Toronto, Ontario — This week, Magna falls short in its bid for Veoneer; Apple decides to go solo for its untitled electric vehicle project and a Roark Capital exec sheds Driven Brands shares.
Viva Veoneer, melancholy for Magna
Semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm has reportedly made a binding US$37 per share or about $4.6 billion offer to acquire Veoneer following a bidding war with Aurora, Ont.-based Magna International, according to Bloomberg sources.
The price matches an offer lodged by Qualcomm in early August, which came in ahead of Magna’s original $31.25 per share deal.
Qualcomm said previously it would fund the acquisition with existing cash. The company’s board has already approved the deal and shareholders are not required to vote on the potential deal.
Veoneer shares were up 2.8 percent to $35.77 following the news.
Apple axes collaboration
Apple has reportedly ended discussions with several potential collaborators for its rumoured electric vehicle, deciding to take on the project on its own, according to sources in Korea.
Reports from Korea’s Maeil Economic Daily indicate that Apple is establishing its own “automobile research institute” and has been pushing for the development of the vehicle on its own.
Apple had previously been in talks with automakers like Toyota, BMW, Hyundai, Kia and Nissan. The California-based tech giant reportedly favoured a partnership with one of the aforementioned automakers though, due to bottlenecks across the world, the company decided the quickest way to turn production was to develop the vehicle and technologies in-house.
According to Maeil Economic’s report, the Apple Car will be available for order sometime between 2025 and 2027.
Driven to sell
Neal Aronson, founder and managing partner Roark Capital, which owns Driven Brands holdings, made a large insider sell last week, according to a filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A Form 4 filing from the SEC indicates that Aronson sold 881,393 shares of Driven Brands Holdings at a price of US$29.50 per share. The transaction amounted to US$26,001,094.
Following the transaction, Aronson still owns 35,016,155 shares of Driven Brands, which are worth US$1,086,376,208.
Driven Brands Holdings shares are trading up 1.05 percent as of Monday.
