Business Watch

More than a decade after the iconic Nokia 3310 was phased out; the phone maker on Sunday unveiled a revamped version of the model. HMD global CEO Arto Nummela presented the new phone “Nokia 3310” during a press conference on February 26, 2017 on the eve of the start of…

Kraft Heinz has backed off it’s $143 billion bid for Unilever, following Unilever’s rejection of the offer. The decision not to pursue what could have been the largest-ever takeover in the food and beverage industry came after 3G Capital and Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which together own about half of…

Lufthansa Group has backed the sale of plane tickets through third party digital channels. With this, online event agents that want to spare their clients unnecessary effort will now be able to offer suitable Lufthansa flights directly from their websites or apps in combination with the event tickets. A statement…

West Africa and Nigeria’s biggest airline, Arik Air has suspended its international flight operations to the London and Johannesburg routes. Spokesman of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON, Jude Nwauzor, made the announcement in a statement issued in Lagos. Nwauzor said the suspension would enable Arik Air to find…

Thusang Mahlangu has succeeded Delphine Traoré Maïdou as CEO of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) Africa. Allianz Global said in a statement Friday that subject to regulatory approval, the change of baton took effect February 1, 2017. The company said that Ms. Maïdou 43, remains on AGCS Africa Board…

E-commerce giant, Alibaba is buying US based MoneyGram for $880 million through its digital payments arm, Ant Financial. MoneyGram has about 350,000 outlets in nearly 200 countries. Ant Financial has more than 630 million users. The takeover by the Chinese group will need regulatory approval from the US Committee on…

First Bank of Nigeria Limited has been named the most valuable banking brand in Nigeria in The Top 500 Banking Brands of The Banker magazine of the Financial Times  and Brand Finance, London, United Kingdom for the sixth consecutive time. According to a press release issued on Sunday by the…

A German customer, Fish distributor Deutsche See is suing Volkswagen for misrepresenting a fleet of vehicles it leased as environmentally friendly. Quoting a German tabloid Bild am Sonntag, Aljazeera reported that Deutsche See was suing for 11.9 million euros ($12.8 million). Though, Fish distributor is yet to comment, the paper…

Brewery giant, Guinness Nigeria Plc has announced its results for the half year ended 31 December 2016. The results, which were released via a statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, shows that the company grew its topline by 19% year-on-year. Speaking on the results, Peter Ndegwa, Managing Director/CEO, Guinness Nigeria…

U.S. healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson will acquire Swiss biotech company Actelion in a $30 billion all-cash deal that includes spinning off Actelion’s research and development pipeline, the companies said on Thursday. The acquisition gives J&J access to the Swiss group’s line-up of high-price, high-margin medicines for rare diseases, helping…