Westlaw Business Currents

Brazil's Hypermarcas Buys Drugmaker for $751 Million

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST

Hypermarcas, Brazil's largest maker of toiletries, said it would pay 1.3 billion reais ($751 million) for drugmaker Neo Quimica to help it expand further into the over-the-counter medicines market,,,

U.S. Bank Bailout Estimate Cut by $200 Billion

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST

The projected long-term cost of the U.S. government's bailout of the nation's big banks is going to be at least $200 billion less than previously thought…

Shanks Seeks $1 Billion After Carlyle Approach

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 08:45:00 EST

British waste management firm Shanks Group Plc revealed a 536 million pound ($889 million) buyout approach, sending its shares soaring, but said its board and key shareholders were…

China Pacific to Raise Up to $3.34 Billion in IPO

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 08:45:00 EST

China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd, the country's third-largest life insurer, plans to raise up to HK$25.9 billion ($3.34 billion) from a Hong Kong initial public offering…

Franco-Nevada Bids $600 Million for International Royalty

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 08:45:00 EST

Canada's Franco-Nevada Corp, a gold-focused resource royalty company, said on Sunday it will offer C$6.75 a share to buy smaller rival International Royalty Corp…

Chevron's $82 Billion LNG Deal Puts Heat on Rivals

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Chevron Corp's A$90 billion ($82.5 billion) sale of Wheatstone liquefied natural gas to Tokyo Electric Power is set to add pressure on rival Australian projects in their race to find customers…

Dubai Government Ring-Fences Key Assets, Shares Tumble

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Dubai moved on Monday to ring-fence prized assets from the $26 billion debt restructuring of Dubai World, denting already fragile investor sentiment ahead of talks between the struggling…

Kuwait Sells Citi Stake, Makes $1.1 Billion Profit

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund said on Sunday it had sold its stake in Citigroup Inc for a profit of $1.1 billion, becoming the latest Gulf investor to sell foreign shares as markets improve…

Avoid the Pricing Brawl: From Collars to Adjustments

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 06:30:00 EST

Price is a central focus in M&A transactions, so much so that post closing price adjustments are now being set up both forcibly and contractually. Following the sales of both Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, companies and shareholders are pushing back against…

Kraft Starts Clock on Unchanged Cadbury Bid

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST

Kraft Foods made its formal $16.1 billion (9.78 billion pound) offer to Cadbury shareholders, triggering a two-month takeover fight for the chocolate maker and a frosty response from Britain…

Australia Watch: Gold Fields Sells its Stake and Sino Gold, Merges With Eldorado

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST

With the Australian mining industry still booming, companies are cashing in while the going is good...

China Wind Firm, Shipbuilder Brave Tough IPO Market

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 08:45:00 EST

Asia's largest wind power generator, Longyuan Power Group Corp, and China's biggest shipbuilder, China Shipping Industry, will each raise over $2 billion in initial public offerings in…

Fight Over What Six Flags is Worth Could Get Ugly

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 08:45:00 EST

The battle for control of bankrupt U.S. amusement park operator Six Flags Inc heads to a Delaware court on Friday amid growing questions about how much the company is actually worth…

Cisco Gets Tandberg Shares After Battle

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Cisco Systems has control over more than 90 percent of Norwegian target Tandberg, allowing it to squeeze out remaining shareholders, and create the world's leader in videoconferencing equipment…

GM, China Partner Take Aim at Booming India Market

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

General Motors and its Chinese partner SAIC Motor are to make small cars and commercial vehicles in India, taking a successful 12-year Chinese partnership…

Private Equity Watch: Oak Hill Guarantees Exit Strategy From Henry Schein Acquisition

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 07:30:00 EST

With the rise in PE funds going into new deals, some funds are clearly focused on how to get back out again. Henry Schein, a large distributor of healthcare products and services, plans to acquire…

Bond Offerings: Sky High and Really Creative

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 07:00:00 EST

European bond issuances are not only up, they are sky high. Driven by the likes of Virgin Media, Fiat, Lloyds, and Britannia Building Society, both conventional and unconventional structures are rising. Only a year ago, in the midst of…

Goldman Likely to Pay Annual Bonus in Stock

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 07:00:00 EST

Goldman Sachs Chief Lloyd Blankfein is weighing plans to increase the share of compensation paid out in equity to executives in a bid to quell public anger over the probability of large pay-outs...

Corporate Governance Pushback: Regulators Stand Up for Their Principles?

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 06:30:00 EST

Here’s something you don’t see every day: A remarkably unified front of public issuers and investors pushed back on new corporate governance regulation proposed by securities regulators…and the regulators folded, putting new legislation on the backburner…

Offering Watch: Wells Reit III Files $5.7 Billion IPO

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 15:30:00 EST

The real estate investment trust (REIT) market, after its brief decline this fall when a number of REITs pulled back on their planned offerings, REITs may again be on the upswing…

CME Signs 8 Banks for Credit Default Swaps Clearing

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 14:45:00 EST

CME Group, the world's largest derivatives exchange, said on Thursday it plans to launch a clearing house for the $26 trillion credit default swap market by Dec. 15, and has signed eight…

Chile's Retailer Hites IPO Raises $43 Million

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 14:45:00 EST

Chilean retailer Hites raised $43 million on Thursday, selling a near 30 percent stake in the company in an initial public offering that the company said would help expand its businesses…

Denbury to Buy Conroe Field Assets for $430.7 Million

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 14:45:00 EST

Oil and gas company Denbury Resources Inc said it would buy a 95 percent working interest in the Conroe Field in Houston for about $430.7 million in cash and stock from Wapiti Energy LLC…

Astra to Pay Up to $1.24 Billion for Targacept Drug

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST

AstraZeneca has bought rights to an experimental antidepressant from Targacept in a deal worth up to $1.24 billion, boosting its pipeline and slapping an endorsement on its U.S. biotech partner's drug…

Proxy Watch: Pfizer, Kimberly Clark Seek to Exclude Activist Shareholder’s Proposal

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 13:30:00 EST

In a sign that proxy season is fast approaching, both Pfizer and Kimberly Clark have requested no action relief to exclude similar shareholder proposals according to recently released no-action letters. In their no action requests…

Bailout Watch: Bank of America to Sell $18.8 Billion in Securities to Repay TARP

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST

Bank of America is on the move to repay the $45 billion it received in government bailout funds with the sale of its common equivalent securities valued at $18.8 billion…

MGIC Main Unit Gets Minimum Capital Requirement Waiver

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 10:15:00 EST

MGIC Investment Corp (MTG.N), the largest U.S. mortgage insurer, said Wisconsin regulators waived till 2011 a requirement that its principal unit maintain a minimum level of…

M&A Watch: Uranium Energy Enters Into Asset Purchase Agreement With Everest Exploration

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST

A number of deals of late have involved a class of commodity not often a focal point: Uranium. One recent example, Uranium Energy Corp, a Nevada corporation, announced it has entered into…

Legal Minefield Awaits Dubai's Nakheel Bondholders

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST

Dubai's assets may be virtually untouchable, so any holders of bonds issued by flagship property firm Nakheel that take legal action to recover potential losses could be wasting their time…

American, TPG Offer $1.1 Billion to JAL to Block Delta

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

American Airlines said it and other members of the Oneworld airline alliance along with private equity fund TPG are willing to invest $1.1 billion in Japan Airlines to prevent it defecting to…

Comcast Lands NBCU in Deal That Reshapes Media

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Comcast Corp struck a deal to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co, creating a media superpower that would control not just how TV shows and movies are made…

UK Banks Have $5 Billion Exposure to Dubai World

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Four British banks have a $5 billion combined exposure to Dubai World, making them the biggest foreign creditor group at the Dubai state-owned conglomerate…

Bank of America to Repay TARP

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Bank of America Corp said it would repay $45 billion of taxpayer bailout funds, a move that could free the top U.S. lender from pay curbs as it looks to hire a new CEO but also makes it more…

Spain Corporate Finance Watch: Telvent Agrees to Purchase Outstanding Treasury Stock

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Telvent GIT S.A., a Madrid-based a global IT and business information services provider entered into corporate finance agreements with Caja de Ahorros y Pensiones de Barcelona and General Electric Credit Corp...

Restructuring Dubai’s Shifting Sands…and Sukuks

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 06:30:00 EST

Default threatens Dubai World and other global players with another round of financial shock. Comparisons to Lehman and AIG may be overblown, as Dubai has less in dollars and counterparties at stake. However, for those sharing in Dubai World’s capital structure, this is scant solace…

Disclosure Hot Topic: Compensation Clawbacks

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 06:00:00 EST

Clawbacks and bonus busting continue to be a hot topic. The activity may be led by regulators, but it is no longer restricted to them. Instead, the SEC, the pay czar, and even private companies like Hertz are voluntarily getting in on the clawback action…

Registration Watch: Texas Petrochemicals Registers Existing Shares

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST

Texas Petrochemicals filed a Form 10 registration statement on Wednesday of last week The company is attempting to register its existing common stock, which was distributed to...

