Allianz in Talks to Buy Private Credit Manager Capital Four
The German insurer is holding preliminary discussions with Capital Four, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The talks could still be delayed or fall apart, the people added.
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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Air France-KLM to take majority stake in Scandinavian airline SAS
Air France-KLM plans to increase its stake in Scandinavian airline SAS to 60.5%, the latest step towards consolidating Europe's fragmented airline sector as carriers seek to strengthen their position against rivals. The Franco-Dutch airline group said on Friday it intended to increase its stake from 19.9% currently by acquiring the stakes held by top shareholders Castlelake and Lind Invest. The purchase, subject to regulatory clearances, is expected to close in the second half of 2026, Air France-KLM said. Advertisement 3 Air France-KLM is looking to increase it's stake in Scandinavian carrier SAS to 60.5% from 19.9%. EPA The value of the investment would be determined at closing, based on SAS's latest financial performance, including core earnings and net debt, the company said. It declined to give details on those metrics. Air France-KLM expects to generate 'three-digit million' euros in synergies from raising its SAS stake, finance chief Steven Zaat told analysts on a call. Advertisement Zaat said the deal would be funded from cash or a 'plain vanilla bond' and would not impact the drive to reduce the group's hybrid debt. 'We have ample room for it,' he said. SAS welcomed Air France-KLM's announcement. 'European consolidation had to happen further, and we're very happy to be part of that,' SAS CEO Anko van der Werff told Danish broadcaster TV2. 3 The Danish government will keep its 26.4% stake in SAS and its seats on the board. REUTERS Advertisement 'In the current setup where Air France-KLM is a 19.9% shareholder, they're still a competitor,' he said. 'With the new stake, going above 50%, we can really tap into all of those synergies and offer those benefits to customers.' SAS said it would continue to invest in its fleet and network. In 2023, Air France-KLM said it would invest about $144.5 million for its initial SAS stake, boosting its presence in Sweden, Denmark and Norway with the option to become a controlling shareholder after a minimum of two years, subject to conditions. SAS exited from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2024. Advertisement 3 Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith. Bloomberg via Getty Images The two carriers have already had a commercial cooperation since summer 2024. Control of SAS would allow Air France-KLM to expand in the Scandinavian market and create additional value for shareholders, Air France-KLM said in a statement. 'Following their successful restructuring, SAS has delivered impressive performance, and we are confident that the airline's potential will continue to grow through deeper integration within the Air France-KLM Group,' said Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith. The deal comes as executives seek more consolidation in Europe's fragmented airline industry, which they say is needed to compete with U.S. and Middle Eastern rivals. SAS has 138 aircraft in service and carried more than 25 million passengers last year, generating revenues of 4.1 billion euros ($4.8 billion). Air France-KLM group would have a majority of seats on the board of directors, while the Danish state will keep its 26.4% stake in SAS and its seats on the board.
CNBC
6 hours ago
- CNBC
Ethereum is powering Wall Street's future. The crypto scene at Cannes shows how far it's come
CANNES — Wall Street's new plumbing is being built on Ethereum and this week its architects took over the same French Riviera villas and red carpet venues that host the Cannes Film Festival in May. The Ethereum Community Conference, or EthCC, took over the beachside town that was swarming with crypto founders, developers, and some of the institutional giants now building atop the infrastructure. The crypto elite climbed the iconic red-carpeted steps of the Palais des Festivals — a cinematic landmark now repurposed as the stage for Ethereum's flagship European event. "The atmosphere this year was palpable in Cannes," said Bettina Boon Falleur, the powerhouse behind EthCC for the past seven years. "The prestige of the location, combined with the quality of talks, has reinforced Ethereum's stature and purpose in the wider ecosystem." Private parties sprawled across cliffside estates and exclusive resorts, but the conversations were less about price action and more about the blockchain's evolving role as the back-end of global finance. EthCC, now in its eighth year, has tracked Ethereum's trajectory from scrappy experiment to institutional backbone. "That impact was unmistakable this year," Falleur said. "From Robinhood embracing decentralized finance infrastructure via Arbitrum to local governments like the City of Cannes exploring deeper integration with the crypto economy." Indeed, one of the boldest moves came this week from Robinhood, which became the first publicly traded U.S. company to launch tokenized stocks on-chain. At a product showcase held inside a Belle Époque mansion overlooking the sea, Robinhood unveiled a sweeping new crypto strategy — including the ability for European users to trade tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs via Arbitrum, a Layer 2 network built on Ethereum. The announcement helped push Robinhood stock past $100 for the first time, capping off a week of fresh all-time highs and