Latest news with #ForeignSubsidiesRegulation
Spectator
a day ago
- Business
- Spectator
Has Ursula von der Leyen seen the light on China?
Coming from an American politician, the accusations would have been unsurprising. Beijing is unwilling to 'live within the constraints of the rules-based international system' and its trade policy is one of 'distortion with intent'. It splashes subsidies with abandon, undercuts intellectual property protections, and as for China's membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), that was probably a mistake too. It is bold of von der Leyen to raise the WTO, and it will be intriguing to see how she is greeted at the EU-China leaders' summit Yet this tirade came not from an acolyte of Donald Trump, but from Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission during this week's summit of G7 countries in Kananaskis, Alberta. 'Donald is right,' she said during a roundtable. Could there have been something in that Rocky Mountain water? Or was this all a devilish ploy to curry favour with Trump and thereby secure a favourable trade deal with the US? After all, it will not have gone unnoticed in Brussels that the US-UK trade pact contained security and other provisions clearly aimed at excluding China from sensitive supply chains and cutting edge tech. But it wasn't only her words. The EU has also scrapped a key economic meeting with Beijing, which was to have been held ahead of an EU-China leaders' summit in the Chinese capital next month, citing a lack of progress on numerous trade disputes. It recently restricted Chinese medical device manufacturers from access to the EU's vast public procurement market, launched an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese tires and wind turbines and refused Beijing's demands to remove tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. The truth is that Brussels has lost patience with China, and the famous EU fudge is (at least for now) being jettisoned for a far more robust approach to what EU officials see as China's serial rule-breaking. Beijing's recent restrictions on the export of critical minerals, which threatened to bring the continent's motor industry to its knees, have been a painful reminder of the EU's dangerous dependencies and Beijing's willingness to weaponise its supply chains. The EU's trade investigations are being carried out under a new Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which unusually for the rather pedestrian EU bureaucracy is fast, focused and – so far – exceedingly effective. If a foreign-owned company bidding for a contract or involved in a takeover is suspected of unfair subsidies, the EU can demand detailed business information. Last year, the Dutch and Polish offices of Nuctech, a Chinese security equipment company, were raided by EU competition regulators, acting under the new powers. A Chinese railway equipment manufacturer pulled out of bidding for a large contract in Bulgaria, preferring not to hand over data that would almost certainly have revealed wads of subsidies. In spite of these growing tensions, Beijing believed it could use Trump's tariff war to prize away Brussels from Washington – a long-standing goal of Chinese policy. To this end, in late April it announced it was lifting sanctions it had imposed on members of the European Parliament in retaliation for EU sanctions on Chinese entities accused of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. President Xi Jinping also launched a charm offensive, calling for unity in the face of coercion and presenting himself as an upholder of free trade. This has backfired, being seen widely in Brussels as laughable hypocrisy. Looming large over EU relations with China is Beijing's support for Vladmir Putin, which is felt much more profoundly in European capitals than in Washington. But Brussels has also been willing to call out China on a range of security issues. These include the blacklisting of Huawei lobbyists earlier this year following allegations of bribery linked to the tech company's activities in Brussels. Germany has accused China of being behind a cyberattack on the federal cartography agency for espionage purposes, and the Belgian intelligence agencies have investigated Alibaba for 'possible spying and/or interference activities' at the cargo airport in Liège. It should not be forgotten that the term 'de-risking' in relation to China was first popularised by von der Leyen. She introduced it in a March 2023 speech to the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies. She said it meant being clear-eyed about China's growing economic and security ambitions. 'It also means taking a critical look at our own resilience and dependencies,' she said. 'De-risking' was soon adopted in other Western capitals, replacing the more clunky 'decoupling'. De-risking sounded more nuanced – a more orderly form of decoupling. It was vague, slightly murky, and open to interpretation. But therein lay its strength. It could be dialled up or down according to the circumstances, a flexible tool, with which few could disagree. It seemed like plain common-sense, which is probably why it so irked Beijing. 'It is just another word game. It will not change the 'ostrich mentality' of some countries to escape from the real world,' snarled the Global Times, a state-owned tabloid, at the time. When von der Leyen travelled to Beijing with French President Emmanuel Macron a week after her speech, Macron was given the red carpet treatment while the EC president was largely cold-shouldered in what was interpreted as a calculated snub. During this week's G7 meeting, von der Leyen said: 'We strongly feel that the biggest challenges are not the trade between G7 partners. Rather, the sources of the biggest collective problem we have has its origins in the accession of China to the WTO in 2001'. China's membership of the WTO is widely seen as a high point of western delusion about China. Beijing promised to improve the rule of law, to protect intellectual property rights, cut import tariffs, give greater access to its market, liberalise controls on its exchange rate, scrap trade barriers and much more. Few of these ever happened, or where one barrier was removed, another was erected. China has clung to the privileges of a 'developing' country. It has never provided a level playing field for foreign companies but was able to flood the world with its own cheap exports, while western companies flocked to outsource production and supply chains to Chinese factories, hollowing out manufacturing throughout the West. This led inextricably to the dependencies the West is decades later trying to unwind and has fuelled populist anger in developed economies. It is bold of von der Leyen to raise the WTO, and it will be intriguing to see how she is greeted at the EU-China leaders' summit, tentatively set for late next month to mark 50 years of bilateral relations. Few will be in celebratory mood, and Xi will probably concentrate on individual European leaders, believing he has greater influence with them than with the European Commission president. His main miscalculation has been to believe he can leverage the distrust of Trump to China's advantage, because while it is true that Trump is haemorrhaging trust, the grim truth for Xi is that Beijing never enjoyed much trust in the first place.