State Street grows in Alternatives With Mourant Buy

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 12:45:00 EST

State Street Corp, already one of the financial industry's biggest record keepers, will become the biggest service provider for alternative assets after it buys Mourant International Finance Administration…

NSN Says Ready to Offer $810 Million for Nortel Unit

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

Nokia Siemens Networks will object in U.S. bankruptcy court to Ciena Corp's $769 million bid for Nortel's optical networking and carrier ethernet business...

UK Watch: Airborne Systems Purchases Presstek Subsidiary for $10 Million

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

Presstek Inc announced it has entered into an agreement to sell subsidiary, Lasertel, Inc. to Airborne Systems a business development company for $10 million…

Carlyle Group to Announce Brazil Deals Soon

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group plans to announce two or three deals soon in Brazil…

Regulators Ask if Faster is Better on Wall Street

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST

Alarm bells are ringing in Washington amid a sudden realization that lightning-fast computer programs and anonymous venues are dominating trading on U.S equity markets...

Siemens, 6 Ex-Managers Reach Deal in Bribery Case

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST

Ex-Siemens Chairman Heinrich von Pierer agreed to pay the company 5 million euros ($7.54 million) to partly compensate for costs stemming from one of Germany's biggest-ever corporate bribery scandal…

No Act Watch: Telefonica S.A. Granted Exemption From 13E3 Timing Requirements

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST

Telefonica S.A., organized under the laws of the Kingdom of Spain (TEF) and Telefonica de Argentina, organized under the laws of the Republic of Argentina (TASA), in an SEC No Action letter...

RBS Warns of Risks After UK Takes Control of Bonuses

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST

Bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc warned it faces heightened risks and will struggle to hire and retain key staff after the UK government demanded control of bonuses as a condition for insuring its bad debts...

Barclays Gets Extra Boost From $15.2 Billion BGI Deal

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Barclays completed the sale of its asset management arm to U.S. fund manager BlackRock on Tuesday for $15.2 billion, or $1.7 billion more than when it struck the deal in June after…

China Lets Foreigners Set up Limited Partnerships

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Foreign firms and individuals will be allowed to set up limited partnership firms in China from March 2010, a move that could make it easier for some overseas investors to tap the domestic market…

Dubai World to Meet Creditor Panel on Debt Crisis

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Government-owned Dubai World will meet its main creditors next week to discuss a request to delay payment on $26 billion in debt that has shaken global markets…

Offering Watch: RedPrairie Holding Files $172.5 Million IPO

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 07:30:00 EST

RedPrairie Holding Inc, a Wisconsin company has announced the filing of a $172.5 million initial public offering …

Offering Watch: Piedmont Office Realty Makes Class A Common Stock Public

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 07:00:00 EST

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has made public all of its Class A common stock in an offering worth $345 million...

Spiraling Spin Offs: Time Warner, Heed the Ghosts of Carve Outs Past

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 06:30:00 EST

Corporate carve outs seem to be spinning, ever faster. The upcoming spin-off by Time Warner of AOL signals both the end of an era and as the dawn of a new age of spinoffs. Joined by players like Rio Tinto and Bristol-Meyers Squibb, to name but a few, companies are using white-hot equity markets to unload assets or raise cash…

Green Mountain Sweetens Offer for Diedrich

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 00:45:00 EST

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc has raised its all-cash offer for Diedrich Coffee Inc by $25 million to $290 million or $35 a share, outweighing rival Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc's $32.50 bid…

Bank Consolidation Watch: FDIC Issues Consent Order to Waterstone Financial

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 15:30:00 EST

Pursuant to a Stipulation and Consent to the Issuance of a Consent Order, Wisconsin based WaterStone Bank agreed to the issuance of a Consent Order to be issued jointly by the FDIC…

Vivendi Faces Brazil Scrutiny on GVT Purchase

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 15:30:00 EST

France's Vivendi is facing regulatory scrutiny in Brazil over its purchase of telecom firm GVT just as the media conglomerate on Tuesday boosted its stake through private stock purchases…

Governance Watch: Even After IPO, KAR’s Sponsors to Drive Directors

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 15:30:00 EST

Governance changes are a necessary part of going public, as KAR Auction Services, Inc. has confirmed. KAR, a leading provider of vehicle auction services, has amended its IPO filings from…

Private Equity Watch: Enter Clayton Dubilier, Exit Unilever from JohnsonDiversey

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST

The $2.6 billion recapitalization by PE powerhouse Clayton, Dubilier & Rice of JohnsonDiversey is now unfolding. In particular, redemption of Unilever’s stakeholding in…

Noront Boosts Freewest Offer in Bid to Top Cliffs

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST

Noront Resources boosted its offer to buy fellow Canadian miner Freewest Resources Canada on Monday, attempting to top a rival bid from U.S.-based Cliffs Natural Resources...

