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Abu Dhabi, Goldman Sachs Invest in Haagen-Dazs Maker Froneri at $18 Billion Valuation

FILE PHOTO: A staff displays a reusable container of Haagen Dazs ice cream before the opening of the 152nd Annual General Meeting of Nestle in Lausanne, Switzerland April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A staff displays a reusable container of Haagen Dazs ice cream before the opening of the 152nd Annual General Meeting of Nestle in Lausanne, Switzerland April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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Abu Dhabi, Goldman Sachs Invest in Haagen-Dazs Maker Froneri at $18 Billion Valuation

FILE PHOTO: A staff displays a reusable container of Haagen Dazs ice cream before the opening of the 152nd Annual General Meeting of Nestle in Lausanne, Switzerland April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A staff displays a reusable container of Haagen Dazs ice cream before the opening of the 152nd Annual General Meeting of Nestle in Lausanne, Switzerland April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

Goldman Sachs and the state-linked Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have invested in Haagen-Dazs owner Froneri, in a deal that values the ice cream company at around 15 billion euros ($17.6 billion), including debt.

Froneri is a joint venture between European buyout firm PAI Partners and Swiss packaged food giant Nestle.

PAI said on Thursday it had completed a 3.6-billion-euro deal that would create a new ownership structure for its 50% in Froneri, with a subsidiary of ADIA becoming a "significant minority co-investor" and a vehicle led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives also taking a stake.

The deal values Froneri at around 15 billion euros including debt, two sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

Nestle said it was retaining its around 50% stake in Froneri.

Froneri is home to ice cream brands including Haagen-Dazs and Rowntree's, and competes with Unilever's soon-to-be spun off ice cream unit The Magnum Ice Cream Company. It has global revenues of $5.5 billion, PAI said in its statement.

Froneri was formed in 2016 as a 50:50 joint venture between Nestle and PAI unit R&R Ice Cream. It bought Nestle's US ice cream business in 2019 in a $4 billion deal.

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Fitch Affirms Saudi Arabia’s Credit Rating at ‘A+’ with Stable Outlook

FILE PHOTO: The Fitch Ratings logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London,Britain, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Fitch Ratings logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London,Britain, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause/File Photo
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Fitch Affirms Saudi Arabia’s Credit Rating at ‘A+’ with Stable Outlook

FILE PHOTO: The Fitch Ratings logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London,Britain, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Fitch Ratings logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London,Britain, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause/File Photo

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Saudi Arabia’s sovereign credit rating at A+ with a stable outlook, according to a report issued by the agency on Friday.

The agency said the Kingdom’s credit profile reflects the strength of its fiscal position, noting that its government debt-to-GDP ratio and net sovereign foreign assets are significantly stronger than the medians for both the “A” and “AA” rating categories.

Fitch also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s substantial financial buffers, including deposits and other public sector assets.

The ratings agency projected real GDP growth of 4.8% in 2026 and expects the fiscal deficit to narrow to 3.6% of GDP by the end of 2027.

Fitch also said non-oil revenues are expected to continue benefiting from strong economic activity and improved revenue efficiency.

The agency praised the momentum of economic reforms, including the updated investment system and the continued opening of the real estate and equity markets to foreign investors.

Business

Oil Prices Rise 1% as Supply Risks Remain in Focus

The Nave Photon, carrying crude oil from Venezuela, is docked at Port Freeport in Freeport, Texas, US, January 15, 2026. REUTERS/Antranik Tavitian
The Nave Photon, carrying crude oil from Venezuela, is docked at Port Freeport in Freeport, Texas, US, January 15, 2026. REUTERS/Antranik Tavitian
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Oil Prices Rise 1% as Supply Risks Remain in Focus

The Nave Photon, carrying crude oil from Venezuela, is docked at Port Freeport in Freeport, Texas, US, January 15, 2026. REUTERS/Antranik Tavitian
The Nave Photon, carrying crude oil from Venezuela, is docked at Port Freeport in Freeport, Texas, US, January 15, 2026. REUTERS/Antranik Tavitian

Oil prices rose over 1% on Friday as supply risks remained in focus despite the receding likelihood of a US military strike against Iran.

