HOSPITALITY
Wyndham rejects bid from Choice Hotels
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts rejected an unsolicited $8 billion buyout offer from Choice Hotels, a smaller chain that went public Tuesday with its bid after negotiations broke down. Wyndham, which runs Days Inn, La Quinta, Ramada, and a host of other brands, on Tuesday called the proposal “opportunistic” and said that it undervalues its growth potential. The offer was rejected unanimously by its board, the company said. “Choice’s offer is underwhelming, highly conditional and subject to significant business, regulatory and execution risk,” WyndhamChairman Stephen Holmes said in a prepared statement. “Choice has been unwilling or unable to address our concerns.” Wyndham has engaged Choice and its advisers multiple times to explore the risks of a potential deal, Holmes said, but decided it would likely take more than a year to determine what would be required to clear antitrust review. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
ACQUISITIONS
Thermo Fisher to buy Swedish company
Thermo Fisher Scientific said Tuesday it would buy Olink Holding, a Swedish company that analyzes proteins, in a $3.1 billion deal. The Waltham-based scientific tools maker plans to buy Olink for $26 per American depositary share in cash, which represents about a 74 percent premium to Olink’s closing share price Monday on Nasdaq. The deal, which was approved by the boards of the two companies, caused Olink’s share price to surge more than 66 percent in the morning. Olink specializes in proteomics, the study of the interactions, function, composition, and structures of proteins and their cellular activities. “The acquisition of Olink underscores the profound impact that proteomics is having as our customers continue to advance life science research and precision medicine,” said Marc N. Casper, chairman, president, and chief executive of Thermo Fisher. Thermo Fisher, which helps biopharma companies make medicines, is the most valuable publicly traded company based in Massachusetts, with a market cap of more than $187 billion. — JONATHAN SALTZMAN
AUTOMOTIVE
Federal regulators probing GM Cruise
US regulators are investigating General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle division after receiving reports of incidents where vehicles may not have used proper caution around pedestrians in roadways. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the reports involve automated driving system equipped vehicles encroaching on pedestrians present in or entering roadways, including crosswalks. This could raise the risk of a vehicle striking a pedestrian, which could result in severe injury or death, according to the NHTSA. The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation said that it’s received two reports involving pedestrian injuries from Cruise vehicles. It’s also identified two additional incidents from videos posted to public websites. The office said the total number of relevant pedestrian incidents is unknown. It opened an investigation on Monday. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
FINANCE
Bank of America notches profit in third quarter
Bank of America posted a 10 percent rise in third-quarter profits Tuesday, helped by higher interest rates that allowed the bank to charge more for loans at the same time that it kept expenses under control. However, CEO Brian Moynihan warned Tuesday that Americans continue to slow their spending after burning through pandemic savings, and now face higher costs due to inflation. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
AVIATION
Rolls-Royce to cut workforce
Jet engine maker Rolls-Royce said Tuesday it’s cutting up to 2,500 jobs globally as part of a corporate overhaul that its new CEO is carrying out. The aerospace company was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic that decimated demand for air travel. Tufan Erginbilgic, who took over as chief executive in January, said the layoffs are aimed at making Rolls-Royce “more streamlined and efficient.” Rolls-Royce, based in Derby, central England, didn’t disclose where jobs will be cut, but around half of its 42,000-person workforce is based in the United Kingdom. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
ENERGY
Shell says it still cares about the climate
Shell CEO Wael Sawan told the company’s staff that he “believes in urgent climate action,” despite shifting focus toward its core oil and gas businesses. The challenge in the transition to cleaner energy sources is affordability, Sawan said in an internal town hall meeting on Tuesday, according to people who attended. Under Sawan, who took the top job in January, Shell is refocusing on its core oil and gas business in an effort to improve returns to investors. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
FOOD
Tyson buys stake in bug-based company
Tyson Foods Inc. is making its first foray into the insect-protein industry as the meat giant seeks to diversify its operations. The American meatpacker said Tuesday that it agreed to buy a stake in Dongen, Netherlands-based Protix BV to help fund its expansion. The companies will also form a joint venture to build and operate a US facility that will produce bug-based meal and oil, which are typically used in fish feed and dog food. Food giants including Cargill and Archer-Daniels-Midland are facing greater environmental scrutiny and increasingly looking at bugs, such as the black soldier flies farmed by Protix, as a lower-carbon source of protein. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
PHARMACEUTICALS
Goldman Sachs predicts $100 billion market for weight-loss drugs
As the buzz surrounding weight-loss drugs gets ever louder, analysts at Goldman Sachs are predicting a potential $100 billion market opportunity, with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk leading the pack. Eli Lilly, whose pipeline of drugs includes Mounjaro, is now the world’s biggest health care company by market value. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk became Europe’s most valuable listed company last month, boosted by market enthusiasm for its Ozempic and Wegovy drugs. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
RETAIL
Holiday spending predicted to rise this year
Holiday season spending is expected to rise this year versus last year, though the increase among middle-income shoppers is forecast to be far smaller due to the impact of student loans and lower wage growth. Overall, shoppers are predicted to spend an average of $1,652, up 14 percent from last year, according to a Deloitte survey of 4,330 US adults conducted in late August and early September. Shoppers with yearly household incomes between $50,000 and $99,999 expect to spend 26 percent more this year, or about $1,534. And those who earn $200,000 or more expect their holiday spending to increase 22 percent to $3,922. Americans with yearly household income between $100,000 and $199,999 only plan to spend about 2 percent more this year, or $2,167, as college debt loads — coupled with a lack of real wage growth — makes this demographic less optimistic about holiday spending. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
FINANCE
Goldman Sachs’ earnings drop in third quarter
Goldman Sachs saw its third-quarter earnings fall 33 percent, with the investment bank seeing muted market conditions that allowed fewer deals and market making opportunities for the firm. The bank also saw a notable rise in expenses in the quarter, as the bank had to write down its investment in lending platform GreenSky as well as its real estate investments. Analysts had low expectations for Goldman this quarter, with sluggish markets and the firm announcing earlier this year that it was pulling out of its nascent consumer lending business. — ASSOCIATED PRESS