Britain’s National Grid sells U.S. renewables arm for $1.7 billion
Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
The U.K.’s National Grid announced Monday it had agreed to sell its U.S. onshore renewables business to private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management in a deal worth $1.74 billion.
The business being acquired by Brookfield develops, constructs and operates solar, onshore wind and battery storage assets in the United States.
— Chloe Taylor
Two-party coalition could boost German defense spending, Deutsche Bank says
The preliminary result of the German federal election points to a two-party coalition, according to Deutsche Bank — an outcome that could bolster the country’s defense spending.
After Germans cast their votes on Sunday, preliminary results showed the allied Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) parties won the highest proportion of votes, with a combined 28.6%. The far-right AfD came second with 20.8% of the votes, while incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) came third with 16.4%.
In a note to clients on Monday, economists at German lender Deutsche Bank speculated that a two-party coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD is now the most likely outcome, with immigration and defense “the most immediate issues in coalition talks.”
“In our view, Europe’s challenged security architecture makes it highly likely for CDU/CSU and SPD to agree on higher defense spending in principle … Foreign policy developments over the last fortnight have provided a political pivot for both parties to commit to greater defense spending,” the economists wrote.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration in the U.S. has pressured European NATO allies to increase their spending on defense, with NATO Chief Mark Rutte suggesting member states could soon have a target of spending “at least” 3% of GDP on defense. In 2024, Germany spent an estimated 2.12% of GDP on defense, according to NATO data.
“Although a new target may be formulated only after the NATO summit in June, we would assume that defense spending will likely rise to at least 2.5% of GDP over the next term, with a meaningful increase as early as 2026,” Deutsche Bank’s economists said.
“The tricky question, however, is how to finance this. Any debt brake reform, including for defense spending, would rely on support from one of the fringe parties. This is not impossible, but it would require significant political compromises.”
— Chloe Taylor
Prosus to buy Just Eat Takeaway.com for $4.3 billion
Just Eat Takeaway said it was delisting its shares from the London Stock Exchange due to the “low liquidity and trading volumes” of its shares on the exchange.
Mike Kemp | In Pictures | Getty Images
European food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway.com is poised to be acquired by Dutch technology investor Prosus in an all-cash deal worth roughly 4.1 billion euros ($4.3 billion).
“Acquiring Just Eat Takeaway.com provides a unique opportunity for Prosus to build a European food delivery champion and strengthen Prosus’ position in a key growth sector, complementing its existing food delivery footprint outside of Europe,” the companies said in a joint statement Monday.
Read the full story here.
— Sam Meredith
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open in mixed territory Monday.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 10 points higher at 8,672, Germany’s DAX up 229 points at 22,486, France’s CAC up 16 points at 8,165 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 6 points lower at 38,506, according to data from IG.
There are no major earnings Monday.
Germany’s Ifo Institute is set to release its latest business climate survey.
— Holly Ellyatt
