Oprah, meet Howard. Reports in the Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal say the head of the FCC will support the merger of XM, home to Ms. Winfrey, and Sirius,  where Mr. Stern holds court, removing the last regulatory hurdle to the long-awaited merger of the country’s only two satellite radio operators. Aides to the FCC chief said he decided to give his support after the companies agreed last week to concessions intended to prevent the new company from raising prices or stifling competition among radio makers, the Post reported.  As of last week there was still some static coming from members of Congress, but with the FCC backing the deal it’s unclear how they will make themselves heard.

In his first public comment on the end of the Yahoo/Microsoft merger talks, billionare financier Carl Icahn, said on Sunday the subsequent deal Yahoo forged with Google “might have some merit.” He had previously said a Google deal should be considered a secondary alternative to the Microsoft offer. “While the Google deal is not the same as an offer of $34.375 per share for Yahoo, I am continuing to study it,” Icahn told Reuters. Icahn declined to comment on whether he would continue to press his proxy battle to replace the board of Yahoo.

Belgian brewer InBev warned U.S. rival Anheuser-Busch that it should fully explore its $46 billion takeover offer before doing a deal with Mexico’s Modelo. In a letter that appeared to be aimed at Anheuser-Busch shareholders, InBev suggested that doing a deal with Modelo could impact the value of its $65-a-share takeover offer. Inbev’s Chief Executive Carlos Brito wrote to Anheuser-Busch’s CEO August Busch IV that he was committed to a “friendly combination,” and “we would expect that prior to proceeding with any alternative transaction, especially if your shareholders will not be given the opportunity to vote on it, you would first fully explore our offer and the potential adverse consequences any such transaction could have on the ability of your shareholders to receive our premium offer.”

Other deals of the day:

* French market watchdog AMF has approved the merger document of Gaz de France and Suez, removing one of the last hurdles to the utilities’ long-delayed 100 billion euro ($153.3 billion) merger.

* Shareholders in Australian miner Zinifex approved a A$4.3 billion ($4.0 billion) takeover by fellow miner Oxiana, creating Australia’s third-largest diversified mining group. The new company said it would look at any assets BHP Billiton may need to sell to satisfy anti-trust regulators in its bid to acquire Rio Tinto

* Rio Tinto dismissed concerns that it could be barred from digging a huge iron ore mine in Africa, as it builds its defense against a $180 billion bid from bigger rival BHP Billiton.

* De La Rue, the world’s largest banknote printing company, has agreed to sell its Cash Systems business to private equity firm Carlyle Group for 360 million pounds ($700 million) in cash.

* Australian oil firm Roc Oil offered to buy Anzon Australia in a deal valuing Anzon at about A$612 million ($572 million), after agreeing to acquire UK-listed Anzon Energy.

* Swiss machine maker Schweiter Technologies said it is selling its Satisloh Holding unit to French eyeglass maker Essilor International for 340 million euros ($521.3 million) in cash, boosting its shares.

* ProSiebenSat.1 has agreed to sell its Scandinavian pay-TV group to Sweden’s TV4 in a deal with an enterprise value of 320 million euros ($492 million) that will help it cut debt, lifting its shares.

* Vodka label Stolichnaya is to be put up for sale after Russian company SPI asked Lehman Brothers to find a buyer, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

* Credit Suisse said that it has won approval from regulators to set up a securities joint venture in China, which will allow it to underwrite domestic stock and bond offerings in the country.

* Enmax Corp said that it extended the deadline for the takeover of junior natural gas producer Cordero Energy as the two sides agreed to sweeten the deal with a special dividend.

* Cogeco Cable plans to acquire all the shares of city-owned Toronto Hydro Telecom for C$200 million ($194 million), the cable company said.

* Chip equipment maker Applied Materials said it remained interested in buying some businesses of Dutch rival ASM International and wants to enter discussions on possible transactions.

* ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, bought a 11.31 percent stake in the Turkish steel company Erdemir, bringing its total ownership to 24.9 percent and sending Erdemir shares sharply higher.

* Swedish engineering group Sandvik agreed to buy a 49 percent of U.S. tool maker Precorp for an undisclosed sum.

* Gemini Communication said it has acquired 51 percent stake in Chennai’s Veeras Infotek in a deal valued at 70 million rupees.

