Deals du jour
The Obama administration pledges to stay out of General Motors’ choice of a buyer for its European Opel unit, while union leaders in Germany put more pressure on the U.S. automaker to make a decision. Meanwhile, Lowe’s Companies Inc (LOW.N), the No. 2 U.S. home improvement chain, is making its first foray outside North America through a joint venture with Woolworths Ltd (WOW.AX), Australia’s largest retailer.
For more on these stories, and all the other latest deals news from Reuters, click here.
And here’s what’s in the papers (some external links may require subscriptions):
* The sale of Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS.L) retail and commercial assets in China has hit a stumbling block that could derail the talks with the preferred bidder, Standard Chartered (STAN.L), the Financial Times reported.
* Britain’s largest free-to-air broadcaster ITV (ITV.L) is weeks away from signing a deal with Hulu, the U.S. video-on-demand venture, to syndicate its content in exchange for equity in the company, the Daily Telegraph said.
* China’s state-owned Shandong Iron and Steel Group, the world’s eighth-largest steel maker, will take a 67 percent stake in Rizhao Iron and Steel, one of the sector’s largest non-state firms, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Tuesday.
* Chinese supermarket chain Times Ltd’s (1832.HK) majority shareholder has invited bidders to make offers for the retailer, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
Deals du jour
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says General Motors “urgently” needs to decide on Opel’s future, while specialty drugmaker Warner Chilcott moves to acquire Procter & Gamble’s $3 billion prescription-drug business.
For these stories, and all the rest of the latest deals news from Reuters, click here.
And here’s what caught our eye in the newspapers (some external links may require subscriptions):
* Harvard University’s multibillion-dollar endowment is adopting a strategy of selling off some holdings in hedge funds, private-equity firms and other money managers to bring more money under the control of internal investing staff over the next few years, the Wall Street Journal said.
* Entrepreneur Clive Cowdery’s Resolution (RSL.L) has held early stage talks with Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) over the sale of its Clerical Medical unit, the Mail on Sunday reported, citing an unnamed source.
* Betfair, the world’s largest online gaming exchange, is considering a 1.5 billion pound ($2.5 billion) flotation in the UK, the Sunday Telegraph reported, citing no sources.
* Victor Blank, outgoing chairman of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), said the bank’s board was behind the decision to buy HBOS, not the UK government. Sunday Times story here.
Deals du jour
Suntory and Kirin consider joining forces to create one of the world’s biggest beer and soft drinks companies, with annual sales of $41 billion. Meanwhile Friends Provident and Venture Production are both fending off unwanted approaches. For all the latest deals news, click here.
And here’s the latest dose of market chatter:
* McGraw-Hill has hired Evercore Partners Inc, a top U.S. merger advisory boutique to sell BusinessWeek magazine, Bloomberg said, citing a person close to the situation.
* Bank of America Corp is trying to avoid paying billions of dollars in fees to U.S. taxpayers for guarantees against losses at Merrill Lynch, saying the rescue agreement was never signed and the funding never used, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter.
* British Airways is ready to accept close to a 50-50 ownership deal for a merger with Iberia, Spanish newspaper El Economista said, citing sources close to the talks.
* A private equity fund launched by the former chief of India’s ICICI Venture plans to raise about $500 million, the Economic Times newspaper said.
* Microsoft Corp is pitching to five of the world’s biggest advertising companies a deal to buy Razorfish, its digital ad agency, the Wall Street Journal said on Sunday, citing executives familiar with the situation.
Deals du jour
Talks to sell the storied Chicago Cubs baseball team reopen with a rival bidding group; the sale of Bernard Madoff’s former securities-trading unit is finalized; possible hurdles to EMC’s bid for Data Domain — for all the latest deals news from Reuters, click here.
And in the papers (some external links may require subscriptions):
Glencore International AG, the Swiss-based commodities trader founded by Marc Rich to become one of the world’s biggest private companies, is considering a stock market listing, the Financial Times reported. Reuters story here.
Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Ken Lewis was approached by three former Merrill Lynch executives this year to discuss buying back some or all of their old company, but he politely rebuffed them, the Financial Times reported.
Lenders to Four Seasons Healthcare, the heavily indebted care homes group, are considering a last-ditch plan for a restructuring that would about halve its 1.5 billion pound debt. If there is no agreement, the company will be sold, the FT reported.
Prudential is expected to confirm it has offloaded its Taiwanese agency business after the life and pensions group received regulatory approval for the transfer to China Life this week, the FT reported.
AstraZeneca Chief Executive David Brennan will reiterate his opposition to so-called mega-mergers, and will tell industry leaders on Friday that innovative partnerships with academia, charities and fellow businesses are key to the sector’s future, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Deals du Jour
British bank Barclays said it would sell its BGI investment arm to U.S. firm BlackRock for $13.5 billion, creating the world’s biggest asset manager. For today’s headlines, click here.
And in the media:
* Malaysian gaming group Genting is in partnership talks with U.S. casino operator MGM Mirage, the Wall Street Journal reported.
* British boiler maker Baxi is close to agreeing a 1.7 billion euros ($2.4 billion) merger with smaller Dutch rival De Dietrich Remeha Group, the Financial Times reported.
* China will resume initial public offerings on its stock exchanges before launching a Nasdaq-style second board for start-up companies, official media reported, citing a senior securities regulator.