Brent crude was up 84 cents, or 1.3%, to $64.60 a barrel at 1413 GMT, on course for a fourth consecutive weekly gain. US West Texas Intermediate was up 80 cents, or 1.4%, to $59.99.

At those levels, Brent was on course for a 2% weekly gain and WTI for a 1.4% gain. Brent ⁠was up a little more than $1 at its intraday peak as investors continue to weigh the potential for supply outages should tensions in the Middle East escalate, Reuters reported.

"While geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have eased, they have not disappeared, and market participants remain concerned about potential supply disruptions," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Both benchmarks hit multi-month highs this week ⁠after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signaled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4% on Thursday as Trump said that Tehran's crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.

"Above all, there are worries about a possible blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran in the event of an escalation, through which around a quarter of seaborne oil supplies flow," Commerzbank analysts said in a note.

"Should there be signs of a sustained easing on ⁠this front, developments in Venezuela are likely to return to the spotlight, with oil that was recently sanctioned or blocked gradually flowing onto the world market."

Meanwhile, analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.

"Despite the steady drumbeat of geopolitical risks and macro speculation, the underlying balance still points to ample supply," said Phillip Nova analyst Priyanka Sachdeva.

"Unless we see a genuine revival in Chinese demand or a meaningful bottleneck in physical barrel flows, oil looks range-bound, with Brent broadly hovering between $57 and $67."

Business

Gold Eases as Strong US Data, Easing Geopolitical Tensions Sap Momentum

FILE PHOTO: A saleswoman displays a gold necklace inside a jewellery showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kolkata, India, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A saleswoman displays a gold necklace inside a jewellery showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kolkata, India, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File Photo
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Gold Eases as Strong US Data, Easing Geopolitical Tensions Sap Momentum

FILE PHOTO: A saleswoman displays a gold necklace inside a jewellery showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kolkata, India, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A saleswoman displays a gold necklace inside a jewellery showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kolkata, India, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File Photo

Gold prices ticked lower on Friday, extending losses from the previous session, as stronger-than-expected US economic data and easing geopolitical tensions in Iran hampered bullion's bullish momentum.

Spot gold eased 0.3% to $4,603.02 per ounce by 0918 GMT. However, the metal is poised for a weekly gain of about 2% after scaling a record peak of $4,642.72 on Wednesday. US gold futures for February delivery edged 0.4% lower to $4,606.70.

"There was ‌a lot of ‌momentum in the (gold) market, which seems to ‌have ⁠faded slightly ‌at the moment....the economic news flow out of the US has been causing some headwinds rather than tailwinds as of late, which is reflected in a somewhat stronger US dollar," said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.

The US dollar hovered near a six-week high on the back of positive economic data on Thursday showing initial jobless claims dropped 9,000 ⁠to a seasonally adjusted 198,000 last week, below economists' forecast of 215,000.

A firmer ‌dollar makes greenback-priced bullion more expensive for overseas ‍buyers. On the geopolitical front, people ‍inside Iran, reached by Reuters on Wednesday and Thursday, said ‍protests appeared to have abated since Monday.

Safe-haven gold tends to do well during times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, gold demand in India stayed muted this week as prices hit record highs again, taking the shine off retail buying, while bullion traded at a premium in China as demand remained steady ahead of the Lunar ⁠New Year.

Spot silver shed 1.1% to $91.33 per ounce, although it was headed for a weekly gain of over 14% after hitting an all-time high of $93.57 in the previous session. "The silver market seemed very determined to reach the $100 per ounce threshold before moving lower again....speculative traders are keeping an eye on that level even though it would not be sustainable in the medium to longer-term," Menke added.

Spot platinum dropped 2.7% to $2,345.78 per ounce, and was set to gain more than 3.1% for the week so far. Palladium lost 2.6% to $1,755.04 per ‌ounce, after hitting a more than one-week low earlier, and was headed for a weekly loss of 3.3%.