* Shares in Banco Popular fell more than 3 percent after Mexican telecoms company Axtel denied reports that it or its chief executive could buy a stake in the Spanish bank.

* French catering and services company Sodexo said it had bought a 90 percent stake worth 23 million euros ($35.3 million) in Yachts de Paris, which operates cruises on the river Seine in Paris.

* The Philippines rebuffed an offer to sell its 40 percent stake in oil refiner Petron Corp to investment fund Ashmore Group for around $550 million, saying it wanted a higher price.

Talk about a friendly bid. InBev CEO Carlos Brito gushes about Bud in this video statement, making a $46.3 billion bid sound almost cheap. “We respect the Anheuser-Busch board a lot,” he said. “We admire them a lot and we think that the business rationale is very strong. But Bud shares are still trading well below the $65 per share offer, so skepticism abounds. With analysts calling for a bid closer to $70, expect at least a few more rounds.

India’s Ranbaxy Laboratories sees huge opportunities for growth in Japan’s generics drug market and mergers and acquisitions are a likely option for it to expand. The attractiveness of the market was a big factor in its decision to team up with Daiichi Sankyo, Ranbaxy Chief Executive Malvinder Singh told a news conference in Tokyo. Faced with an ageing population and ballooning healthcare costs, Japan’s government has recently taken steps to promote the use of the off-patent drugs — currently only 17 percent of volume compared with 63 percent in the United States. Ranbaxy and Daiichi Sankyo announced on Wednesday that Japan’s No. 3 drug maker would pay up to $4.6 billion for control of the Indian generic drugs maker.

Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit must have seen this coming. The Wall Street Journal reports that the bank plans to close the hedge fund he co-founded, and which more-or-less launched his rocket ship to the top. Last month, Citi said it was looking at restructuring the fund, called Old Lane. Nearly all investors unaffiliated with the fund have requested to redeem their money. Citi bought Old Lane last year for more than $600 million, but the fund’s performance has since been disappointing. Citi wrote down $200 million of intangible assets linked to the acquisition in the first quarter.

Other deals of the day:

*BHP Billiton took its case for a takeover of rival Rio Tinto to well-heeled investors on Thursday, saying a marriage could better capture markets in fast-industrializing Asian economies.

*InBev courted shareholders of Anheuser-Busch after making a $46.3 billion bid, hoping to add Budweiser to its own Stella Artois and Beck’s beers and create the world’s largest brewer.

*Britain’s Chloride Group, which makes products to protect against power shortages, said it rebuffed a 696 million pounds ($1.37 billion) takeover bid last week as the offer undervalued the firm, and it is seeking acquisitions to grow in Asia.

*Spanish power company Iberdrola ruled out a bid for nuclear power operator British Energy, an Iberdrola spokeswoman said.

Microsoft’s $47.5 billion bid may not have met Yahoo’s price target, but the deal sure had a lot of promise, Yahoo’s Chief Executive Jerry Yang lamented during an on-stage interview at the D: All Things Digital conference. Yang said the software giant appears no longer interested in a full merger. “We did not walk away from that proposal. Microsoft did,” Yang said. This might just be a brave face for Yang, who will need one to face a potentially hostile board filled with activist agitators hand picked by Carl Icahn. Then again, Yang may feel emboldened by reports that Icahn may not be able to muster the votes to change Yahoo’s position. News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch, also at the D, was quoted by Dow Jones as saying: “Icahn? That’s not serious. It’s just a lot of helpful noise.”

Royal Bank of Scotland extended yesterday’s deadline for the auction of its insurance arm, which includes its Direct Line and Churchill brands, the Daily Mail reports. First-round bids for Britain’s largest motor insurer are expected to come within days, the paper said. RBS declined to comment on the auction for RBS Insurance, expected to be valued around 7 billion pounds ($13.8 billion). Italian insurer Generali, which had been seen as a strong candidate, pulled out of the running because of the hefty price and RBS’s unwillingness to consider breaking off parts of the unit, sources close to the situation told Reuters.

