TMCnet News
M&A Navigator: Deal Pipeline - 14 Dec 2009(M&A Navigator Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The following is a list of deals covered in detail by M&A Navigator this week: - SWEDISH BURE EQUITY, ALTOR SELL 25% OF CARNEGIE INVESTMENT BANK Swedish investment company Bure Equity (STO:BURE), together with its partner Altor Fund III, has wrapped up the sale of a 25% stake in Carnegie Investment Bank (CIB) to some 250 CIB staff members. Status: Closed - PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM ODYSSEY TO TAKE OVER ONE CALL MEDICAL US private equity firm Odyssey Investment Partners has agreed to acquire New Jersey-based market-leading medical cost containment company One Call Medical from TA Associates for an undisclosed sum. Status: Agreed - BIBBY FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF FREIGHTCHECK US business cash flow solutions specialist Bibby Financial Services has finalised the acquisition of Atlanta-based freight bill factoring company FreightCheck without revealing the financial details. Status: Closed - TERRA REJECTS CF INDUSTRIES' IMPROVED BID US fertliser maker Terra Industries (NYSE:TRA) has again rejected the latest revised bid of rival CF Industries (NYSE:CF) after a consultation with its financial and legal advisors. Status: Bidding - US INTERACTIVE DATA TO TAKE OVER 7TICKS US financial market data and analytics provider Interactive Data Corporation (NYSE:IDC) has inked a deal to buy electronic trading networks and managed service firm 7ticks for an undisclosed price. Status: Agreed - EC EXPECTS SATISFACTORY RESULT FOR REVIEW OF ORACLE/SUN DEAL The European Commission (EC) said it is confident that its review of US business software specialist Oracle's (NASDAQ:ORCL) plan to acquire Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:JAVA) will have a "satisfactory" outcome after Oracle announced earlier today its proposed remedies to ease competition worries. Status: Agreed - BELGIAN DEXXCARTES LAUNCHES EUR12.50 P/S BID FOR PORTHUS Belgian Dexxcartes, part of Canadian logistics management software and service provider Descartes Systems Group (TSE:DSG), has launched a EUR12.50 (USD18.31) apiece bid to buy IT company Porthus (EBR:ALPTH) in Belgium. Status: Bidding - GOLDMAN SACHS SELLS STAKE IN GERMAN NORDEX Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is disposing of its holding in German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex (ETR:NDX1). Status: Speculation - ITALY'S ANTITRUST BODY OKS POLISH PZL-SWIDNIK ACQUISITION BY AGUSTAWESTLAND Italian antitrust body has granted its approval to AgustaWestland, part of Italian aerospace and defence group Finmeccanica (BIT:FNC), to acquire an 87.6% stake in Polish state-owned helicopter maker PZL-Swidnik. Status: Agreed - ITALIAN BIANCAMANO WRAPS UP BUY OF MANUTENCOOP SERVIZI AMBIENTALI Italian environmental services group Biancamano (BIT:BCM) has finalised the acquisition of local waste management and disposal services company Manutencoop Servizi Ambientali. Status: Closed - ITALIAN ELICA TO MERGE WITH ITS FIME UNIT Italian cooker hood maker Elica (BIT:ELC) has inked an agreement to tie up with its wholly-owned subsidiary Fime. Status: Agreed - TELE2 CLOSES SALE OF FRENCH OPS FOR EUR55.3M Swedish telecoms group Tele2 (STO:TEL2 B) has wrapped up the sale of its operations in France to mobile operator Virgin Mobile France for some SEK575m (USD81m/EUR55.3m) in cash. Status: Closed - CHINESE GEELY SAYS STILL PREFERRED BIDDER FOR VOLVO Chinese Geely Automobile Holdings (HKG:0175) said it was still the preferred bidder for US carmaker Ford's (NYSE:F) Swedish brand Volvo as Chinese rival Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings, or BAIC, bought assets of General Motors' (GM) Saab. Status: Talks - DRAGON OIL SHAREHOLDERS SAY NO TO ENOC EUR1.2BN BID The shareholders