Company news in brief

Demand for Aramco's bond ‘north of’ US$30 billionDemand for Saudi Aramco's inaugural international bond, which will be issued this week, is higher than US$30 billion, Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said yesterday.State-owned Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, met investors last week in a global bond roadshow ahead of its planned issuance, which Falih previously said would be in the US$10 billion range.The transaction is expected to attract demand from both emerging markets and investment-grade buyers, as although Aramco is state-owned its finances put it in the same league as independent international oil majors like Exxon and Shell.The deal will be closed tomorrow, he added.Aramco last year postponed a planned initial public offering to 2021. – Nampa/ReutersEngie-led consortium seals purchase of Petrobras unitA consortium led by French utility Engie has won a bid for Petrobras' TAG pipeline arm with an US$8.6 billion offer, in a deal that boosts Engie's presence in a fast-growing sector and will help Petrobras cut its debts.Engie said yesterday its successful offer for a 90% stake in TAG was made by a consortium involving Engie and Canada’s Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). Petrobras will keep a 10% stake in TAG.Engie said buying TAG would provide it with a steady stream of profits, with TAG accounting for 47% of Brazil's entire gas infrastructure.Engie said the acquisition of TAG, which had 2018 core earnings of US$1.14 billion, would result in Engie's net debt increasing by around 1.6 billion euros (US$1.8 billion).The TAG divestment also represents a victory for Petrobras' leadership and its chief executive Roberto Castello Branco, who is pushing to unload assets in a bid to cut debt and refocus on exploration and production. – Nampa/ReutersKPMG plans overhaul of British businessKPMG is planning an overhaul of its British business to create an independent audit firm, regardless of any decision by the competition regulator to force a break-up of the Big Four accounting firms, The Times reported yesterday.KPMG's audit practice has 200 partners and about 5 000 staff, who could move to a standalone entity or to a subsidiary of KPMG if the plans go ahead, the newspaper said.Parliament's business committee last week urged the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to force EY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC to separate audit and consultancy services to improve standards and transparency in book-keeping after audit failures at construction company Carillion and retailer BHS.EY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC have sought to head off being split up by voluntarily agreeing not to offer consultancy services to audit clients. – Nampa/ReutersFiat Chrysler to pay Tesla to pool fleetItalian-US carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) has agreed to pay electric carmaker Tesla Inc hundreds of millions of euros to allow Tesla vehicles to be counted in its fleet to avoid fines for violating new European Union emission rules.The step will let the Italian carmaker offset carbon dioxide emissions from its cars against Tesla's, bringing down its average emissions of the greenhouse gas to a permissible level, according to the Financial Times.The report did not mention exactly how much Fiat Chrysler has agreed to pay Tesla.Tesla did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday.Tesla has made over US$1 billion in the last three years by selling emissions credits in the United States, according to its annual report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. – Nampa/ReutersNissan shareholders sever last ties with ousted GhosnNissan Motor Co shareholders ousted erstwhile boss Carlos Ghosn as a director yesterday, severing his last ties with the company he rescued from near-bankruptcy two decades ago and from which he is now accused of siphoning funds.Shareholders, who had gathered for an extraordinary meeting just days after prosecutors arrested Ghosn in Tokyo again, also voted out another director, Greg Kelly, who has also been accused in the scandal. Both Ghosn and Kelly have denied the allegations against them.Tokyo prosecutors last week took the highly unusual step of re-arresting Ghosn - who had been out on US$9 million bail - returning him to the Tokyo detention centre where he had previously spent more than 100 days. Under the latest allegations, he is accused of trying to enrich himself to the tune of US$5 million at the company's expense.Ghosn, who was first arrested in November, has been charged with under-reporting his Nissan salary for a decade, and of temporarily transferring personal financial losses to Nissan's books. However, the new allegation is potentially more serious, as it could show that he used company funds for his own purposes.Shareholders also voted in Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard as a director, another move that was widely expected. – Nampa/Reuters

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