Vopak is taking over half of the shares in the terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) set up by Gasunie in Groningen’s Eemshaven. The company did not disclose what Vopak will pay for this. Furthermore, Vopak says it will refrain from a major interest in an LNG terminal in Hong Kong. Due to delays in the construction, Vopak finds the project less interesting.
Insurer ASR received an increase in advice from analysts at Citi. They argue that the share is worth too little since the takeover of Aegon’s Dutch insurance activities.
Farming
Biotechnology company Pharming announced that it had made its first commercial delivery of the drug Joenja in the United States. That drug, which works against the very rare disorder of the immune system APDS, was approved by the US drug regulator FDA at the end of last month. The first shipment will see Pharming receive a $10 million milestone payment from Novartis, which has an exclusive license to the drug.
Sif stated in an update that the expansion of its production facility on the Maasvlakte is progressing well and the first preparatory work has now started. About half of the 328 million euros in costs for the expansion will be spent this year, the rest will follow in 2024.
Pegasus Europe
Investment vehicle Pegasus Europe announced that it would disappear from the Amsterdam stock exchange. The empty stock exchange fund, a so-called SPAC, has failed to find a company to take over. Pegasus Europe was supported by LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and former CEO Jean Pierre Mustier of UniCredit and had raised almost 500 million euros in 2021. The shareholders will get their money back.
Stock markets in Asia almost all rallied on Tuesday, with the exception of Shanghai after lower-than-expected inflation in China. The American stock markets were also generally slightly positive on Monday. For example, the Dow Jones index ended 0.3 percent higher at 33,586.52 points and the broader S&P 500 advanced 0.1 percent to 4109.11 points. Tech fair Nasdaq closed a fraction lower, at 12,084.35 points.