* Diversified U.S. manufacturer Honeywell International Inc was looking out for takeovers but thought deals were too expensive as valuations did still not reflect the true nature of the market, its chief executive told the Financial Times.
* U.S. Federal Reserve officials are not likely to considerably increase purchases of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities when they meet in late June, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Deals du Jour
Australian miner OZ Minerals said its shareholders approved the sweetened $1.4 billion deal by Chinese state-owned Minmetals’ to buy most of the indebted miner’s assets. For today’s headlines, click here.
And in the newspapers:
* Turquoise, the European equity system owned by nine investment banks, was forced to close on Wednesday morning because of a technical problem, Financial News said.
* The New York Times Co has hired Goldman Sachs to manage the possible sale of The Boston Globe, and plans to request bids in the next couple of weeks, The Boston Globe reported.
* Sprint Nextel Corp and Level 3 Communications Inc are in early talks about forming a joint venture including Sprint’s long-distance network, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
* James Simons, the mathematics professor-turned-investor who founded the multibillion dollar hedge fund Renaissance Technologies LLC, has delayed his retirement plans, the WSJ said, citing people familiar with the discussions.
* Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC) is interested in acquiring Ford Motor Co‘s <F.N> Volvo car unit, the WSJ said, citing three people familiar with the situation.
Deals du Jour
U.S. money manager BlackRock is set to buy Barclays Global Investors (BGI) for between $12 billion and $13 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The deal, which could come today, would create a global asset manager twice the size of its nearest rival. For today’s headlines, click here.
And in the newspapers:
* Australian bank Macquarie may trump a Chinese bid for assets of debt-laden miner OZ Minerals, the Australian Financial Review said, which could stoke further anger in China after its massive deal with Rio Tinto collapsed last week.
* The chief executive of German retailer Metro is already sounding out foreign investors to buy the combined department store group it hopes to create with the Karstadt chain, Handelsblatt paper reported, citing investment bank sources.
* Swiss auto parts and textiles company Rieter could consider breaking up its business into separate parts as its battles plummeting demand, its chief executive told the HandelsZeitung newspaper.
* Lloyds Banking Group is in talks to sell part of Insight, the investment management operation it inherited when it took over struggling rival HBOS last year, the Financial Times reported. Lloyds declined to comment.
* The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) is trying to ease tensions with Citigroup Inc that arose from the regulator’s push to replace the bank’s chief executive Vikram Pandit, the FT reported.
Deals du Jour
Porsche is in talks to sell a stake of up to 25 percent in its holding company to the Gulf state of Qatar and a deal could be announced within weeks, people familiar with the talks told the Financial Times. For more of today’s deals headlines on Reuters, click here.
And more in the newspapers:
* German state-controlled bank WestLB was close to being shut down over the weekend , the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
Owners of the struggling bank agreed to provide an additional 4 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in guarantees to help support a sweeping reorganisation, WestLB said late on Sunday.
* Investment house RIT Capital Partners Plc has pulled assets out of U.S.-based hedge fund Atticus Capital LP, saying its investment in the company had “run its course”, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing RIT Capital’s annual report and spokesman.
* Wonga.com, the online loans company, has secured $22 million of new finance in a deal led by Accel Partners and Greylock Partners, the Financial Times and the Daily Telegraph newspapers reported. It is one of the biggest private equity funding rounds in Europe this year, the FT said.
* NYSE Euronext, the transatlantic exchange group, and Liquidnet, a U.S.-based “dark pool” equity trading platform, have agreed to set up a new service allowing companies to get a better indication of how investors intend to trade their stocks, the Financial Times reported.
Deals du jour
Top deals news today includes LSE boss mulling new acquisitions, BC Partners downing tools on a BGI bid and Fiat signing a big Chinese joint venture. All the latest deals news here.
In the morning papers:
The new chief executive of London Stock Exchange Xavier Rolet has told La Tribune newspaper that he is ready to look at acquisitions and alliances but is not treating them as a priority. Reuters story here.
Borders UK, the bookshop chain owned by private equity firm Risk Capital Partners, has appointed restructuring experts RSM Bentley Jennison to advise on closing underperforming stores, The Independent reported.
Billionaire investors the Reuben Brothers have put in a 40 million pound ($63 million) bid to acquire Premium Bars & Restaurants (PBR), The Times said.
The Obama administration is preparing to steer General Motors into bankruptcy next week, The Washington Post reported. Reuters story here.
Private equity firm BC Partners has stopped working on bidding for Barclays exchange-traded funds arm BGI, the Financial Times reported.
Deals du jour
Top deals news today includes Fiat boss’s confidence about an Opel takeover, Regions Financial planning a $1.25 billion stock offer, Aussie Rio shareholders seeking a new Chinalco deal and Novartis buying cancer drugs unit. All the latest deals news here.
In the morning papers:
Fiat SpA has more than a 50 percent chance of successfully linking up with Opel, La Stampa said, citing chief executive Sergio Marchionne. Reuters story here.
British pub company Mitchells & Butlers is in talks with banks over a possible rights issue, the Financial Times reported.
BAA bondholders have hired investment bank Reynolds Partners to advise them ahead of the British government’s proposed changes to regulation of the airport operator, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Fiat and China’s Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group plan to form a car production joint venture with total investment of 4.27 billion yuan ($625.8 million), the official Shanghai Securities News said. Reuters story here.
