Barnes Group Inc. - B STOCK NEWS

Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B) shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the company's acquisition by Apollo Global Management's funds at a Special Meeting of Shareholders. The transaction will see shareholders receive $47.50 per share in cash. The vote garnered approximately 99% approval from total shares voted, representing about 80% of Barnes' outstanding common stock.

The deal is expected to close before the end of Q1 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. CEO Thomas Hook expressed optimism about the partnership with Apollo, highlighting plans to accelerate transformation strategy, enhance capabilities, and increase innovation investment to better serve customers in aerospace and industrial sectors.

Hexagon has announced an agreement to acquire Septentrio NV, a leading OEM provider of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technologies. The acquisition aims to drive innovation and expand market reach in Resilient Assured Positioning solutions. Septentrio, based in Leuven, Belgium, employs around 150 people and is projected to generate over 50 MEUR in revenue in 2024, with growth rates and margins aligned with Hexagon Group.

The merger will combine Septentrio's GNSS platform with Hexagon's positioning portfolio, including sensor fusion, anti-jamming, correction services, and perception technologies. This integration will enable high-accuracy positioning solutions with low Size, Weight and Power characteristics, targeting markets such as robotics, UAVs, and autonomous systems. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.

BioArctic AB has entered into a global exclusive license agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb for its PyroGlutamate-amyloid-beta antibody program, including BAN1503 and BAN2803. The deal includes a $100 million upfront payment and up to $1.25 billion in milestone payments, plus tiered low double-digit royalties on global product sales.

The agreement covers BioArctic's novel antibodies targeting pyroglutamate modified amyloid-beta, which forms harmful aggregates causing Alzheimer's disease symptoms. BAN2803 incorporates BioArctic's BrainTransporter™ technology, designed to enhance brain drug delivery through the blood-brain barrier using the transferrin receptor. BioArctic retains co-commercialization rights in the Nordic region and all other rights for the BrainTransporter platform in different therapy areas.

Sectra reported record-breaking order bookings in Q2 2024/2025, surpassing SEK 4 billion. The company's contracted order bookings rose 739.6% to SEK 4,223.1 million, including a major SEK 3 billion contract for Sectra One Cloud in Québec, Canada. However, Q2 net sales decreased 4.3% to SEK 753.5 million, and operating profit declined 38% to SEK 109.6 million.

The company's transformation to service sales and cloud deliveries is progressing, with cloud recurring revenue increasing 29.9% to SEK 121.3 million. The Secure Communications segment showed strong growth, and a post-quarter settlement regarding patented technology will positively impact Q3 results. Despite short-term revenue impacts from the business model transition, management remains optimistic about long-term growth in healthcare and data security markets.

BioArctic AB has initiated dosing in the EXIST Phase 2a study of exidavnemab for Parkinson's disease patients. The study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating safety and tolerability of the monoclonal antibody targeting aggregated α-synuclein. At least 24 patients will be recruited in Europe, divided into two cohorts receiving different doses.

The trial follows successful Phase 1 studies showing exidavnemab is well-tolerated with a 30-day half-life. The drug demonstrates high affinity and selectivity toward pathological aggregated forms of α-synuclein, which is believed to play a role in disease progression. The study will evaluate various biomarkers in plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, and through digital measurements.

BioArctic AB's partner Eisai has received approval from Mexico's COFEPRIS for Leqembi (lecanemab) to treat early Alzheimer's disease. The drug, which selectively binds to amyloid-beta aggregates, is the first approved treatment proven to reduce disease progression and slow cognitive decline through this mechanism.

The approval is supported by successful results from the Phase 3 Clarity AD clinical trial, where Leqembi met its primary and key secondary endpoints. The drug is already approved in multiple countries including the U.S., Japan, China, and others. In Mexico, approximately 1.3 million people suffer from Alzheimer's disease.

Leqembi was developed through collaboration between BioArctic and Eisai, with BioArctic retaining rights to jointly commercialize in the Nordic region pending European approval.

Hexagon AB has announced that its nomination committee proposes Björn Rosengren as new Vice Chairman of the Board at the Annual General Meeting on May 5, 2025. This move is part of succession planning as current Chairman Ola Rollén has indicated his intention to step down at the 2026 AGM after 26 years on the board. Rosengren, who previously served as CEO of ABB and Sandvik AB, will be positioned to take over the chairmanship. The announcement also notes that board member Brett Watson will not seek re-election in 2025.

Hexagon is a global leader in precision technologies with approximately 24,500 employees across 50 countries and net sales of about 5.4bn EUR.

SimScale and Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division have announced a strategic partnership to deliver advanced structural analysis capabilities through a cloud-native platform. The collaboration integrates Hexagon's Marc nonlinear finite element solver into SimScale's browser-based platform as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution. This partnership aims to democratize access to advanced simulation tools, enabling engineering teams of all sizes to perform complex structural analyses without requiring extensive technical expertise or specialized IT infrastructure. The platform features live in-product support and has been ranked first in user satisfaction in the Simulation & CAE Software category by G2.

Eisai has launched Leqembi® in South Korea following its approval in May 2024 for treating early Alzheimer's disease (AD). The drug targets approximately 900,000 dementia patients in South Korea, where about 70% have Alzheimer's dementia. Leqembi, developed through collaboration between BioArctic and Eisai, is the first approved treatment that reduces disease progression by targeting amyloid-beta aggregates. The initial launch will be in the private market, with BioArctic retaining rights for joint commercialization in the Nordic region pending European approval.