Chilean beer giant CCU faces major antitrust probe | EnergyAustralia faces greenwashing lawsuit | Wheels Up at risk of going belly up

Welcome to Portfolio Intelligence Daily, where we highlight under the radar investment themes and idiosyncratic company risks.?

Today:?

• Chilean beer giant CCU faces major antitrust probe
• EnergyAustralia faces greenwashing lawsuit?
• Wheels Up at risk of going belly up

Auquan’s analyst team curates these summaries using our Risk Intelligence Engine using NLP and generative AI to uncover unique insights at scale. We focus on incidents involving emerging markets, supply chain issues, financially-material ESG risks, and the impact of regulatory changes.

Chilean beer giant CCU faces major antitrust probe

Chile’s National Economic Prosecutor's Office (FNE) filed a request before the Free Competition Defense Court (TDLC) against Compa?ía Cervecerías Unidas SA (CCU) for breaching commitments acquired in an agreement signed in 2008 to protect free competition in the beer market

• The charges include carrying out acts that, de facto, generated sales exclusivities and restricted or hindered the sale and exhibition of third-party beer in commercial establishments from 2019 to the present.
• Compa?ía Cervecerías Unidas SA (CCU) is a Chilean beverage company that produces a variety of beverages, including beer, soft drinks, wines, juices, and waters and has operations in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia, and Peru.
• CCU is the largest brewer and soft drink producer in Chile and is a publicly traded company on the Santiago Stock Exchange and the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange. It has a market capitalization of approximately $10 billion.
• The FNE, an independent public institution in Chile, promotes and protects free competition in the Chilean economy with the ability to investigate suspected anti-competitive practices and bring enforcement actions against companies.

Select timeline

• August 8, 2023 | FNE files suit against CCU and requests a $5 billion fine for failing to comply with the agreement signed in 2008 to protect free competition in the beer market (Agenda de Prensa)
• August 8, 2023 | Perpetual Ltd Makes New $1.73 Million Investment in Compa?ía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (Market Beat)
• June 6, 2023 | Are Investors Undervaluing Compa?ía Cervecerías Unidas S.A. (SNSE:CCU) By 29%? (Simply Wall Street)

Tags: #chile #beverage #brewers #anticompetition?

EnergyAustralia faces greenwashing lawsuit?

Australian Parents for Climate Action (AP4CA), a climate action group, has filed a lawsuit against EnergyAustralia in the Federal Court of Australia, alleging that the energy company misled over 400,000 consumers about the climate impact of its products.

• EnergyAustralia is accused of misleading customers by marketing its Go Neutral product as "carbon neutral" and having "a positive impact on the environment" when it is primarily generated by burning fossil fuels.?
• The company claims to have "offset" the emissions from these fossil fuels by buying carbon credits, but this is not enough to make the product truly carbon neutral and many are questioning the practice.
• Government agencies and NGOs in Australia have been intensifying their actions against companies regarding greenwashing allegations.

Select timeline

• August 10, 2023 | Energyaustralia To Face Legal Action For Alleged Greenwashing (Lawyers Weekly)?
• August 9, 2023 | Energyaustralia Accused Of False Carbon Neutral Claims (Western Advocate)?
• August 9, 2023 | Major energy provider sued for greenwashing (Energy Magazine)

Tags: #greenwashing #esg #cleanenergy #energyaustralia?

Wheels Up at risk of going belly up

Wheels Up Experience, a private jet charter/fractional company, said on Wednesday that it is facing "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue operations, even as it received short-term funding from Delta Air Lines

• North American business flights were down 3.6% in July 2023 compared to July 2022, as commercial travel has recovered and hit private operators, according to Argus International and Delta CEO Ed Bastian.
• The company canceled its earnings call scheduled for Wednesday and announced that Airshare, another private jet operator, had entered into a non-binding agreement to acquire its non-core aircraft management business.
• Shares in Wheels Up fell 42% on the news.
• Airshare will be able to double its fleet size and become a national player with the deal.

Select timeline

• August 9, 2023 | Wheels Up flags inability to continue operations, shares tank (Reuters)
• August 9, 2023 | Wheels Up, Airshare Deal Could Offer A Win For Both Side (Forbes)
• June 1, 2023 | Wheels Up Skirts Stock Delisting with Reverse Share Split | AIN (Aviation International News)

Tags: #businessaviation #wheelsup #airshare?

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