a more than 30% rally since being snubbed by the S&P 500 during a recent rebalance. Ether, the token native to the Ethereum blockchain, was up nearly 6% on the week and several public equities tied to the blockchain have rallied alongside it. BitMine Immersion Technologies, a company that mines bitcoin, gained more than 1,200% since announcing it would make ether its primary treasury reserve asset. Bit Digital, which recently exited bitcoin mining to "become a pure play" ethereum staking and treasury company, gained more than 34% this week. And SharpLink Gaming, which added more than $20 million in ether to its balance sheet this week, jumped more than 28% on Thursday. Ether ETF inflows are rising again too — a sign that institutional investors are warming back up. Ether is still down more than 20% this year and lags far behind bitcoin in market cap and adoption. But funds tracking ETH have seen two straight months of mostly net inflows, according to CoinGlass data. Still, ether ETFs total just $11 billion — compared to $138 billion in bitcoin ETFs. Institutions aren't betting on Ethereum for hype — they're betting on infrastructure. Even as prices stall and the network faces headwinds from slower base layer revenues and faster rivals like Solana, the momentum is shifting toward utility. "Ethereum is getting plugged into these core transactional systems," Paul Brody, global blockchain leader at EY, told CNBC on the sidelines of EthCC. "Investors, savers, people moving money — they are going to start shifting from some of the older mechanisms of doing this into Ethereum ecosystems that can do these transactions faster, cheaper, but also very importantly, with significant new functionality attached to it." Deutsche Bank recently announced it's building a tokenization platform on zkSync — a faster, cheaper blockchain built on top of Ethereum — to help asset managers issue and manage tokenized funds, stablecoins, and other real-world assets while meeting regulatory and data protection requirements. Coinbase and Kraken are also racing to own the crossover between traditional stocks and crypto. Coinbase has filed with the SEC to offer trading in tokenized public equities, a move that would diversify its revenue stream and bring it into more direct competition with brokerages like Robinhood and eToro. Kraken announced plans to offer 24/7 trading of U.S. stock tokens in select overseas markets. BlackRock's tokenized money market fund, BUIDL — launched on Ethereum last year — offers qualified investors on-chain access to yield with redemptions settled in USDC in real time. Stablecoins, meanwhile, continue to serve as the backbone of Ethereum's financial layer. Circle's USDC — the second-largest stablecoin — still settles around 65% of its volume on Ethereum's rails. According to CoinGecko's latest "State of Stablecoins" report, Ethereum accounts for nearly 50% of stablecoin market share. "The builders and contributors at EthCC aren't chasing the next bull run," Falleur said, "they're laying the groundwork to make Ethereum home for the next billion users." Even as newer blockchains tout faster speeds and lower fees, Ethereum is proving its staying power as a trusted network. Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum's co-founder, told CNBC in Cannes that there is an assumption that institutions only care about scale and speed — but in practice, it's the opposite. "A lot of institutions basically tell us to our faces that they value Ethereum because it's stable and dependable, because it doesn't go down," he said. Buterin added that firms often ask about privacy and other long-term features — the kinds of concerns that institutions, he said, "really value." Tomasz Stańczak, the new co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, said institutions are choosing Ethereum for the same core reasons. "Ten years without stopping for a moment. Ten years of upgrades, with a huge dedication to security and censorship resistance," he said. He added that when institutions send orders to the market, they want to be "absolutely sure that their order is treated fairly, that nobody has preference, that the transaction actually is executed at the time when it's delivered." Those guarantees have become increasingly valuable as stablecoins and tokenized assets move into the mainstream. The Senate's recent passage of the GENIUS Act, along with Circle's IPO, gave the industry a regulatory tailwind and helped reinforce Ethereum's role as the infrastructure layer for tokenized finance. Ethereum's core values — neutrality, security, and censorship resistance — are emerging as competitive advantages. The real test now is whether Ethereum can scale without losing its values. "We don't just want to succeed," Buterin said from the mainstage of the Palais this week. "We want to be something that is worthy of succeeding." He said the hope is that future generations will look back and see a network that truly delivered openness, freedom, and permissionless access to the masses. But the week didn't end in the conference halls, it closed with tradition. On the balcony of Villa Montana, overlooking the Bay of Cannes, the rAAVE party lit up. White-clad guests sipped cocktails as the DJ spun by the pool, haze curling from smoke machines. This year, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov and DeFi icon Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave, stood atop the balcony overlooking the crowd and the light-dotted skyline of Cannes. It was a fitting snapshot of the momentum behind Ethereum's institutional rise and symbolic of Web3's shift from niche experiment to financial mainstay.