of Irish oil explorer Dragon Oil (ISE:DGO; LON:DGO) have rejected the GBP1.1bn (USD1.8bn/EUR1.2bn) buy-out bid by Dubai's state-owned refiner Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC). Status: Bidding - BWIN DENIES ADVANCED TIE-UP TALKS Austrian online gaming firm Bwin Interactive Entertainment (WBAG:BWIN) said it was not in advanced negotiations on a merger, including with UK rival PartyGaming (LON:PRTY). Status: Denied - ORASCOM SELLS LINK EGYPT TO MOBINIL Egypt's Orascom Telecom (CAI:ORTE), or OT, has accepted the acquisition offer for its IT unit Link Egypt by mobile operator Mobinil (CAI:EMOB) and will close the deal by the early 2010. Status: Agreed; Speculation - E.ON MAY BUY 8% IN EDF'S FUTURE PENLY POWER PLANT German utility E.ON (ETR:EOAN) could buy an 8% interest in the nuclear power plant in Penly which French rival EDF (EPA:EDF) is planning to build. Status: Speculation; Talks - CADBURY BOARD TURNS DOWN KRAFT BID AS "INADEQUATE" The board of UK confectionery company Cadbury (LON:CBRY) on Monday rejected unanimously the takeover bid by US food giant Kraft (NYSE:KFT) as "inadequate and substantially undervaluing the company". Status: Bidding - AUSTRIAN ANDRITZ TAKES OVER RIETER TEXTILE'S FRENCH UNIT Austrian builder Andritz (WBAG:ANDR) is buying the French subsidiary of home machine-building and technology concern Rieter Textile. Status: Agreed - FRENCH MANUEST TO SELL MOUNTED KITCHEN OPS TO NEVELT French furniture company Manuest has agreed to sell its mounted kitchen operations, distributed under the brand Vogica, to sector player Nevelt. Status: Agreed - POLISH ASSECO ACQUIRES ROMANIAN PROBASS Asseco South Eastern Europe (ASEE), part of IT group Asseco Poland (WAR:SFT), has bought Romanian IT solution provider Probass, in line with its expansion efforts in the region. Status: Closed - GERMAN BAYWA UNLOADS DZ BANK STAKE FOR EUR20M German industrial and agricultural goods retailer Baywa (ETR:BYW6) has offloaded its stake, corresponding to some 2.5 million shares, in cooperative bank DZ Bank, for EUR20m (USD29.3m). Status: Closed - CHINA DEVELOPMENT BANK SEEKING TO BUY STAKE IN SLOVENIA'S NLB State lender China Development Bank is keen on buying a 30.6% interest in Slovenia's largest bank by assets Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) from Belgian banking group KBC (EBR:KBC). Status: Talks; Speculation - INDONESIAN BLT REDUCES OFFER FOR NORWEGIAN CAMILLO EITZEN TO EUR2.78 P/S Indonesian shipping firm PT Berlian Laju Tanker (JAK:BLTA), or BLT, has lowered its bid for Norwegian sector player Camillo Eitzen & Co (OSL:CECO) to NOK23.50 (USD4.07/EUR2.78) from NOK25, following a due diligence procedure. Status: Bidding - FRENCH COGEPART BUYS CONTROL OF BICYCLE COURIER COURSIERS VERTS French express courier company Cogepart has bought a majority stake in bicycle courier Coursiers Verts, in a bid to speed up development and offer an alternative to motor vehicle deliveries. Status: Speculation; Closed - UK APAX TO BUY 76% OF ISRAELI PSAGOT FOR EUR426M UK private equity group Apax Partners Holdings has agreed to buy a 76% stake in Israeli asset management company Psagot Investment House for some ILS2.36bn (USD625m/EUR426m). Status: Agreed - TURKISH CELEBI PLANS ACQUISITIONS IN EASTERN EUROPE Turkish ground handling service provider Celebi Hava Servisi (IST:CLEBI) is seeking acquisitions in Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and other countries in Eastern Europe. Status: Bidding - RUSSIAN DST IN TALKS TO TAKE ICQ FROM US AOL Russian Internet group Digital Sky Technologies, or DST, is in talks to acquire online messenger ICQ from US web services company AOL (NYSE:AOL). Status: Talks; Speculation - LOGITECH WRAPS UP LIFESIZE ACQUISITION Swiss peripherals producer Logitech (VTX:LOGN) has closed the acquisition of US privately-held high definition (HD) video