Palantir Sues London Mayor Over Blocked £50M Police Contract
PLTR sits 22% above its 52-week low of $106.37.
Summary
Palantir is taking legal action against London mayor Sadiq Khan's office for blocking a £50 million ($67M) contract with the Metropolitan Police. The mayor's office refused approval in May, citing a lack of competitive bidding and concerns that Palantir's values do not align with London's. Palantir argues the decision unlawfully considered its ethics and values, and that the Met Police desperately needed the technology to save money and protect frontline services. A trial is set for January, later than Palantir requested. This adds to mounting European headwinds: France recently dropped Palantir for a local rival, and a UK parliamentary committee recommended using a break clause in a £330M NHS contract, calling Palantir a 'clear mismatch with UK values.' The cumulative loss of European government contracts could materially impact future revenue growth.
At the time of this announcement, PLTR was trading at $129.34 on NASDAQ in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $317B. The 52-week trading range was $106.37 to $207.52. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Reuters.