Business Wire
05-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Approval of BWGI Tender Offer for Verallia Shares by the French Financial Markets Authority
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: The tender offer initiated by BWGI for Verallia's shares (the ' Offer ') has been cleared today by the French financial markets authority (Autorité des marchés financiers, ' AMF '). With a holding of 28.84% of Verallia share capital, BWGI, an asset management company controlled by the Moreira Salles family, is the largest shareholder of Verallia. BWGI, acting through Kaon V 1, proposes to acquire control of Verallia through a tender offer. This Offer is not subject to any success threshold other than the achievement of the regulatory threshold of 50% of the share capital or voting rights. All Verallia shares may be tendered to the Offer, subject to the exceptions and the restrictions detailed in BWGI's offer document. BWGI will not proceed with a squeeze-out at the end of the Offer period and has undertaken, subject to certain exceptions detailed in the offer document, to maintain the listing of Verallia shares on Euronext Paris for a period of three years. Bpifrance Participations, the second largest shareholder of the Company with approximately 7.6% of the share capital (representing 9,189,887 shares in the Company), informed the Company that it intends to tender 4,594,943 shares to the Offer, representing approximately 50% of its shareholding in the Company. The Offer was cleared by the AMF on 5 June 2025, which approved BWGI's offer document under the reference 25-196 and Verallia's response document under the reference 25-197. Prior to the opening of the Offer, Kaon V and Verallia will file their respective 'other information' documents with the AMF, providing details on the legal, financial, accounting and other characteristics of BWGI and Verallia. The documentation relating to the Offer is available on the dedicated transaction website of Verallia ( as well as the AMF's website ( Terms of the transaction BWGI's Offer is priced at 28.30 euros per share (after detachment of the 2024 dividend of 1.70 euro). It is reminded that Verallia's Board of Directors, upon recommendation of the ad hoc Committee, issued a favorable opinion on the Offer detailed in the response document of Verallia. Ledouble, acting as independent expert, has issued a report concluding that the financial terms of the Offer are fair for Verallia's shareholders. Subject to obtaining the foreign investments control clearance from the French authorities and the approval of the European Commission in accordance with the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), the Offer could be opened on 23 June 2025 and to close on 25 July 2025. If the threshold of 50% of the share capital or voting rights is reached, the Offer would then be reopened from 31 July to 13 August 2025. The AMF will issue a notice announcing the opening and the timetable of the Offer. About Verallia At Verallia, our purpose is to re-imagine glass for a sustainable future. We want to redefine how glass is produced, reused and recycled, to make it the world's most sustainable packaging material. We work together with our customers, suppliers and other partners across the value chain to develop new, beneficial and sustainable solutions for all. With almost 11,000 employees and 35 glass production facilities in 12 countries, we are the European leader and world's third-largest producer of glass packaging for beverages and food products. We offer innovative, customised and environmentally friendly solutions to over 10,000 businesses worldwide. Verallia produced more than 16 billion glass bottles and jars and recorded revenue of €3.5 billion in 2024. Verallia's CSR strategy has been awarded the Ecovadis Platinum Medal, placing the Group in the top 1% of companies assessed by Ecovadis. Our CO 2 emissions reduction target of -46% on scopes 1 and 2 between 2019 and 2030 has been validated by SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative). It is in line with the trajectory of limiting global warming to 1.5° C set by the Paris Agreement. Verallia is listed on compartment A of the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Ticker: VRLA – ISIN: FR0013447729) and trades on the following indices: CAC SBT 1.5°, STOXX600, SBF 120, CAC Mid 60, CAC Mid & Small and CAC All-Tradable. Disclaimer Certain information included in this press release is not historical data but forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates, forecasts and assumptions including, but not limited to, assumptions about Verallia's present and future strategy and the economic environment in which Verallia operates. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause Verallia's actual results and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those detailed and identified in Chapter 4 "Risk Factors" of the Verallia universal registration document filed with the Autorité des marchés financiers ("AMF") on 27 March 2025 and available on the Company's website ( and that of the AMF ( These forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance. This press release includes summarized information only and does not purport to be exhaustive. This press release does not contain, nor does it constitute, an offer of securities or a solicitation to invest in securities in France, the United States, or any other jurisdiction. Protection of personal data You may unsubscribe from the distribution list of our press releases at any time by sending your request to the following email address: investors@ Press releases will still be available via the website Verallia SA, as data controller, processes personal data for the purpose of implementing