16, and the deal is expected to close by the end of 2024, subject to approval by regulators and shareholders of both companies.
Capital One’s acquisition of Discover will be the largest global merger and acquisition of the year, surpassing Synopsys’ acquisition of Ansys in January.
Together, the two companies’ credit card loan portfolios exceed those of JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup.
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7. Princeton University Issues $660 Million Bond
Princeton University plans to issue a $660 million bond in the municipal bond market, using the funds to upgrade its New Jersey campus and develop graduate student housing.
Princeton has a very high credit rating, so the university’s loans are highly sought after by investors and can secure very low interest rates.
Since 2019, Princeton’s enrollment has increased by 6% to 8,849 students, and the graduate student enrollment has steadily grown, necessitating the construction of more dormitories.
Last fall, 40,000 people applied to Princeton, but only 1,780 were admitted, with three-quarters of the students choosing to live on campus during their first year.
Princeton has a $34 billion endowment and receives $400 million annually in alumni donations.
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This content is sourced from Financial Times, Bloomberg, and The Real Deal, among other financial news outlets.