Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang is set to sweeten his bid for the struggling French holiday group Club Mediterranee (CMIP.PA) to trump Italian tycoon Andrea Bonomi's offer in France's longest-running takeover battle.
Deals
Lloyds sells portfolio of Irish mortgages to Goldman Sachs and CarVal
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) has sold a 1.6-billion-pound ($2.50 billion) portfolio of Irish mortgages to Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and CarVal, a private equity group, the Financial Times newspaper reported.
IBM signs $1.25 billion WPP cloud deal and says more coming
IBM is enjoying a wave of major technology outsourcing deals from European customers in the fourth quarter and the new contract signings are not over yet, an executive for the computer services giant said in an interview.
Japan's Otsuka to buy Avanir for $3.5 billion ahead of patent cliff
Japanese drugmaker Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd plans to buy U.S.-based Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $3.5 billion to expand its neurologic drug portfolio ahead of an expiration of a key drug patent.
Aviva agrees terms of $8.8 billion Friends takeover
British insurer Aviva (AV.L) agreed terms on Tuesday for a 5.6 billion pound ($8.8 billion) all-share takeover of rival Friends Life (FLG.L), responding to pressures caused by pension industry reform.
Latest News
Telecoms group Altice SA (ATCE.AS) has agreed to buy the Portuguese operations of Brazil's Grupo Oi (OIBR3.SA) for about 7.4 billion euros ($9.2 billion), in what will be its third large acquisition this year.
IBM has signed a 10-year, multi-billion dollar deal to provide computer infrastructure services to Dutch bank ABN Amro [ABRGPA.UL] running on its cloud systems, the U.S. information technology firm said on Monday.
China plans to tender again for Mexico's $3.75 billion high-speed rail project after the Latin American nation abruptly canceled its earlier win, one of the firms in a Chinese-led consortium that had bid and a source close to the bid said.
Vodafone Qatar VQFS.QA has scrapped its bid to buy state-owned wholesale Internet provider Qatar National Broadband Network (QNBN), the country's No.2 mobile operator by subscribers said on Sunday.
Merck KGaA (MRCG.DE) aims to keep hold of its consumer healthcare unit, it said on Friday, pledging to develop a business that is expected to generate 2014 sales of $1 billion for the German drugs and chemicals company.
The chief executive of Commerzbank is predicting a wave of mergers among Germany's cooperative and savings banks. Martin Blessing, who heads Germany's second biggest bank, noted that there were still almost 2,000 banks in Germany, in contrast to about 20 in Spain.
Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) is working with Goldman Sachs (GS.N) to explore the sale of its Wella hair care business that could be worth around $7 billion, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the world's largest consumer products company streamlines its business.
Wanda Cinema Line Co. Ltd., a movie theater company controlled by Chinese real estate mogul Wang Jianlin, has received approval for a share-offering in China in which it hopes to raise up to 2 billion yuan (US$325.6 million).
Germany has approved Canadian smartphone maker Blackberry's (BB.TO) planned acquisition of Secusmart, the encryption technology of which is used to protect the mobile devices of top politicians including Chancellor Angela Merkel.
