Siemens expands in SE Asia, WE Soda cancels listing, SoftwareOne rejects bid

In today’s top stories, Siemens AG has shared plans for a new plant in Singapore and an expansion of its facility in Chengdu, China. In London, WE Soda, the world’s top producer of soda ash, cancelled plans to list on the LSE, but CAB Payments is pressing on with plans for its debut. Bain Capital Private Equity has had its bid for Swiss software management company SoftwareOne rejected. Having failed to establish sufficient market share in either jurisdiction, Uber is closing its food delivery business in Italy and quitting Israel altogether. Lastly, Norwegian company Norsk Hydro ASA has produced the world’s first batch of aluminium using green hydrogen.

WE Soda pulls out, CAB committed

The LSE’s reputation took a blow Thursday as WE Soda, the world’s top producer of soda ash, cancelled plans to list on the exchange, less than a fortnight after announcing them, citing “extremely cautious” UK investors as an impediment to receiving a fair valuation. However, payments firm CAB Payments is pressing on with plans for a debut on the exchange that could value it at over £1bn.

Bain Capital bid “materially undervalues” SoftwareOne

Bain Capital Private Equity has had a bid for Swiss software management company SoftwareOne [SWON.SW] rejected. SoftwareOne’s board said the bid, which puts the company at CHF2.9bn ($3.21bn), “materially undervalues” it. Bain’s offer of CHF18.50 per share represents a 33% premium on the stock’s close on 31 May, the date of the initial offer.

Southeast Asian demand prompts €2bn investment from Siemens

Siemens AG [SIE.DE] is committing €2bn towards expanding its high-tech manufacturing capacity, with plans for a new plant in Singapore and an expansion of its facility in Chengdu, China, reported Bloomberg. The move is a response to increased demand in southeast Asia, with Siemens having raised revenue outlook twice during fiscal 2023.

Uber quits under-delivering markets

Having failed to establish sufficient market share in either jurisdiction, Uber [UBER] is closing its food delivery business in Italy and quitting Israel altogether. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company will focus on markets where it can be one of the top two players, Reuters reported, with Just Eat [TKWY.AS] and Glovo [DHER.DE] leading in Italy’s food delivery market, and Gett Taxi and Yango dominating Israeli ride-hailing.

Norsk Hydro creates world’s first green hydrogen aluminium batch

Hopes for decarbonisation of aluminium production took a step towards reality this week when Norwegian company Norsk Hydro ASA [NHYDY] produced the world’s first batch of the metal using green hydrogen. Per Christian Eriksen, head of Norsk Hydro’s renewable hydrogen arm Hydro Havrand, said that “green hydrogen can remove hard to abate emissions from fossil fuels in processes where electricity is not an alternative”, Bloomberg reported.