British oil field services firm Expro International, which agreed to a private-equity takeover by Candover and Goldman Sachs in April, said it had received an expected, higher approach worth 1.7 billion pounds ($3.4 billion) from U.S. rival Halliburton. Expro said the proposal from Halliburton, the world’s second-biggest oil services company behind Schlumberger, was pitched at 1,525 pence per share and subject to conditions. Expro shares, up sixfold over the past four years, have been flat near current levels since that offer, and didn’t rise much today, implying that the market had a good idea of what it would get and doesn’t expect much in the way of a higher offer from the private equity side. The stock rose 0.3 percent to 1,545 pence early on Friday. Following news of the Halliburton offer a spokeswoman for Candover said: “Obviously we are looking at the situation.” 
 
Yahoo nominated nine of its 10 existing directors for reelection to the company’s board, setting the stage for a showdown with dissident investors at its annual shareholder meeting. In a regulatory filing, the embattled Internet media company postponed its annual meeting from July 3 until later the same month. It also disclosed two independent investor proposals challenging its executive pay and human rights record. The company said several shareholders other than billionaire investor Carl Icahn plan to nominate candidates to its board. Yahoo did not identify these new faces and whether they represent a serious alternative slate.
 
Shares in miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto dropped after a newspaper said Rio’s proposed acquisition by BHP was facing tougher than expected scrutiny from European regulators. The Wall Street Journal, citing people close to the matter, said European regulators were worried that the all-share offer, currently worth about $184 billion, could boost steel prices and slow economic development across the world. Rio has rejected BHP’s offer. The Journal said BHP Chief Executive Marius Kloppers was confident regulators would not block the deal and he could complete it by the fourth quarter of this year. But those close to BHP acknowledge that they are facing more questions from regulators than they expected, the newspaper said.
 
More deals of the day:
* A group led by private equity investor JC Flowers launched an offer of about 1.1 billion euros ($1.73 billion) for up to 24.9 percent of Germany’s subprime-hit Hypo Real Estate.
* French utility Suez SA has ended talks over a possible offer for British Energy Group, dealing a blow to the UK government’s hopes of ensuring competition in building new nuclear power plants. 
* IEF Capital said it dropped its proposed bid for Dutch property group VastNed Retail, worth some 1.15 billion euros ($1.8 billion), blaming weak financial markets and pushing VastNed shares to a six month low. 
* Polish clothing retailer Vistula & Wolczanka raised its bid for shares of jeweller W.Kruk to 24.50 zlotys from 23.70, the company said in a statement. 
* Compressor and machinery maker Atlas Copco said it had acquired two U.S. distributors of its products for an undisclosed sum. 
* Russian steel maker Severstal said it had reached a deal with Liberia’s Mano River Resources to buy 61.5 percent of an iron ore deposit in the West African country.
* China Mobile, the world’s biggest wireless carrier, will take over Railcom and take in a clutch of executives from smaller rivals as hopes grow that Beijing has embarked on a long-awaited overhaul of the industry. 
* China Merchants Bank has emerged as the “preferred” bidder for a controlling stake in Hong Kong lender Wing Lung, according to media reports. 
* GD Power Development Co, a major electricity and heat supplier, said it plans to pay 105 million yuan ($15 million) for a stake in a new life insurer to expand into the financial sector.