Time Business News
6 hours ago
- Time Business News
AGGZ Commercial Vehicles and Machinery B2B Marketplace: A Practical Platform for 2025 Buyers and Sellers
In a world where digitization, global supply chains, and fleet modernization are reshaping procurement, AGGZ offers a streamlined, familiar online environment for professionals seeking to buy or sell commercial vehicles, construction machinery, agricultural equipment, and parts. Rather than positioning itself as a full-stack solution, AGGZ focuses on its core strength: providing verified listings and lead connections. Still, logistics, inspection, and finance firms can enhance their offerings by listing services in a dedicated category—bridging the gap between simple classifieds and complex all-in-one platforms. Visit the official listing site here: AGGZ – commercial trucks & machinery listings. AGGZ functions like a practical digital showroom, where regional dealers, exporters, and manufacturers upload asset listings complete with clear specifications, images, and seller credentials. Buyers—such as fleet managers, contractors, and procurement specialists—can filter results by equipment type, location, year, and condition. The result is a direct, efficient browsing experience that aligns with existing procurement workflows, substantially reducing friction and connecting qualified leads more effectively. From a seller's perspective, AGGZ enables broader reach at minimal cost. Verified listings and integrated lead messaging tools remove barriers to inquiries and price negotiations. Buyers benefit from localized inventory views and multilingual support (including English, Turkish, and Arabic), allowing them to compare equipment side-by-side by specs and price—without unnecessary broker involvement or multiple dealership visits. Trust is central to any capital-intensive purchase, and AGGZ builds this foundation through essential verification measures. Sellers undergo authentication and their listings are reviewed for accuracy—covering details like VINs, hours, and physical condition. While AGGZ doesn't provide escrow or third-party inspections, its structured listing format and direct communication options help reduce risk and enable early-stage vetting. Adding to AGGZ's ecosystem, logistics companies, inspection services, and finance firms can list in the platform's service directory. Whether you offer haulage solutions, pre-purchase inspection packages, or leasing guidance, listing services on AGGZ connect your business with buyers at the point of intent, expanding opportunities beyond basic equipment listings. For digital marketers, freelance writers, and SEO specialists supporting this ecosystem, ShopInHome – a marketplace for freelancers and creators offers a platform to showcase your services. Whether optimizing AGGZ listings, creating product content, or enhancing visibility in niche B2B verticals, ShopInHome connects your expertise with businesses seeking professional support. Real-world use cases are already materializing. A Turkish construction firm may find a reliable dump truck from a European dealer on AGGZ; a GCC region logistics operator might source refrigerated trucks ready for export; a small agricultural vendor could list mini-excavators and attachments internationally. AGGZ effectively shortens the time to contact and opens doors to markets usually inaccessible through traditional methods. In summary, AGGZ may not be a full-stack procurement engine, but it delivers precisely what buyers and sellers need in 2025's evolving equipment marketplace. It digitizes traditional listing processes without unnecessary bells and whistles—offering verified content, regional visibility, faster connections, and multilingual support. These strengths make AGGZ a reliable platform for fleet operators, dealers, exporters, and service providers in heavy equipment and commercial vehicle sectors. To get started, explore asset listings or list your next vehicle, machinery, or service offering on AGGZ – commercial trucks & machinery listings. And if you're a freelancer or agency offering marketing, SEO, or listing optimization services, visit to connect with relevant businesses. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
