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Company’s stock has fallen with competition intensifying from telehealth providers of GLP-1 drugs

A small shareholder is launching a proxy fight at WeightWatchers’ parent company, seeking board seats and hundreds of millions of dollars in cost cuts, according to people familiar with the matter.

The details

Premca Capital, an investment fund, has nominated three directors for election to WW International’s WW -0.04%decrease; red down pointing triangle board, according to the people familiar with the matter.

WW International, formerly known as Weight Watchers International, has navigated a rough period as it attempts to shift more of its business to focus on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic.

The company has a market capitalization of about $40 million, following a sharp decline in its shares in recent years. Its stock is down nearly 70% in the past year.

Premca wants WeightWatchers to slash costs by $200 million to $300 million, on top of the cuts the company has already been making. It is also pushing for an overhaul of management, a revamp of the WeightWatchers app and the adoption of a growth plan, according to the people familiar with the matter.

The firm, which has a less than 1% stake in WW International, has been in talks with the company since November, the people said.

The context

WeightWatchers has lost key executives, with its chief executive and chief financial officer leaving the company in the past year. Oprah Winfrey, the longtime face of the company, also stepped down from the board early last year and donated her shares. (Winfrey later said the move was meant to avoid a conflict of interest with a special she was making about weight-loss drugs.)

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The company held over $1.4 billion in long-term debt as of Dec. 28. WeightWatchers’ lenders in February began restructuring discussions with the company, The Wall Street Journal reported.

WeightWatchers’ revenue fell 12% to $785.9 million in 2024, and the company generated an operating loss, largely because of goodwill impairment charges. The company is already on pace to cut $100 million in annual costs by the end of this year as part of a broader plan that has included job cuts, it said in February.

Premca was founded by Rajit Marwah, a tech entrepreneur and alum of MySpace and Microsoft.

The first frames, arriving in stores on April 10, incorporate the luggage maker's signature aluminum and Mykita's advanced engineering and production capabilities.

In lieu of a license, Rimowa has forged a long-term partnership with Berlin-based eyewear specialist Mykita for co-branded sunglasses, with the first styles dropping April 10.

“It was a pretty natural fit because it brings together two German industry leaders with a very strong angle on manufacturing, on design, and on durability,” Rimowa chief executive officer Hugues Bonnet-Masimbert said in an interview, revealing the project exclusively to WWD. “We really have a lot in common.”

Indeed, Cologne-based Rimowa remains a rarity in the luggage sector in that it manufactures 100 percent of its cases at production sites in Germany, Czech Republic and Canada.

“It’s really part of our ethos, part of who we are. It certainly defines our relationship to quality, to client services and so on,” Bonnet-Masimbert said. “Also there is this notion of German engineering, which is very, very prevalent and puts the emphasis on craftsmanship, attention to detail, and purposeful design.

“Through that comes transparency, sustainability, innovation, and I would add integrity,” Bonnet-Masimbert stressed.

Likewise, Mykita controls its creative, material development and manufacturing processes all under one roof in the German capital’s Kreuzberg district.

“Using a material in an honest way and trying to bring it into the best functionality and aesthetics,” is how Mykita founder Moritz Krueger described his firm’s approach, in addition to “focusing on functional design in a very minimalistic, straightforward, clear and iconic language.”

Anodized aluminum, which Rimowa has used to create its grooved suitcases since the ’20s, is a key feature of the Heritage series of co-branded sunglasses, which come in square, aviator and panto shapes.

It marks the first time Mykita has worked with aluminum — stainless steel, acetate and Mylon are its core materials — and the rigid metal offers structural stability to the designs. The aluminum rings in silver and black also contribute a distinctive design element.

Krueger visited Rimowa’s production facilities in Cologne, marveling at the giant rolls of aluminum that are the starting point for its coveted suitcases, which took inspiration from the aviation industry.

In his view, both Rimowa and Mykita “constantly cultivate further production intelligence, and through that, you really reach true design elements.”

A second series of sunglasses, dubbed Visor, combines lightweight stainless steel and a shield-like toric lens held in place by a Mylon clip. (Mylon is a material developed by Mykita using 3D printing technology and fine polyamide powder.)

