2023-12-15 21:58

Dec 14 (Reuters) - Chuck E. Cheese, the U.S. restaurant chain that emerged from bankruptcy three years ago, is exploring a sale amid acquisition interest, according to people familiar with the matter. The Irving, Texas-based company, known for its arcade games and rat mascot Charles Entertainment "Chuck E." Cheese, is working with investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS.N) on an auction process that could attract private equity firms as well as peers such as Dave & Busters Entertainment (PLAY.O), the sources said. CEC Entertainment, the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese, has told potential acquirers it expects to generate around 1.2 billion in revenue and $195 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) this year, the sources added. Based on the valuation metrics of its peers, the company could fetch well over $1 billion in a sale, according to the sources. The sources cautioned that no deal is certain and asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Goldman Sachs declined to comment. CEC Entertainment and Dave & Busters did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N) acquired Chuck E. Cheese in 2014 for $1.3 billion, including debt. The company filed for bankruptcy in June 2020 after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic weighed on its business. Chuck E. Cheese emerged from bankruptcy in December 2020 after ownership was passed to its creditors, including investment firms Monarch Alternative Capital and Redan Advisors, who agreed to eliminate $705 million in debt from its balance sheet. The company and its franchisees operate nearly 600 Chuck E. Cheese locations and over 120 Peter Piper Pizza locations globally. It also owns virtual kitchen concept Pasqually's Pizza & Wings. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/restaurant-chain-chuck-e-cheese-explores-sale-sources-2023-12-15/

2023-12-15 20:56

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday denied a petition by Coinbase Global (COIN.O) seeking new rules from the agency for the digital asset sector, which the country's largest crypto exchange then sought to challenge in court. The five-member commission, in a 3-2 vote, said it would not propose new rules because it fundamentally disagreed that current regulations are "unworkable" for the crypto sphere, as Coinbase has argued. Coinbase later said it had filed a petition for review of the SEC's decision in court. The dispute was the latest in a broader tug-of-war between the crypto sector and the top U.S. markets regulator, which has repeatedly said most crypto tokens are securities and subject to its jurisdiction. The agency has sued several crypto companies, including Coinbase, for listing and trading crypto tokens which it says should be registered as securities. "Existing laws and regulations apply to the crypto securities markets," SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a separate statement supporting the decision. Coinbase disputed that assertion. "No one looking fairly at our industry thinks the law is clear or that there isn’t more work to do," chief legal officer Paul Grewal said in a statement. "We should be working together to create laws and rules that will benefit consumers and US innovation". Shortly thereafter, Coinbase notified a federal court of appeals in Philadelphia of its plans to seek review of the SEC's denial. The SEC's decision was "arbitrary and capricious" and an "abuse of discretion", Coinbase said in a court filing that Grewal shared on social media platform X. In 2022, the company pressed the SEC to create a bespoke set of rules for the crypto sector, arguing that existing U.S. securities laws are inadequate. In April, Coinbase appealed to a judge to force the SEC to respond to the petition. The court said it would not force the agency to act, given the SEC had said it would respond to Coinbase's petition. Crypto firms have said they want a clearer idea of when the SEC views a digital asset to be a security. In his statement on Friday, Gensler argued that in asking the SEC to write rules, Coinbase had acknowledged the SEC's authority over the crypto sector, something the crypto exchange has refuted in the past. Republican SEC Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda said in a joint statement that they disagreed with the decision. "In our view, the Petition raises issues presented by new technologies and other innovations, and addressing these important issues is a core part of being a responsible regulator," they said. https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-sec-denies-coinbase-petition-crypto-rulemaking-2023-12-15/

2023-12-15 20:38

OTTAWA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada on Friday made clear that interest rates were not coming down any time soon, putting it on a divergent path from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which said this week that easing could be on the timetable. The Canadian central bank raised rates by a quarter point in both June and July to a 22-year high and has left them on hold in the three policy-setting meetings since. Inflation slowed to 3.1% in October, down from a 2022 peak of more than 8%, but has remained above the bank's 2% target since March 2021. "The Fed is going to do what they need to do. We're going to focus on what needs to be done here in Canada," Governor Tiff Macklem told a business audience in Toronto after a speech. "We have not started having that discussion (about cutting rates), because it's too early to have that discussion. We're still discussing whether we raised interest rates enough and how long they need to stay where they are." Money markets expect the bank to begin easing as soon as April and for rates to fall 125 basis points in 2024.0#BOCWATCH U.S. central bank chief Jerome Powell on Wednesday said the historic tightening of monetary policy is likely over, with a discussion of cuts in borrowing costs coming into view. The Bank of Canada had previously forecast inflation should hit 2% by end-2025 but Macklem - making his last public appearance of 2023 - told reporters it should be closer to target by the end of next year. "Inflation is still too high. If we don't do enough ... ultimately, we're probably going to have to raise rates even further to get it down," he said. Earlier, in his speech, he had said future inflation declines were likely to be gradual. Macklem also expressed increasing optimism it could bring inflation back down to target but said the next few quarters would be difficult as high interest rates restrict the economy. "The 2% inflation target is now in sight. And while we're not there yet, the conditions increasingly appear to be in place to get us there," he said. The European Central Bank this week said policy easing was not even brought up in a two-day meeting, and the Bank of England said rates would remain high for "an extended period". "I expect 2024 to be a year of transition ... with the cost of living still increasing too quickly, and with growth subdued, the next two to three quarters will be difficult for many," said Macklem, adding the jobless rate was likely to rise further. The central bank held its key overnight rate at 5% on Dec 6 and left the door open to another hike, saying it was still concerned about inflation while acknowledging an economic slowdown and a general easing of prices. "Today's speech reinforces the building sense that the Bank is comfortable that policy rates are now tight enough to quell inflation," said Andrew Kelvin, chief Canada strategist at TD Securities. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/bank-canada-diverges-fed-says-rates-not-coming-down-soon-2023-12-15/

2023-12-15 20:30

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A group representing major automakers urged the Biden administration to make significant changes to three proposed vehicle rules, warning they could force car companies to hastily stop building some gas-powered vehicles. The administration has proposed, among others, stringent rules that it estimates would result in 67% of new vehicles being electric by 2032. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, in a previously unreported letter to three cabinet agencies and the White House dated Wednesday and seen by Reuters, warned the proposed rules "could prematurely force abandonment of many internal combustion engine vehicles and their associated revenue, reducing the availability of capital necessary for automakers to fund the EV transition." The agencies and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The alliance represents General Motors (GM.N), Toyota Motor (7203.T), Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), Ford Motor (F.N), Stellantis (STLAM.MI) and others, Automakers have been sounding the alarm about rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Energy Department, warning they could result in $14 billion in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fines, including $6.5 billion for GM and $3 billion for Stellantis. The letter, signed by Alliance CEO John Bozzella, said the final rules expected in early 2024 will "effectively lock in the pace of automotive electrification." He cited the "critical need" for government wide coordination at the most senior levels, and questioned if "substantive work to revise the proposed rulemakings" was taking place in any meaningful way. GM CEO Mary Barra met with White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and environmental adviser Ali Zaidi on Wednesday, sources told Reuters, and they discussed a number of issues including vehicle regulations. In a previously unreported meeting, EPA Administrator Michael Regan met with the auto alliance on Nov. 29, newly released records show. The EPA has proposed requiring 56% cuts in vehicle emissions by 2032, resulting in 67% of new vehicles being electric by 2032. NHTSA in July proposed hiking CAFE standards by 2032 to a fleet-wide average of 58 miles per gallon by boosting requirements 2% per year for passenger cars and 4% annually for pickup trucks and SUVs. U.S. automakers want the increase for trucks cut to 2% annually. Referring to "overlapping, duplicative and sometimes conflicting objectives" in the rules, Bozzella also said that the Energy Department's proposed revision of EV compliance value calculations for NHTSA's CAFE program would devalue EV fuel economy by 72%. The DOE proposal jeopardizes Biden's goal of 50% EV sales by 2030, Bozzella added, warning the rules could also "lead to investment decisions that move capital away from innovative EV technologies toward mature internal combustion technologies." GM and Ford have in recent months slowed the pace of some EV production. Republicans in Congress are pushing to block EV regulations. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-rules-could-force-early-production-halt-some-gas-vehicles-letter-2023-12-15/

2023-12-15 20:29

Dec 15 (Reuters) - The number of U.S. farm acres owned by foreign entities grew more than 8% in 2022, though the 43.4 million acres of foreign-owned forest and farm land is just 3.4% of the country's agricultural land, said a government report on Friday. The issue of who owns American farmland, and whether foreign ownership of farmland presents a national security risk, has been hotly discussed in Washington, and some members of Congress have proposed limits on foreign farmland ownership. Foreign entities bought 3.4 million acres of U.S. farmland in 2022, with the biggest increases in Colorado, Alabama and Michigan, said the latest report on foreign agricultural landholdings by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Canada remains the largest foreign investor, accounting for 32% of the acres, much of which are forest in Maine. China's holdings, a primary concern of lawmakers who want to restrict foreign ownership of farms, account for less than 1% of foreign-owned acres at 350,000, a slight decrease from 2021. The pace of foreign farmland acquisitions has increased since 2017, averaging nearly 3 million acres annually, USDA said. USDA also said on Friday that it plans to update how it collects such data to better understand the impact of foreign land holdings on rural communities and the exact location of foreign-owned acres. "This process ... will lead to more insightful reporting to Congress and the public," said Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Robert Bonnie in a statement. USDA is collecting public comment on its proposed updates through Feb. 16. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/foreign-owned-us-farmland-acres-rose-more-than-8-2022-usda-2023-12-15/

2023-12-15 20:12

Dec 15 (Reuters) - California's utilities regulator on Thursday granted a five-year extension to operate Pacific Gas and Electric's (PCG.N) Diablo Canyon power plant, the state's only nuclear facility, to avoid electricity shortages during extreme weather events. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved extended operations at the 2,240-megawatts Diablo Canyon plant's two reactor units until 2029 and 2030, from 2024 and 2025, respectively. PG&E can now keep Diablo Canyon running while it awaits a renewed federal operating license, and it must also keep the terms of its $1.4 billion loan agreement with California, the CPUC said in its decision. PG&E applied on Nov. 7 with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license renewal, and had previously received approval to keep Diablo Canyon running during the relicensing period. "Shortfalls could occur under climate-driven extreme events, including the extreme heat events California recently experienced in 2020 and 2022, and the risks are compounded if coincident wildfire risk reduced transmission capacity during peak events," it added. Separately, the CPUC last month approved a 13% rate hike for PG&E, with most earmarked for wildfire mitigation. The CPUC could not determine if Diablo Canyon's extension costs are "too high to justify" or "not cost-effective or imprudent," claiming it lacked sufficient information. Critics of keeping open the plant, located next to the Pacific Ocean in San Luis Obispo County, say the region is vulnerable to earthquakes and that there is no permanent place for disposing of radioactive nuclear waste. PG&E will be responsible for obtaining substitute capacity during outages, the CPUC said, adding that any excess charges collected in one year must be returned to customers over the next one. In 2022, the Biden administration approved conditional funding of up to $1.1 billion to prevent the closure of Diablo Canyon, as part of its effort to fight climate change. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/californias-only-nuclear-plant-gets-state-approval-5-year-extension-2023-12-15/