BP has put its U.S. wind farm operation, one of the largest in the country, up for sale, marking the continued retreat of big oil companies from renewable energy investments while oil and gas projects offer them better returns, Reuters reported. The British oil company has already sold or earmarked for sale some $38 billion worth of assets, partly to raise funds to pay for its 2010 U.S. oil spill liabilities, but also to reposition itself as a smaller, leaner company with an emphasis on high-margin oil production and exploration. Reports said the sale could raise a further $1.5 billion.
2 min read · 03 April 2013
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is emerging as the lead contender in Life Technologies Corp's auction, working on a bid that could value the genetic testing maker at as much as $12 billion, Reuters reported. Thermo Fisher, the world's largest maker of laboratory equipment, is considering a bid of between $65 and $70 per share for Life Tech and is interested in buying the entire company.
1 min read · 03 April 2013
French nuclear reactor maker Areva said it had agreed to sell its nuclear radiation measurement unit, Canberra, to private equity group Astorg Partners for an undisclosed amount, Reuters reported. The transaction is part of Areva's ongoing asset disposal plan aimed at reducing debt to allow it to invest elsewhere. It is expected to close in the first half of the year.
1 min read · 03 April 2013
Regulators said on Tuesday that companies can use Twitter, Facebook and other social media to make key announcements as long as they tell investors which sites they will use.
2 min read · 02 April 2013
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has registered a fund that invests in risky credit products as a publicly traded business development company, a way for the bank to avoid some regulations that would otherwise limit its activity. Goldman's Liberty Harbor Capital LLC unit will invest in middle-market companies that have weak credit ratings and are underserved by banks, according to a registration filing on Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Liberty Harbor typically invests in bonds and loans that are not rated by credit ratings agencies, but would be considered less than investment-grade.
2 min read · 02 April 2013
Auto parts maker Lear Corp. avoided a proxy battle with investors Marcato Capital Management LLC and Oskie Capital Management LLC by agreeing to increase and quicken the pace of its share buyback program and add a board member, Reuters reported. Marcato - a $1.4 billion hedge fund run by Mick McGuire, one of activist investor William Ackman's former partners - put pressure on Lear in February, saying it planned to nominate candidates to the company's board.
3 min read · 02 April 2013
Troubled Australian surfwear firm Billabong International Ltd said on Tuesday it is still in talks with two takeover suitors and requested a trading halt in its shares ahead of a possible announcement this week. Billabong has received offers from a consortium comprised of private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners and U.S. clothing group VF Corp and another group led by Billabong's former U.S. boss Paul Naude and private equity firm Sycamore Partners. The two competing groups had made indicative matching offers of A$1.10 a share, valuing the company at A$527 million ($549 million), but analysts expect the final bids -- which were due in last week -- to be around A$0.80-90. That would be slightly above Billabong's close on Thursday of A$0.73.
2 min read · 02 April 2013
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. agreed to buy electronic Treasuries-trading platform eSpeed from BGC Partners Inc. for $750 million in cash, providing the exchange operator an entry into one of the world's largest and most liquid cash markets, Reuters reported. The deal gives Nasdaq more exposure to fixed income markets, fitting into the company's strategy of expanding in asset classes beyond stock trading, where volumes have been depressed for years.
4 min read · 02 April 2013
Indonesian private equity firm PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya has picked UBS AG and Deutsche Bank to lead its initial public offering, aiming to raise at least $200 million in the second quarter, Reuters reported. Saratoga, which was founded in 1998 by Indonesian tycoons Edwin Soeryadjaya and Sandiaga Uno, is planning to raise around $200 million in a first equity offering by an private equity firm in the Jakarta stock exchange.
1 min read · 02 April 2013
American Greetings Corp's founding and controlling family clinched a deal to buy the gift card company at a time when it is facing intensifying competition from social media sites.
2 min read · 02 April 2013