All the styles reflect Rimowa’s dedication to mobility, with Bonnet-Masimbert calling sunglasses a “travel essential.”

One could certainly see the Visor style adopted by urban dwellers who use shared bicycle and scooter schemes, given its wraparound coverage and protection from UV rays, peripheral glare, and reflections.

Bonnet-Masimbert said all the sunglasses were co-designed to reflect the signature materials and design ethos of both brands, along with the notion of lightweight construction and “something that fits into everyday life.”

Mykita | Rimowa frames are set to retail at 515 and 595 euros at select Rimowa and Mykita stores, in addition to specialty retailers worldwide, starting on April 10. Each comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Founded in 1898, Rimowa has produced some limited-edition eyewear capsules in the past, but the goal has always been to find a long-term partner for the category, Bonnet-Masimbert said.

According to the executive, Mykita, founded in 2003, stood out for its industry reputation, dedication to craftsmanship, innovation in manufacturing processes, and mastery with sturdy, lightweight materials.

During a video call from Mykita Haus, Krueger related that three Rimowa suitcases have accompanied his travels for nearly 20 years.

“So it’s really a product I adore. It’s built in a way that you see the life of the product, and at the same time you can constantly refurbish it and preserve it for the future,” he said. “Many people are really proud about every little bump in their Rimowa suitcase, because it reminds them of their travels.

“For me, it’s a very personal item, like eyeglasses, and there’s an emotional connection,” he added.

He also relates closely to Rimowa’s manufacturing expertise and relished the opportunity to collaborate with its engineering, quality-assurance, creative, marketing and other departments.

“We immediately knew we could create something great together, and go deep into material development,” Krueger said. “Using a material in an honest way really means that you have to find the right construction that brings out all the functionality, that has a technical solution, that has an aesthetic solution… How to polish it better, how to cut it better, how to make a better use.

“I prefer to work with less materials, but really being able to bring out the best in a material… It was a great pleasure to analyze and understand the properties of aluminum, and then to see how we can integrate them in a new product that has a functionality that is beyond a classic, traditional metal frame,” he continued, musing, “now we have material number four in our shelf as an ingredient that we could use when it makes sense.”

Krueger noted that making the Mykita | Rimowa frames extremely lightweight and comfortable was a priority: hence stainless steel for all the flexible elements like the bridge, hinges and temples.

The design was also meant to exalt the “matte, super beautiful surface of the aluminum,” and the interplay with steel, “so it’s real industrial design,” he said.

The Heritage series incorporates the main colors of Rimowa’s aluminum suitcases — one silver, one more gold in hue, plus black — whereas the Visor series was a “use-case” scenario of a man or woman always on the move. “There the starting point was more the lens,” Krueger said. “It’s an open display, extremely simple construction.”

Bonnet-Masimbert noted that Rimowa and Mykita are already working on new designs, but they will not release frames according to any seasonal calendar.

The two parties characterized the partnership, quietly initiated almost three years ago, as enriching on both sides.

While Mykita is Rimowa’s only enduring partnership, it has also done limited-time collaborations with a host of fashion and luxury brands including Dior, Supreme, Tiffany & Co., Rick Owens and Off-White, plus left-field ones with the likes of La Marzocco, which specializes in handmade espresso machinery.

Likewise, Mykita has done collaborations with brands including Maison Margiela, Leica, Monocle, Bernard Wilhelm and O32c.

In support of its Mykita partnership, Rimowa is releasing a campaign featuring German actor Udo Kier — a regular in Lars von Trier films — and Luxembourgish-German actress Vicky Krieps.

Two short films take a lighthearted look at the process of getting a passport photo taken: Kier and Krieps are asked to follow all photo regulations, but allowed to keep their sunglasses on. Corey Hart would be proud.

Celebrity-Backed Bankrupt Carbon Credit Seller Arranges Financing Amid Fraud Charges Against Co-Founder

Despite boasting Cindy Crawford as an investor and Meta as a client, Aspiration Partners faced challenges securing chapter 11 funding

Aspiration Partners, a climate-finance startup backed by celebrities like Cindy Crawford and Robert Downey Jr., has lined up proposed funding to stay afloat in chapter 11 after federal prosecutors charged a co-founder with fraud.

