THE WEEK IN REVIEW, WITH AN EYE ON WHAT’S NEXT NEED TO KNOW

` OUR NEXT ENERGY RAISES $300 MILLION

THE NEWS: Battery startup Our Next Energy Inc. raised $300 million in its series B funding round, the company said Wednesday. e investments valued the Novi-based company at $1.2 billion.

WHY IT MATTERS: e company intends to use the funds for building the second phase of a $1.6 billion battery-cell factory in Van Buren Township in Wayne County slated for completion in 2024, founder and CEO Mujeeb Ijaz told Automotive News. ONE intends to eventually hire more than 2,100 people for the plant, which is expected to reach full capacity in 2027.

` CREDIT ACCEPTANCE INCOME DROPS 42 PERCENT

THE NEWS: Credit Acceptance Corp.’s net income fell 42 percent to $127.3 million during the fourth quarter, a decline driven primarily by a need to set more money aside for potential credit losses in light of changing cash ows.

WHY IT MATTERS: e bruised credit auto lender based in South eld said that it expected to collect smaller percentages of the indirect loans it obtained from dealerships in 2021 and 2022, resulting in a $41.1 million decline in forecast net cash ow.

` STUDY FINDS MICHIGAN EV INFRASTRUCTURE ‘INADEQUATE’

THE NEWS: Over three-quarters of Michigan residents still lack easy access to public fast EV charging stations despite recent additions to charging infrastructure across the state, a Michigan think tank said in a report. Focused primarily on DC fast charging, a report from Anderson Economic Group on the status of public charging access in the state found Michigan’s infrastructure “to be inadequate for the demand.” nounced it had made the “strategic decision” to restructure the business, resulting in a 69 percent reduction in the number of retail home lending o ces.

WHY IT MATTERS: is distribution leaves only 16 percent of the state’s population within a 10-minute trip of public DC fast charging, AEG said, in contrast to the 87 percent who have easy access to gas stations.

WHY IT MATTERS: Flagstar, last spring and prior to the closing of the $2.6 billion, all-stock acquisition by NYCB, was one of multiple metro Detroit mortgage lenders to make job cuts as the mortgage business began to decline amid surging interest rates. For the full year 2022, NYCB grew its bottom line net income 9 percent year over year to $650 million, according to its earnings report.

` LAMBERT ACQUIRES ROY PUBLIC AFFAIRS

THE NEWS: Grand Rapids-based Lambert & Co. has continued its expansion in Detroit by acquiring Roy Public A airs Management LLC and installing that rm’s founder to lead its public a airs practice. Melissa Roy, 47, began the new role of Detroit managing partner on Jan. 17, in tandem with the acquisition of her Detroit-based communications and policy advocacy rm.

` FLAGSTAR BANK TO SLASH MORTGAGE BUSINESS

THE NEWS: Flagstar Bank is making massive cuts to the lender’s mortgage business — just weeks after being formally acquired. Flagstar’s new owner, New York Community Bancorp Inc., an-

WHY IT MATTERS: e deal brings Lambert a book of business including the Downtown Detroit Partnership, Autism Alliance of Michigan, Kids Kicking Cancer and TEMO Inc., as well as a communications veteran with 20 years of experience in the eld.