Ticker: Au Bon Pain gets new owner; Amazon wants FTC head off antitrust probe; Robinhood settles with feds for $70M

Yum! Brands and 7-Eleven franchisee Ampex Brands has purchased bakery and cafe chain Au Bon Pain, helping to expand its international reach.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The seller was Panera Bread, part of privately held JAB Holding Co., which owns a range of companies including Pret a Manger.

Ampex owns more than 400 restaurants and convenience stores. The deal, which closed Tuesday, makes the Richardson, Texas, company a franchisor for the first time in its 16-year history. The transaction includes 171 Au Bon Pain locations as well as franchising rights to an additional 131 locations.

Amazon wants FTC head off antitrust probes

Amazon is asking that the new head of the Federal Trade Commission step aside from antitrust investigations into the e-commerce giant, contending that her past public criticism of the company’s market power makes it impossible for her to be impartial.

Amazon petitioned the agency Wednesday to remove Chair Lina Khan from taking part in current probes of the company’s market conduct. Khan has been a fierce critic of tech giants Facebook, Google and Apple, as well as Amazon. She arrived on the antitrust scene in 2017, writing an influential study titled “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox” when she was a Yale law student.

FTC officials declined comment on Amazon’s motion. The agency could be expected to respond formally at some point.

Robinhood pays $70 million to settle range of allegations

Robinhood Financial will pay nearly $70 million to settle a wide range of allegations, including that it gave customers misleading information and improperly allowed some users to make riskier trades after they lied about their trading experience.

The financial penalty is the largest ever ordered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a nongovernmental organization that oversees the brokerage industry, and one that “reflects the scope and seriousness of Robinhood’s violations,” said Jessica Hopper, head of FINRA’s department of enforcement.

Since its 2014 launch, Robinhood has shaken up the brokerage industry with zero-commission trading and an easy-to-use app that’s drawn a new generation of investors into the market. It already has more than 31 million customers.

Robinhood neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the settlement announced Wednesday. In a blog post, Robinhood detailed how it has improved support for its customers, including the ability to call in and talk with a service representative for some issues.

“We are glad to put this matter behind us and look forward to continuing to focus on our customers and democratizing finance for all,” said Jacqueline Ortiz Ramsay, Robinhood’s head of public policy communications.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3x4AyxE