The San Francisco-based company, which has brokered carbon-credit deals with companies including Microsoft and Meta Platforms, failed to secure a lender after contacting roughly two dozen lenders and existing investors, including junior creditor Oaktree Capital Management, chief restructuring officer Miles Staglik said in a filing Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

Secured bondholder Inherent Group eventually agreed to lead a group to provide $18 million in financing, which includes $4.2 million in new money for the company now known as CTN Holdings or Catona, he said.

The climate-finance company partners with project developers worldwide, providing investment, project monitoring and other services to help them generate carbon credits. CTN then sells the carbon credits to its customers.

CTN sought protection from creditors Sunday with roughly $170 million in debt. It plans to look for a buyer for its assets, but the pool of potential purchasers might be small due to “significant capital outlays and risks associated with the business, as well as the long-time horizon for realizing a return,” Staglik said. CTN also faces “substantial” shareholder and trade litigation, he said in the filing.

The company had been receiving financing from entities affiliated with co-founder Joseph Sanberg. That source of funding dried up in February. In early March, Sanberg was arrested after the Justice Department filed a criminal complaint alleging that he conspired to defraud two investor funds of at least $145 million.

Staglik said he doesn’t believe the allegations implicate CTN in any criminal activity. He emphasized that current management and employees were unaware of the alleged misconduct and that the business itself is a victim. Sanberg no longer holds any positions at the company and is no longer involved in its operations, but the criminal case has hurt its ability to raise capital to operate, he said.

Sanberg’s defense lawyer, Marc Mukasey, said his client has pleaded not guilty to the charges. “We will buckle down and defend him with vigor and zeal,” Mukasey said in a statement on Tuesday.

The National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Clippers are one of CTN’s biggest unsecured creditors, owed $30 million for both trade debt and carbon credits.

CTN is represented by law firm Whiteford, Taylor & Preston.

The case, numbered 25-10603, has been assigned to Judge Thomas Horan.

Rolls-Royce in talks over UK subsidies for new engine development

FTSE 100 group believes the £3bn narrow-body project could deliver a step change in British economy

Rolls-Royce is in talks with the British government about taxpayer support to help fund the £3bn development of an engine to power the next generation narrow-body aircraft, primarily used for short-haul flights. 

The FTSE 100 aerospace and defence group has told senior government officials that the project could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and has called for state subsidies to help develop a fully-certified engine ready to go into production. 

The aviation group claims the project could create about 40,000 skilled jobs, both at Rolls-Royce and in the wider supply chain, and generate as much as £120bn for the UK economy over the lifetime of the programme. 

Labour has prioritised advanced manufacturing among eight high-growth sectors as part of a new industrial strategy which is due to be published in June. Rolls-Royce believes that, as one of only a handful of companies in the world with the expertise to develop engines for civil aircraft, it should be in pole position for any support.

Rolls-Royce has told the government that there is a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver a step change in growth for the UK economy”, according to people familiar with the conversations, with the development of aero-engines for the next generation of narrow-body aircraft. Rolls-Royce declined to comment on the government talks.

It is not clear how much of the estimated £3bn cost Rolls-Royce was seeking from government but people familiar with the matter said the company was prepared to invest significant sums itself. It has in the past received research and development funding from the state, as well as launch support for previous engines, including its Trent XWB. The company, which also has a facility in Dahlewitz, near Berlin, is also expected to seek support from the German government for the project.

Rolls-Royce currently builds engines that exclusively power widebody aircraft that fly internationally such as Airbus A350 jets and Boeing’s 787. Rolls-Royce left the narrow-body market more than a decade ago when it pulled out of a joint venture with Pratt & Whitney of the US.

Narrow-body aircraft such as Airbus’ A320 and Boeing’s 737 Max are the workhorses of many airlines’ fleets, flying on short-haul routes. They represent a much bigger share of the global market for civil aircraft by volume. 

