VIA optronics ($VIAO) made its debut on the NYSE Friday, with an initial public offering priced on the low end of expectations to raise $93 million, but the display technology company still sees a bright future ahead.
"We are right now at a breaking point. We are an emerging market, and we cannot grow that much as we want organically so we have to put some investment in," said Jurgen Eichner, Via optronics CEO. "This is basically what we need the proceeds for."
The initial public offering was priced at $15, but opened at $12. By mid-afternoon shares were trading around $10.
VIA builds sunlight-readable displays with wide temperature ranges and screens with touch and gesture features. Customers of the German-based manufacturer include household names like Dell, HP, Ferrari, and BMW.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the need for screen tech is still widespread and growing, according to the CEO.
"Our factory was actually shut down in China for one week," Eichner said, regarding first quarter impacts from the coronavirus pandemic that didn't derail the company's targets for the year.
"We are right now fully running again, and on top of that, actually, we have some advantages of that because it boosted the home office, home learning markets," he added.
The manufacturer also apparently had few issues with its supply chain, escaping adverse impacts of global supply networks disrupted by COVID-19 even with production facilities in its native Germany, China, and Japan.
"Our supply chain has not been affected, to be honest. One of the reasons is that we do most of the products actually in-house, so we buy only raw materials and, of course, some display glass from the display manufacturer," said Eichner. "So we've been very lucky."
Orangetheory Fitness is redefining the future of workouts with smarter tech, strength-based programming, and community-driven studios built for what’s next.
Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