and managing its internal and external communication. This processing is based on legitimate interests. The data collected (last name, first name, professional contact details, profiles, relationship history) is essential for this processing and is used by the relevant departments of the Verallia Group and, where applicable, its subcontractors. Verallia SA transfers personal data to its service providers located outside the European Union, who are responsible for providing and managing technical solutions related to the aforementioned processing. Verallia SA ensures that the appropriate guarantees are obtained in order to supervise these data transfers outside of the European Union. Under the conditions defined by the applicable regulations for the protection of personal data, you may access and obtain a copy of the data concerning you, object to the processing of this data and request for it to be rectified or erased. You also have a right to restrict the processing of your data. To exercise any of these rights, please contact the Group Financial Communication Department at investors@ If, after having contacted us, you believe that your rights have not been respected or that the processing does not comply with data protection regulations, you may submit a complaint to the CNIL (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés — France's regulatory body). _______________________________ 1 Kaon V is a compartment of the Irish fund Kaon Investment Fund ICAV, a fund managed by BWGI.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Approval of BWGI Tender Offer for Verallia Shares by the French Financial Markets Authority
PARIS, June 05, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: The tender offer initiated by BWGI for Verallia's shares (the "Offer") has been cleared today by the French financial markets authority (Autorité des marchés financiers, "AMF"). With a holding of 28.84% of Verallia share capital, BWGI, an asset management company controlled by the Moreira Salles family, is the largest shareholder of Verallia. BWGI, acting through Kaon V1, proposes to acquire control of Verallia through a tender offer. This Offer is not subject to any success threshold other than the achievement of the regulatory threshold of 50% of the share capital or voting rights. All Verallia shares may be tendered to the Offer, subject to the exceptions and the restrictions detailed in BWGI's offer document. BWGI will not proceed with a squeeze-out at the end of the Offer period and has undertaken, subject to certain exceptions detailed in the offer document, to maintain the listing of Verallia shares on Euronext Paris for a period of three years. Bpifrance Participations, the second largest shareholder of the Company with approximately 7.6% of the share capital (representing 9,189,887 shares in the Company), informed the Company that it intends to tender 4,594,943 shares to the Offer, representing approximately 50% of its shareholding in the Company. The Offer was cleared by the AMF on 5 June 2025, which approved BWGI's offer document under the reference 25-196 and Verallia's response document under the reference 25-197. Prior to the opening of the Offer, Kaon V and Verallia will file their respective "other information" documents with the AMF, providing details on the legal, financial, accounting and other characteristics of BWGI and Verallia. The documentation relating to the Offer is available on the dedicated transaction website of Verallia ( as well as the AMF's website ( Terms of the transaction BWGI's Offer is priced at 28.30 euros per share (after detachment of the 2024 dividend of 1.70 euro). It is reminded that Verallia's Board of Directors, upon recommendation of the ad hoc Committee, issued a favorable opinion on the Offer detailed in the response document of Verallia. Ledouble, acting as independent expert, has issued a report concluding that the financial terms of the Offer are fair for Verallia's shareholders. Subject to obtaining the foreign investments control clearance from the French authorities and the approval of the European Commission in accordance with the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), the Offer could be opened on 23 June 2025 and to close on 25 July 2025. If the threshold of 50% of the share capital or voting rights is reached, the Offer would then be reopened from 31 July to 13 August 2025. The AMF will issue a notice announcing the opening and the timetable of the Offer. About Verallia At Verallia, our purpose is to re-imagine glass for a sustainable future. We want to redefine how glass is produced, reused and recycled, to make it the world's most sustainable packaging material. We work together with our customers, suppliers and other partners across the value chain to develop new, beneficial and sustainable solutions for all. With almost 11,000 employees and 35 glass production facilities in 12 countries, we are the European leader and world's third-largest producer of glass packaging for beverages and food products. We offer innovative, customised and environmentally friendly solutions to over 10,000 businesses worldwide. Verallia produced more than 16 billion glass bottles and jars and recorded revenue of €3.5 billion in 2024. Verallia's CSR strategy has been awarded the Ecovadis Platinum Medal, placing the Group in the top 1% of companies assessed by Ecovadis. Our CO2 emissions reduction target of -46% on scopes 1 and 2 between 2019 and 2030 has been validated by SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative). It is in line with the trajectory of limiting global warming to 1.5° C set by the Paris Agreement. Verallia is listed on compartment A of the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Ticker: VRLA – ISIN: FR0013447729) and trades on the following indices: CAC SBT 1.5°, STOXX600, SBF 120, CAC Mid 60, CAC Mid & Small and CAC All-Tradable. Disclaimer Certain information included in this press release is not historical data but forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates, forecasts and assumptions including, but not limited to, assumptions about Verallia's present and future strategy and the economic environment in which Verallia operates. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause Verallia's actual results and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those detailed and identified in Chapter 4 "Risk Factors" of the Verallia universal registration document filed with the Autorité des marchés financiers ("AMF") on 27 March 2025 and available on the Company's website ( and that of the AMF ( These forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance. This press release includes summarized information only and does not purport to be exhaustive. This press release does not contain, nor does it constitute, an offer of securities or a solicitation to invest in securities in France, the United States, or any other jurisdiction. Protection of personal data You may unsubscribe from the distribution list of our press releases at any time by sending your request to the following email address: investors@ Press releases will still be available via the website Verallia SA, as data controller, processes personal data for the purpose of implementing and managing its internal and external communication. This processing is based on legitimate interests. The data collected (last name, first name, professional contact details, profiles, relationship history) is essential for this processing and is used by the relevant departments of the Verallia Group and, where applicable, its subcontractors. Verallia SA transfers personal data to its service providers located outside the European Union, who are responsible for providing and managing technical solutions related to the aforementioned processing. Verallia SA ensures that the appropriate guarantees are obtained in order to supervise these data transfers outside of the European Union. Under the conditions defined by the applicable regulations for the protection of personal data, you may access and obtain a copy of the data concerning you, object to the processing of this data and request for it to be rectified or erased. You also have a right to restrict the processing of your data. To exercise any of these rights, please contact the Group Financial Communication Department at investors@ If, after having contacted us, you believe that your rights have not been respected or that the processing does not comply with data protection regulations, you may submit a complaint to the CNIL (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés — France's regulatory body). _______________________________1 Kaon V is a compartment of the Irish fund Kaon Investment Fund ICAV, a fund managed by BWGI. View source version on Contacts Press contacts Sara Natij & Laurie Dambrineverallia@ | +33 (0)7 68 68 83 22 Investor relations contacts David Placet | Michele Degani | Benoit GrangeTristan Roquet-Montégonverallia@
Reuters
15-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
ADNOC seeks EU okay under foreign subsidies rules for Covestro deal
BRUSSELS, May 15 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi state oil giant ADNOC on Thursday sought EU approval under the bloc's foreign subsidies rules for its 14.7-billion-euro ($16.4 billion) acquisition of German chemicals company Covestro ( opens new tab, according to a filing on the European Commission site. ADNOC, which last week won the green light under EU merger rules for the deal, is making its biggest ever acquisition, underscoring Middle East countries' diversification of their investments to reduce their dependence on oil. The EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) takes aim at unfair foreign aid for companies with the goal of reining in competition from non-EU companies subsidised by their governments. The European Commission, which acts as the antitrust regulator for the 27-country bloc, set a June 24 deadline for its decision. It can open a full-scale investigation after 25 working days if it has serious concerns. Such a so-called in-depth probe would take 90 working days, which can be extended by 3 weeks if companies offer remedies to address concerns. Last year, a bid by UAE telecoms group e& ( opens new tab for parts of Czech telecoms company PPF's assets was only cleared after it offered to remove an unlimited state guarantee and agreed not to provide foreign subsidies to the merged entity. The case was the first full-scale probe under the FSR. ($1 = 0.8945 euros)
Arabian Business
02-04-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
EU regulators to decide on ADNOC's Covestro deal by May 12: Report
EU antitrust regulators will decide by May 12 whether to clear Abu Dhabi state oil giant ADNOC's $17.2bn (€15.9bn) takeover of German chemicals company Covestro, a regulatory filing on the European Commission website showed. ADNOC struck the deal for its biggest ever acquisition last October as Middle East countries seek to reduce their dependence on oil. The Commission, which acts as the competition enforcer in the 27-country European Union, can either clear the deal with or without conditions or open a four-month investigation after its preliminary review, Reuters reported. ADNOC awaits Covestro confirmation Deals in which non-EU companies acquire from the EU can be subject to the bloc's Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which allows the watchdog to crack down on unfair foreign state support for companies.