The group has spent more than £500mn on a demonstrator of its new UltraFan engine, which uses a geared system to improve performance, as well as composite fan blades, and aims to be 25 per cent more efficient than the group’s first Trent engines.

Rolls-Royce said last year it had started work on a “scaled-down” demonstrator of the UltraFan that would be specifically designed to power a next generation narrow-body aircraft. 

Airbus and Boeing have been working on new materials and designs for the next generation of narrow-bodies, which are expected to be launched in the second half of the next decade.

Airbus has said it is talking to all engine makers, including Rolls-Royce. Its immediate focus, however, is on a more radical, open-rotor technology being developed by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran of France, which it believes is very fuel-efficient. 

Boeing has not launched an all-new aircraft for more than two decades. Kelly Ortberg, who took over as chief executive last year, told employees last October that despite current challenges “at the right time in the future we need to develop a new aeroplane”. 

Rolls-Royce, which has been the subject of a turnaround under chief executive Tufan Erginbilgiç, would have the financial strength to produce the engines on its own but could still look to partner given the much greater manufacturing volume required for narrow-body aircraft.

Airbus, for example, is targeting a monthly rate of 75 A320 aircraft by 2027. This compares with a monthly target of 12 A350 wide-body jets in 2028. Analysts have in the past said the most likely partner is P&W. 

Shareholders claim audit firm helped hide difficulties at South Carolina power project

Deloitte has asked a US judge to throw out demands that it compensate shareholders who lost money in the collapse of one of the country’s largest nuclear power projects, in a case that has exposed the inner workings of the Big Four audit firm.

Recently filed documents detail Deloitte’s work auditing the South Carolina utility Scana before the company abandoned construction of two nuclear reactors that had fallen far behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.

The 2017 fiasco led to the cut-price sale of Scana to a rival utility, the bankruptcy of the construction group Westinghouse and jail time for Scana’s former chief executive, who pleaded guilty to misleading regulators.

A class-action lawsuit on behalf of Scana shareholders alleges Deloitte helped the company hide burgeoning problems at the VC Summer nuclear project by signing off on financial statements that indicated it would be completed on time.

In fact, an internal whistleblower at Scana had claimed as early as 2015 that Westinghouse was impossibly far behind, and Deloitte failed to follow other red flags, the lawsuit claims.

Citing internal documents, it says that although Deloitte had experts in power plant construction on staff, the firm did not use them to verify what its audit team was being told by Scana management and Westinghouse. Deloitte’s main construction expert billed just 1.5 hours of work to Scana’s 2016 audit, according to an internal log.

The shareholders say Deloitte’s audit team gave too much credence to Scana’s own internal investigation, which dismissed claims by the whistleblower, Carlette Walker, that management was withholding negative information from regulators.

One of Deloitte’s own construction experts, Heather Sprowls, conducted an internal review of the firm’s work, after the fact, and penned a six-page handwritten memo that concluded the whistleblower investigation had been flawed.

“Derogating its responsibility as an auditor, Deloitte rubber-stamped Scana’s sham investigation into Walker’s allegations, accepting its incredulous finding that Walker’s concerns were ‘unsubstantiated’ without obtaining sufficient corroborating documentation,” the suit claims.

A Deloitte spokesperson said it “stands behind its work and believes plaintiff’s assertions are without merit”. In its motion asking for summary judgment against the shareholders, which is now with Judge Jacquelyn Austin in South Carolina district court, the firm argued that Scana’s filings contained plenty of warnings that Westinghouse could fail to meet construction deadlines.

“Plaintiff cannot take its case to a jury by pretending Scana’s cautionary disclosures do not exist, it cannot prove scienter by ignoring the substantial audit work performed, and it cannot recover damages based on events that bear no causal connection to anything Deloitte did,” its lawyers wrote.

Scana shares slumped as the problems at VC Summer became apparent, and the company was sold in 2018 to Dominion Energy of Virginia at a price some 25 per cent below its peak.

In 2020 the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Scana with misleading investors over the status of the nuclear project. The company paid $138mn to settle the claims, without admitting or denying wrongdoing. Former Scana chief executive Kevin Marsh was sentenced to two years in prison for hiding negative information from industry regulators.