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ZURICH / Reuters Swiss drugmaker Novartis is moving further into gene therapy by buying AveXis for $8.7 billion, adding a rare-disease treatment that could reap billions in sales. The acquisition reflects a surge of interest in biotech deal-making as large pharmaceutical companies seek promising new assets to boost their pipelines. The $218-per-share cash deal announced on Monday represents a 72 ...

Bloomberg The $4.2 billion Sequoia Fund bought a small position in Facebook Inc. as the stock slid late in the first quarter, investment manager Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb told clients. “The recent controversy enabled us to purchase a very unusual business franchise riding several powerful secular trends at a price-earnings multiple only a little higher than that of the overall ...

LONDON / Reuters Britain’s financial watchdog called on Monday for immediate coordination with European Union counterparts to ensure that Brexit is as smooth and stable as possible for markets. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said financial firms should feel comfortable about relying on a transition deal agreed last month between Britain and the EU. This covers the period between ...

Bloomberg As President Donald Trump threatens to tear up the Iran nuclear deal and tensions flare across the Mideast, his hawkish new national security adviser is preparing to start work. John Bolton, a veteran of Republican administrations who’s called for military action to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, takes over the key White House position on Monday, just ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, affirmed that meeting the needs of the society, particularly social welfare and social services, is essential for the stability of societies and peoples. His Highness also emphasised that paying attention to citizens’ demands is one of ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the leading national entity for development aid, has extended a concessionary loan of AED110 million ($30 million) to the Government of Mali to support its National Social Housing Programme. HE Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, and HE Dr Boubou Cisse, Malian Minister of Economy and Finance, ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business The UAE, the second biggest Arab economy, is leading the Arab World in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In 2016, the UAE attracted 29 percent of the total FDI inflow in to the Arab World, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, told the media in an interview ahead of the Annual Investment ...

SHARJAH / WAM For the first time in the region, the Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT) received on Saturday, the CMA CGM ANTOINE DE ST EXUPERY, France’s largest containership. The Vessel docked at the Port and about seven thousand containers were unloaded. Tariq Al Hammadi, Director of Security and Administrative Affairs at Khorfakkan Port, said the French ship had landed at ...

Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp., the Japanese technology giant, used its stake in online retailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as collateral for an $8 billion loan from a group of banks in what is one of the biggest deals of its kind, according to people familiar with the matter. Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp. ...

Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co. reported a 58 percent surge in profit, topping projections as demand for its memory chips remained strong enough to outweigh concerns about display supplies to Apple Inc. Operating income rose to 15.6 trillion won ($14.7 billion) in the three months ended March, according to preliminary results released from the Suwon, South Korea-based company. That compares with ...