SEC reportedly subpoenaing Tesla board
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Wall Street Journal is reporting that government regulators have subpoenaed Tesla as they dig deeper into CEO Elon Musk's recent disclosure about a potential buyout of the electric-car maker.
The subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission demands information from each of Tesla's nine directors. The Journal cited an unidentified person familiar with the matter. Fox Business News was the first to report the SEC's action.
Both Tesla and the SEC declined to comment Wednesday.
The SEC opened an inquiry shortly after Musk surprised investors with an Aug. 7 tweet revealing that he lined up the financing to buy all the Tesla stock from shareholders willing to sell.
The subpoena signals regulators have now opened a formal investigation into whether Musk was telling the truth in his tweet.
-- The Associated Press
U.S. eases rules on gene-therapy tests
U.S. health officials are eliminating special regulations for gene therapy experiments. They say that what was once exotic science is quickly becoming an established form of medical care with no extraordinary risks.
Gene therapy aims to get at the root cause of a disease by altering DNA rather than just treating symptoms of a genetic illness.
When it began decades ago, an oversight panel at the National Institutes of Health reviewed every proposal to evaluate risks to patients. Now federal officials say more is known about gene therapy's safety and the panel can take on a broader role and let the Food and Drug Administration review studies and products.
They announced the change Wednesday in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.
-- The Associated Press
Texas oil outfit buys Alabama's Energen
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Texas-based Diamondback Energy Inc. is acquiring one of Alabama's largest publicly held companies, the Birmingham-based Energen Corp., in a stock deal worth more than $9 billion.
The companies announced the transaction in a statement Tuesday.
The statement says the deal creates a company that will operate in the Permian Basin, which produces oil and natural gas located in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico.
The combined company will produce the equivalent of about 222,000 barrels of oil daily and own more than 266,000 acres in the region.
Diamondback Energy is an independent oil and natural gas company based in Midland, Texas. Energen owned Alagasco before switching to oil exploration and production.
-- The Associated Press
Ford: Train depot redo to cost $740M
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. plans to spend roughly $740 million renovating Detroit's long vacant train depot and redeveloping other area properties for research and development of self-driving vehicles.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based company in June used the Michigan Central Railroad depot as a backdrop while publicly laying out plans for the 105-year-old train station and surrounding Corktown neighborhood, but the anticipated cost wasn't detailed.
The automaker's Ford Land development arm announced Tuesday it expects to seek $250 million in tax incentives to help offset the cost.
Ford's plans call for the depot to be redeveloped over the next several years. The last passenger train left the station in 1988. A businessman purchased the building in the mid-1990s, but it remained empty and became blighted, exemplifying Detroit's long decline from manufacturing powerhouse to bankruptcy.
-- The Associated Press
Alcohol-maker pours $4B into pot firm
The parent company of Corona beer and other alcoholic beverages is expanding its partnership with a Canadian marijuana producer, betting on the continued growth in the medical and recreational cannabis markets.
Constellation Brands Inc. said Wednesday it's buying 104.5 million shares worth $4 billion in Canopy Growth Corp., boosting its stake in the company to 38 percent after its existing warrants are exercised.
Victor, N.Y.-based Constellation will also get nearly 140 million new warrants it could exercise over the next three years. If it does so, Constellation will own a majority stake in the Smiths Falls, Ontario-based company.
"Constellation's investment in Canopy is a large bet at a very rich price, which can only be justified if the company proves that it can benefit from the changing environment for cannabis in Canada and beyond," said Linda Montag, senior vice president at Moody's.
-- The Associated Press
Jury finds Chinese engineer stole data
Development engineer Gangyi Chen stole trade secrets from a San Jose, Calif., technology company and took them to a Chinese firm, according to a Silicon Valley jury that ordered the payment of $66 million in damages to his former employer.
Chen, a Chinese citizen, was working for Lumileds, a San Jose company making LED lighting, when he was recruited by publicly traded Chinese electronics company Elec-Tech International, according to a lawsuit filed by Lumileds. Chen signed an employment contract with Elec-Tech before leaving Lumileds -- and days before he left, smuggled out thousands of files containing company secrets, according to the suit.
A law firm representing Chen and Elec-Tech said the jury's verdict was disappointing, and they would appeal.
"As we asserted during the trial, Elec-Tech independently developed its own process for LEDs and never took, nor used any of Lumileds' technology," law firm Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell said in a statement.
Chen, after quitting Lumileds in 2012, moved back to China, taking the secrets with him and receiving a significant career boost, the suit claimed.
-- Tribune News Service
Best Buy shells out $800M for GreatCall
NEW YORK -- Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy is pushing more into the health field, acquiring a company that provides emergency response devices for the aging.
Best Buy said Wednesday it's paying $800 million for GreatCall. The San Diego-based company, which has more than 900,000 paying subscribers, offers services like an easy connection to operators who can connect users to caregivers, answer questions, and more.
It's the latest move by a retailer to deepen its presence in health care. Best Buy already sells health-and-wellness products, and offers an activity-monitoring service for aging adults in 21 markets.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 08/16/2018