PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Jan 15
Jan 15 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
Headlines
* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles accused of inflating U.S. sales
* Centrica joins race to strike 1 bln euros-plus deal for Viridian
* Renault feels the heat over emissions
Overview
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles were hit by reports of a U.S. lawsuit alleging the company had inflated sales figures. The shares of the automaker fell up to 10 percent and were suspended twice in Milan on Thursday.
Centrica, Britain's largest energy utility, is in the midst of getting ready a bid of more than 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion) for Viridian, a Northern Ireland power company. Centrica is likely to bid alone for Viridian after it was put up for sale by its owners, Bahrain-based Arcapita, which has set a deadline of Friday for first-round bids.
French automaker Renault SA had to issue a lengthy statement on Thursday after a French news agency reported that the company's offices had been raided as part of an investigation linked to the VW emissions scandal. Renault confirmed the raids on its offices by French anti-fraud investigators but also said that the government-appointed commission had yet to find any evidence of software-based defeat devices, which it said was "good news".
($1 = 0.9210 euros) (Compiled by Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney)