1. Korean giant LG acquires Athom for $55 million
Korean tech giant LG Electronics has acquired Enschede’s Athom, known for its Homey home robot. According to sources It would be a €55 million deal. LG wants to integrate Athom’s Homey home robot into its own product line. The Koreans have acquired 80% of the company’s shares from founders Stefan Weitkamp and Emil Nissen, both 32, and will get the remaining 20% over the next three years.
The entrepreneurs developed the home robot ten years ago as an assignment during their studies in creative technology at the University of Twente. With Homey, household appliances and heating systems can be adjusted and operated automatically.
2. Dutch chip sector seeks hundreds of millions in government support
After ASML, the entire chip sector is now turning to the new cabinet for a major financial injection. The new ministers received a letter on Wednesday from ChipNL, an interest group that includes more than 30 companies, according to reports. number. Chip machine maker ASM, chipmakers NXP and Nexperia, Philips and startups Axelera AI and Nearfield Instruments, among others, have signed the letter. ASML, the country’s largest company, has also added its name.
The chip companies are asking the Schoof cabinet to invest between 100 and 150 million euros annually over the next six years. They also promise to contribute another 100 to 200 million euros from their own budget.
3. Jenny Boyer steps down as CEO of C&A
CEO Jenny Boyer, 60, is leaving C&A after three and a half years, the retailer said in a news release. When Boyer took over, she announced she wanted to significantly modernize the chain by renovating stores and updating collections. In addition, online sales were to increase and new stores were to be opened. C&A is sticking to those plans, the retailer said.
Edward Brenninkmeijer is Bauer’s interim replacement, who will focus on supervisory and advisory roles outside the company. Brenninkmeijer previously served as interim CEO of C&A. In 2019, he succeeded Alain Caparros, the company’s first outside CEO.
Read again: How Jenny Boyer (CEO of C&A Europe) is turning the apparel group upside down as new leader
4. Investing tens of millions of euros in the Pal-V flying car
CEO and founder Robert Dingemanse is close to a new investment of tens of millions of euros for Pal-V, the Brabant-based flying car developer. This is evidenced by an internal email in my possession. FDForeign investor Graystone is willing to provide a €33 million loan, although the amounts will be much larger, according to Dingemanse. Earlier this year, Pal-V made a significant move into the international market when it asked Dubai to buy 100 of its exclusive flying car model for $80 million.
Read also: Pal-V would rather be Ferrari than Skoda in flying car market
5. ABN Amro takes over Bux permanently
ABN Amro Bank Completes Acquisition Box Officially completed. The investment app is now a subsidiary of the bank. The acquisition, announced in December 2023, has the blessing of De Nederlandsche Bank. Bux remains active under its own name under the auspices of the main bank.
Founded in 2013 by Nick Portot, the company has 500,000 customers and is active in eight European countries. ABN Amro was one of the first to invest in Bux. They have been working together as partners since 2019 and the bank’s systems are integrated into the app. Portot had already handed over Bux’s management to Jurik Naef at the end of 2021.
Read for the second time: Bux: From ‘Candy Crush’ for Young Investors to Great Buy for ABN Amro
6. European Investment Bank and NATO boost defence industry
The European Investment Bank and NATO investment funds are working together to boost the European defence industry. The funds are not complementary, but the collaboration should provide more financial options and flexibility.
The cooperation is “special, but also necessary,” says Peter Vininga, a defence specialist at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS). BNR. He says that at the same time as the armed forces, the European defence industry has shrunk dramatically over the past 30 years.
Read also: These are 5 future Dutch defence heroes
7. And then this: Airline tickets have become 80% more expensive in five years.
The price of a flight ticket from the Netherlands increased by an average of 84 percent between January 2019 and May this year, ING Research CalculatedThis is equivalent to nearly 4.5 times inflation and also much more than in the rest of Europe.
According to ING research, which relies on figures from Statistics Netherlands, the air passenger tax, which was introduced in 2021, is a significant factor in the price increases. The tax was initially €7.95 per ticket but has now risen to €29.05. “This is a significant increase, especially for intra-European airline tickets,” said ING aviation analyst Rico Lohmann. The air passenger tax is expected to rise further in the future.
Funding round 💸
- Utrecht Agricultural Startup Aura imaging It has raised a Series A investment of €2.8 million. The growth funds will be used to further develop the TreeScout sensor system, which helps fruit growers design tree-targeted treatments specifically to meet the needs of individual trees.
- Amsterdam Motor boat Raised €550k from Lumo Labs and Shift Invest, Ynse Hendrik Deinema’s startup is working on systems to help boats navigate autonomously.
What we also read:
- Asset manager Artisan has announced a 10 percent stake in Philips (F.D)
- ASML is allowed to expand despite objections from local residents (BNR)
- Behind the huge drop in the share price of the bus builder Ebusco, which is in dire straits, there is a major seller standing behind it (sexual weakness)