communication solutions provider LifeSize Communications for USD405m (EUR269.5m) in cash. Status: Closed - TELE2 TO ACQUIRE MAJORITY IN KAZAKHI MOBILE OPERATOR NEO Swedish telecomms operator Tele2 AB (STO:TEL2 B) has inked a deal to acquire a 51% stake in Kazakhstan-based mobile operator NEO for SEK55m (USD7.7m/EUR5.3m) in cash. Status: Agreed - FRENCH BUSINESSMAN KEEN ON BUYING ISRAELI MIRS French businessman Patrick Drahi is seeking to buy Israeli mobile operator MIRS Communication from US mobile-phone maker Motorola (NYSE:MOT) for USD170m (EUR116.3m) in cash. Status: Bidding - DUTCH HAL GETS EC NOD TO BUY STAKE IN ITALIAN SAFILO Dutch investment company HAL Holding (AMS:HAL) said its unit HAL Invest has received approval from the European Commission (EC) to buy a stake in Italian Safilo (BIT:SFL) to help the debt-laden eyewear maker's recapitalisation. Status: Agreed - GERMAN BAYERNLB SELLS STAKE IN AUSTRIAN HGAA German wholesale lender BayernLB has disposed of its 67.08% interest in Austrian Hypo Group Alpe Adria (HGAA) for EUR1 (USD1.465), following the decision of the Austrian Government to nationalise the struggling bank. Status: Closed - UK MOUCHEL REJECTS VT GROUP'S TAKEOVER BID AS "WHOLLY INDEQUATE" UK business services group Mouchel (LON:MCHL) said its board has rejected two takeover approaches by VT Group (LON:VTG), but the defence and support services firm was still interested in a deal. Status: Bidding; Speculation - PORTUGAL'S TAP IN TALKS TO SELL CONTROL IN GROUNDFORCE Flag carrier TAP Portugal is already in talks to dispose of 50.1% in its handling services firm Groundforce. Status: Talks - CIKLUM BUYS MONDO'S MAIN OPS Danish IT outsourcing company Ciklum ApS has inked a deal to buy the majority of the business operations of bankrupt IT services provider Mondo A/S. Status: Agreed - AXA, AMP RAISE AXA ASIA PACIFIC OFFER BY 16% French insurer AXA (EPA:CS) and its Australian asset management unit AMP Limited (ASX:AMP) have increased their bid for Australian asset manager AXA Asia Pacific (ASX:AXA) by 16% to AUD6.22 (USD6/EUR4) per share. Status: Bidding - CHINESE BAIC BUYS SAAB ASSETS, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY US carmaker General Motors' (GM) Swedish unit Saab Automobile has confirmed it has sold certain assets, including intellectual property rights for two sedan models and equipment to produce those cars to Chinese Beijing Automotive Industry Holding, or BAIC. Status: Agreed - METSALIITTO CLOSES ACQUISITION OF METSA-BOTNIA Finnish paper maker Metsaliitto Group has closed the acquisition of home pulp maker Oy Metsa-Botnia Ab. Status: Closed - BERLIN WANTS GERMAN BUYER FOR MAJORITY IN HDW The German Government is trying to prevent a foreign investor from acquiring a majority stake in submarine builder HDW. Status: Speculation; Talks - TAKEOVER BID ON PATERNINA ENDS 28 DEC The exclusion takeover bid of special-purpose vehicle company Inversora Mer on the 8.95% free float of Spanish wine maker Federico Paternina (MCE:PAT) will expire on 28 December. Status: Bidding - ERAMET TO TAKE OVER NON-FERROUS METAL RECYCLING CO VALDI French mining group Eramet (EPA:ERA) has agreed to acquire home firm Valdi, which specialises in the processing and recycling of non-ferrous metals, for an undisclosed sum. Status: Agreed - ITALIAN IMA COMPLETES BENTIVOGLIO SITE SALE Italian packaging equipment maker Industria Macchine Automatiche (BIT:IMA) has completed the sale of its Bentivoglio plant to home property firm IRUAM for EUR7.9m (USD11.6m) in cash. Status: Closed - SWISS DAETWYLER TO BUY GERMAN REICHELT ELEKTRONIK Swiss technical and electronic components supplier Daetwyler Holding (SWF:DAE) announced its intention to buy German Reichelt Elektronik, with effect from 1 January 2010. Status: Agreed ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) (c) 2009 M2 COMMUNICATIONS |