Regional Bank Watch: Mercantile to Sell Subsidiaries, Waterstone Avoids Regulatory Fire

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST

As part of the continuing wave of bank changes, both Mercantile Bancorp and Waterstone Financial have just announced their own raft of changes. Mercantile, after receiving a second waiver for...

Cossette Accepts Sweetened Mill Road Bid

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST

Canadian advertising agency Cossette Inc said on Monday it has accepted a sweetened bid from U.S. private equity group Mill Road Capital and it continues to recommend that…

GE, Vivendi Agree to Value NBCU Stake at $5.8 Billion

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST

General Electric Co and Vivendi SA have agreed in principle to a deal in which GE would buy the French company's 20 percent stake in NBC Universal for $5.8 billion…

Peet's Coffee & Tea Boosts Bid for Diedrich

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST

Peet's Coffee & Tea on Monday raised for the second time in two weeks its cash-and-stock offer to buy Diedrich Coffee Inc...

SEC Watch, Part 2: Credit Ratings Proposal Segments Products While Beefing up Compliance

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST

Getting the SEC regulation that many feel they have earned, the Credit Ratings Agencies now face a second, Proposed Rule, creating new compliance requirements and seeking to separate ratings of...

Nokia Files Suits Against Display, Monitor Makers

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 08:45:00 EST

Top mobile phone maker Nokia said on Tuesday it filed suits in Britain and the United States last week alleging a number of leading technology firms operate cartels for mobile phone and monitor displays…

AIG Closes Debt for Equity Deal With NY Fed

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Insurance giant American International Group Inc said on Tuesday it had closed two transactions that reduce its debt with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York by $25 billion through…

China's Zijin Bids $498 Million for Australia's Indophil

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Zijin Mining Group has offered $498 million for Australia's Indophil Resources NL, a deal that would propel China's largest listed gold miner into the ranks of the world's top copper producers...

Broadcom to Acquire Dune Networks for $178 Million

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST

Chipmaker Broadcom Corp said on Monday it agreed to buy privately held Dune Networks for around $178 million in cash in a move to bolster its portfolio of network equipment products…

Dubai Ruler Plays up Strength as Gulf Markets Fall

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Gulf markets dropped again on Tuesday, taking little comfort from Dubai World's plan to restructure about $26 billion of debt and despite reassurances on economic resilience…

Barclays Gets Extra Boost From $15.2 Billion BGI Deal

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Barclays completed the sale of its asset management arm to U.S. fund manager BlackRock on Tuesday for $15.2 billion, or $1.7 billion more than when it struck the deal...

M&B Says Rebel Shareholders Trying to Take Control

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 06:30:00 EST

Pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers Plc will ask Britain's takeover watchdog to rule whether rebel shareholders are attempting to gain control of the group after they blocked the appointment of a chairman…

Gartmore IPO to Raise About 400 Million Stg

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 06:00:00 EST

British fund manager Gartmore and its private equity owners plan to raise about 400 million pounds ($659 million) in a London listing early next month...

Senate Opens Work on Healthcare Bill

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST

The U.S. Senate began work on a sweeping healthcare overhaul on Monday, with senators on both sides pouncing on findings in a nonpartisan budget report on insurance premiums to bolster their arguments…

Stryker to Buy Device Reprocessor Ascent

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST

Orthopedic device maker Stryker Corp said on Monday it would acquire Ascent Healthcare Solutions, a privately held reprocessor of medical devices, for $525 million in cash...

Brazil's Fleury Seeks to Raise $334 Million in IPO

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:45:00 EST

Brazilian medical services company Fleury and its shareholders said on Monday they plan to raise up to 582.3 million reais ($334 million) through an initial public offering that should…

Six Flags Bondholders Submit Alternative Plan

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST

A group of noteholders of bankrupt regional theme park operator Six Flags Inc said on Sunday it submitted an alternative reorganization plan that transfers most of the equity to them...

Regulators List Systemic Risk Institutions

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST

Thirty global financial institutions have been selected for cross-border supervision exercises by regulators…

ING Prices $11.2 Billion Cash Call at Steep Discount

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST

ING priced a rights issue intended to raise 7.5 billion euros ($11.2 billion) at a steep discount, hoping to reduce its dependence on state aid by tapping shareholders made warier by Dubai's debt crisis…

U.S. Treasury, Fed Delay Internet Gambling Ban 6 Months

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST

The U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve on Friday delayed the implementation date for a new Internet gambling payment ban for six months, a move that gives lawmakers time to clear up confusion over...

Corporate Finance: A Head Start with Forward-Start Facilities?

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:30:00 EST

Many borrowers are now living on extended time, after dizzying maturity cliffs led companies globally to amend and extend their credit agreements with creative legal maneuvers…