LONDON (Reuters) – Glencore GLEN.UL, the Swiss commodity trading giant, is close to hiring eight banks to supervise its planned multi-billion-dollar London and Hong Kong listing, a person familiar with the matter said.

Glencore, valued earlier this year by one analyst at about $60 billion, is continuing to prepare for what could be a record London initial public offering (IPO), despite market turmoil scuppering several other flotations.

LONDON (Reuters) – Forth Ports accepted a 760 million pounds takeover offer from Arcus, the infrastructure investor that is already its largest shareholder, ending a year-long pursuit of Britain’s only listed ports group.

The buyout by Arcus — a former European unit of collapsed Australian investment firm Babcock & Brown — is about 19 percent above an offer Forth rejected last year, and highlights a wider recovery in infrastructure dealmaking.

LONDON (Reuters) – Forth Ports accepted a 760 million pounds ($1.2 billion) takeover offer from Arcus, the infrastructure investor that is already its largest shareholder, ending a year-long pursuit of Britain’s only listed ports group.

The buyout by Arcus — a former European unit of collapsed Australian investment firm Babcock & Brown — is about 19 percent above an offer Forth rejected last year, and highlights a wider recovery in infrastructure dealmaking.

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) – Forth Ports (FPT.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) accepted a
760 million pounds ($1.2 billion) takeover offer from Arcus, the
infrastructure investor that is already its largest shareholder,
ending a year-long pursuit of Britain’s only listed ports group.

The buyout by Arcus — a former European unit of collapsed
Australian investment firm Babcock & Brown — is about 19
percent above an offer Forth rejected last year, and highlights
a wider recovery in infrastructure dealmaking.

PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) – Regulatory pressure prompted Sanofi-Aventis and Merck & Co to abandon plans for a joint animal health powerhouse with $5 billion in sales.

The move sets back the French and U.S. drugmakers’ plans to achieve economies of scale in the consolidating animal care industry, and comes a month after they delayed the long-running deal’s closing by another six months.

LONDON (Reuters) – The Takeover Panel moved closer to adopting tougher merger rules, despite opposition from private equity firms and others who argue the watchdog’s new regime throws up too many obstacles to takeovers.

The panel’s proposals, first outlined in October, are meant to give hostile bidders less sway and to allow boards to give more weight to the views of employees and other stakeholders.

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) – Britain’s Takeover Panel moved
closer to adopting tougher merger rules, despite opposition from
private equity firms and others who argue the watchdog’s new
regime throws up too many obstacles to takeovers.

The panel’s proposals, first outlined in October, are meant
to give hostile bidders less sway and to allow boards to give
more weight to the views of employees and other stakeholders.

LONDON (Reuters) – Glencore’s GLEN.UL top management, led by chief executive Ivan Glasenberg, is starting several days of meetings with big U.S. fund managers who could support its flotation, two people familiar with the matter said.

The meetings highlight how the world’s largest commodity trader is continuing intensive preparation for a possible listing in London and Hong Kong, despite market turmoil scuppering share issues across the world.

LONDON (Reuters) – IHC Merwede, the Dutch specialist shipbuilder, is negotiating new acquisition loans and is prepared to sell nearly half the company to outside investors as it eyes “sizeable” takeovers to fuel future growth.

IHC’s president confirmed a recent Reuters report that the firm, which generates more than 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in revenues, was seeking new backers and had hired JPMorgan and Rabobank for advice.

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) – Uneasy markets and the canning
of two high-profile European listings mean Glencore [GLEN.UL] is
likely to put off a decision on whether to push ahead with its
flotation until the last possible moment.

Danish outsourcing group ISS [ISSHOI.UL] postponed its
Copenhagen listing on Thursday, only 24 hours after French media
group Lagardere (LAGA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) put off the initial public offering
(IPO) of its 20 percent stake in pay-TV channel Canal+ France.