Swiss National Bank to back Credit Suisse / Virgin Orbit pauses operations / T-Mobile acquires Mint Mobile

Plus, Kellogg's names new snack unit Kellanova.

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The Swiss National Bank on Wednesday evening said it would provide additional liquidity to Credit Suisse if necessary. Then early Thursday morning local time, Credit Suisse said it would borrow up to CHF 50B ($54B) from the SNB under a covered loan facility and a short-term liquidity facility. The central bank and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority released a statement on Wednesday saying that Credit Suisse meets the capital and liquidity requirements imposed on systemically important banks and that it would intervene if the situation changes. More: Shares of Credit Suisse fell more than 30% at one point during the trading session on Wednesday following reports that the bank’s largest investor, Saudi National Bank, would not provide Credit Suisse with any further financial assistance. Saudi National Bank Chairman Ammar Al Khudairy said the bank could not provide the financial support as it would put its stake in Credit Suisse above 10%, which is not allowed. Al Khudairy added that the Saudi National Bank is happy with Credit Suisse’s transformation plan. Saudi National Bank took a 9.9% stake in Credit Suisse in 2022 as part of the Swiss bank’s $4.2B restructuring capital raise. On Tuesday, Credit Suisse announced it had found “material weaknesses” in its financial reporting processes for 2022 and 2021. The bank said its full-year 2022 results, where it reported its largest annual loss since 2008, were unaffected.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit has paused all operations and furloughed nearly all its workers for at least a week as it seeks to raise new capital. According to sources, the company said it would provide employees with an update on the leave and funding situation by Wednesday or Thursday of next week. More: Virgin Orbit shares fell more than 30% in extended trading on Wednesday following the news. The furlough is unpaid, though employees can cash in PTO. In November, Virgin reported about $71.2M in cash in its Q3 earnings. In January, the company suffered a failure during its first launch attempt out of the U.K.

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T-Mobile acquired Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile for $1.35B. Mint Mobile offers low-cost cellular services. The cash (39%) and stock (61%) deal is expected to close later this year. More: Reynolds owns a 25% stake in Mint Mobile and is expected to receive more than $300M in cash and stock from the transaction. Reynolds was featured in various Mint Mobile TV and social media campaigns. The actor said he would remain with the company in a creative capacity, and the company would retain its Mint Mobile brand. T-Mobile is the second-largest wireless operator in the U.S. by subscribers. The company acquired Sprint in 2020 in a deal valued at over $30B.

Samsung plans to spend $228B on a new semiconductor complex in South Korea. The investment is part of a larger strategy by the South Korean government to boost its chips, displays, batteries, and EV manufacturing. More: The South Korean government said the facility would be the largest in the world. The new complex will be located outside Seoul. The government aims to create a regional semiconductor mega cluster with Samsung and other companies. The goal is to align various parts of the semiconductor supply chain from chip design to manufacturing. South Korea is home to the world’s two largest memory chip manufacturers, Samsung and SK Hynix.

Chinese businessman Guo Wengui was arrested on Wednesday in New York and charged with 11 counts of fraud and money laundering. Wengui, an associate of former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon, is accused of orchestrating a $1B fraud scheme. More: Guo is accused of using the money raised through his company GTV Media and others to buy various personal items, including a $26M home in New Jersey, a $37M yacht, a $3.5M Ferrari, and two Hasten 2000T mattresses that cost $36,000 each. The SEC has also filed a separate civil complaint against Guo and his co-defendant in the criminal case, his financial advisor William Je. The SEC accused Guo of misrepresentations in raising hundreds of millions of dollars from investors through a cryptocurrency asset called H-Coin. Prosecutors have seized over $650M of alleged fraud proceeds from 21 different bank accounts. Guo pleaded not guilty to the charges and postponed his bail application until his lawyers returned from out of town.

Two Saudi airlines have ordered 78 Boeing wide-body 787 Dreamliner aircraft worth nearly $37B. Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) ordered 39 planes with options for 10 more, and Riyadh Air ordered 39 with options for 33 more. More: Boeing did not share a timeline for deliveries. Riyadh Air said the order would support the country’s goal of serving 330 million passengers and attracting 100 million visits by 2030. Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund owns Riyadh Air, which was launched over the weekend. Boeing is set to resume deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner planes after the FAA cleared the airplane manufacturer on Friday.

Quick Hits End the madness of manual expense reporting with Divvy. Take a demo of Divvy and get a college basketball jersey of your choice.* Arab nations led by Jordan are working to help restore the Syrian government and rebuild the country after its 12-year civil war. The talks include aid worth billions of dollars and lobbying the U.S. and E.U. to lift sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government. According to sources, SVB Financial Group is considering seeking bankruptcy protection to sell assets. On Monday, the firm said it was considering strategic alternatives for its assets. Kellogg will name its snacking unit Kellanova as part of its plans to split into two independent public companies. The company’s cereal unit will be called WK Kellogg Co. The state of Ohio has sued railway company Norfolk Southern over the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine that released toxic chemicals.  Ready to grow your business through influencer partnerships? Get the visual guide to the essential stages.* *This is a sponsored post.

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Vanessa Omeokachie writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring.  Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. Editor Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords.

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