A member of the founding family of Anheuser-Busch said any talks with Belgian brewer InBev should be based on shareholder value rather than the Busch family’s legacy, the Wall Street Journal reports. The comments signal a hardening of the split within the family, which could embolden InBev to make a bid for the St. Louis brewer, the newspaper said. InBev is weighing an offer that could top $45 billion, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. “A possible merger is not a family issue,” Adolphus Busch IV, an uncle of CEO August Busch, wrote in a release to the newspaper. It is not “a matter of family solidarity or legacy. It is strictly a matter of shareholder value.”

Other deals of the day:

* Lottomatica, the world’s largest lottery operator, said it had agreed to buy an online betting concessionaire from Totosi Holding Srl in a deal worth about 41 million euros ($63.9 million).

* Australia and New Zealand Banking Group CEO Michael Smith said his bank is still in the running for Hong Kong’s mid-tier Wing Lung Bank and sees its fair price at closer to two times than three times its book value.

* Champion REIT said it plans to raise $1.66 billion through bond and unit sales as well as bank loans to fund its purchase of Langham Place office and retail complex from Great Eagle Holdings.

* U.S. investment company Harbinger Capital, the biggest shareholder in iron ore miner Murchison Metals Ltd, has built up a stake of 8.1 percent in rival miner Midwest Corp, the subject of a takeover battle between Murchison and China’s Sinosteel.

* Malaysia’s Petronas will buy a 40 percent stake in Australian energy firm Santos Ltd’s Gladstone liquefied natural gas project in Australia for $2.51 billion, sending Santos’ shares up 10 percent.

* China’s top steelmaker, Baosteel Group, aims to boost cooperation with Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, a senior executive said, although officials gave no clear indications on the possibility of an equity tie.

GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt is in South Korea, where he may or may not be hawking the industrial conglomerate’s century-old appliances division. LG Electronics CEO Nam Yong said his company was “closely watching” developments surrounding the unit’s potential sale. General Electric said earlier this month it may sell or spin off the division, estimated to be worth up to $8 billion. LG, the world’s top maker of household air conditioners, has been talked about as a potential suitor, along with China’s Haier Group. Nam added he had no plans to meet with Immelt. This watching thing appears to be deeply ingrained in LG’s lexicon — the company is also “carefully watching” Nokia amid talk the top-ranked mobile phone maker may cut its prices and reenter the South Korean market.

Shares in Belgian brewer InBev, the world’s second-biggest by volume, lost over three percent after a newspaper reported it could soon start takeover talks with rival Anheuser Busch. Belgian business daily De Tijd reported that InBev’s board was about to decide whether to allow its advisers to start negotiating with Bud. This follows the FT’s report on Friday that InBev was considering a $65-a-share bid and had put together $50 billion in financing. A Busch family member, Adolphus Busch IV, told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday some family members were open to holding talks with InBev but others wanted to keep the status-quo.Germany’s embattled Hypo Real Estate has given its backing to an offer from private equity investor JC Flowers and others to buy almost one quarter of its shares, also declining to give an earnings forecast for 2008. Hypo’s stock price had been under pressure since it surprised investors with subprime-linked writedowns in January. This prompted the investment bank and property lender to look for a committed long-term shareholder to secure its future.

Blackstone Group and Apollo Management are in talks to buy chemicals company Chemtura, the Wall Street Journal reports. The negotiations could fall apart since the parties are still arranging financing and discussing the price tag on the deal, it said. Chemtura, which has a market capitalization of about $1.9 billion, said in December it was pursuing strategic alternatives. Apollo, Blackstone and Chemtura could not be immediately reached for comment.

Shares of British classified advertising directory firm Yell Group rose as much as 5.4 percent on market talk of bid interest from Microsoft. Yell declined to comment. “There is a rumour out there that Microsoft is looking at Yell. The price out there is 220 (pence per share),” a London-based trader said.

Other deals of the day:

* Baugur Group has now concluded that it is not in the best interests of stakeholders to proceed with its offer for Moss Bros and has informed the board of Moss Bros of this decision.

* British military consumables maker Chemring Group said it would buy Scot Inc for $40 million from SMS Industries to boost its presence in the U.S. pyrotechnic market.

* Bemax Resources, an Australian mineral sands producer, said it had recommended a A$301 million ($289 million) takeover offer from Saudi Arabia’s National Titanium Dioxide Company, known as Cristal.