21 Jan 2014

Deals of the day- Mergers and acquisitions

Deals of the day- Mergers and acquisitions


Mon Jan 20, 2014 5:26pm EST

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Jan 20 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2200 GMT on Monday:



** Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, the world's largest brewer, has agreed to buy South Korea's Oriental Brewery Co Ltd for $5.8 billion including debt, regaining ownership of a key Asian asset at a time of strong industry growth across the region.



** Oil major Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it had agreed to sell stakes in a gas project in Western Australia for $1.14 billion as part of a drive to improve return on investment.



** General Electric Co has agreed to buy flow equipment provider Cameron International Corp's reciprocating compression division for $550 million as it looks to benefit from the boom in the development of shale oil and gas fields.



** French carmaker PSA Peugeot PA has taken a decisive step towards a tie-up with China's Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd as the board approved the outlines of a contentious survival plan that divided the founding Peugeot family.



** China's Lenovo Group Ltd has resumed discussions to buy International Business Machines Corp's low-end server unit, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.



** French utility GDF Suez SA had takeover approaches for Canada-based Talisman Energy Inc rebuffed late last year as it seeks acquisitions worth as much as $10 to $20 billion outside Europe, banking and industrial sources said.



** Activist investor Elliott Management Corp has raised its stake in German drug distributor Celesio AG and now controls shares equivalent to 24.08 percent of voting rights, regulatory filings to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Monday showed.



** TransCanada Corp, Canada's No. 2 pipeline company, said it will sell its Cancarb Ltd unit, a carbon black manufacturer, to Japan's Tokai Carbon Co Ltd for C$190 million ($173 million) in order to focus on expanding its pipeline business.



** Osisko Mining Corp rejected an unsolicited C$2.6 billion ($2.37 billion) takeover bid from rival Goldcorp Inc , saying the offer was financially inadequate and not in the best interests of its shareholders.



** French state-controlled nuclear group Areva SA and Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa have agreed a preliminary deal to create one of the biggest players in offshore wind energy.



** Qatar's Barwa Real Estate Co QSC said it had agreed to sell its 37.34 percent stake in unlisted Barwa Bank for 2.39 billion riyals ($656 million) as part of a wider deal to help the property developer cope with its debt burden.

** Deutsche Bank AG said it expected the long-planned sale of its BHF-Bank unit to happen early in 2014, according to presentation slides. Deutsche Bank, which is selling BHF to financial investor RHJ International SA , wrote nearly 200 million euros ($271.15 million) off the value of the unit in the fourth quarter.



** China National Nuclear Corp has agreed to buy a 25 percent stake in Australian miner Paladin Energy Ltd's uranium mine in Namibia for $190 million, locking in supplies as Beijing builds new nuclear plants for cleaner energy.



** Britain's Co-operative Group has scrapped the sale of its general insurance business following a restructuring deal which means it does not have to contribute as much capital to its struggling bank as initially envisaged.



** Bahrain-based investment firm Gulf Finance House BSC said it was offloading 75 percent of English soccer club Leeds United to a consortium of British investors and would retain a 10 percent stake following the sale.



** Shares in Perusahaan Gas Negara surged as much as nearly 9 percent after reports said the Indonesian parliament had rejected a planned acquisition of the gas utility firm by state energy company Pertamina.



** Private equity firm Electra Private Equity Plc will acquire footwear retailer Hotter Shoes in a deal valued at 200 million pounds ($327 million), The Telegraph reported on Sunday.



** Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa) plans to invest about $1.2 billion developing the Atrush oil and gas block in the autonomous Kurdistan region, the head of Taqa's Iraq operations said.

** The board of Norwegian Car Carriers ASA will recommend that shareholders reject a bid for the firm made by Car Carrier Investments, board member Atle Bergshaven told Reuters.



** Dubai district cooling firm Empower bought Palm Utilities from a unit of Dubai World for $500 million on Sunday, part of a shuffle of assets between companies ultimately owned by Dubai's government or the emirate's ruler.



** Tesco Plc considered a bid for mother and baby products retailer Mothercare Plc to help reinvigorate its British hypermarkets, the Sunday Times reported. Citing retail sources, the newspaper said Tesco examined a bid six months ago but has put the plan on hold.



** Royal Dutch Shell and Mubadala Petroleum have swapped equity stakes in two exploration blocks off Malaysia, the companies said on Sunday. Mubadala has taken a 20 percent interest in the Shell-operated deepwater Block 2B and Shell has taken a 20 percent interest in the Mubadala-operated Block SK320 in return.



** Bahrain's Investcorp Bank BSC and the founders of TDX Group have agreed to sell their stakes in the British technology firm to U.S. credit reporting agency Equifax Inc for 200 million pounds, according to a filing at Bahrain's bourse.



** Eaton Corp on Monday said it would sell its aerospace power distribution unit to Safran SA for $270 million, in a deal that is expected to close in the first half of 2014.



** Indian drugmaker Aurobindo Pharma Ltd said on Saturday it agreed to buy Actavis Plc's commercial operations in seven Western European countries for about 30 million euros, in a bid to increase its international footprint.

Prince Alwaleed tops Rich List with $31.2bn

The world's richest Arabs 2013

1 of 27

1. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud $31.2bn ($25.9bn in 2012) Saudi Arabia
Whatever he touches generally turns to gold, and 2013 was no exception. In 2011, Alwaleed and Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) spent $300m on a stake in Twitter they said was worth more than 3 percent. When Twitter went public last month, the value of the prince's stake soared by 200 percent to $900m, after a 70 percent rise in the share price. Things have also been pretty impressive at Kingdom Holding in which the prince has a 95 percent share stake: the one year return on the stock had crossed a remarkable 35 percent by last Sunday. All this means that the prince is once again – for the 10th year running – the world’s richest Arab, with a personal fortune of $31.2bn. This figure has been verified by his private office. But the real strength of the overall KHC portfolio lies in sector diversity. It has major interests in investment categories ranging from luxury hotels and real estate to media and publishing, entertainment, finance and investment services, social media and technology, consumer and retail, petrochemicals, education, private equities, health care, aviation – even agriculture. KHC is among the world’s largest and most diverse investors, with regional and international holdings in many key industries. It is recognised as one of the largest foreign investors in the United States. The question in the past few years has been whether anyone else on the rich list could ever topple the prince from pole position. Based on the latest figures, the answer is a resounding no.

Prince Alwaleed tops Rich List with $31.2bn

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed has topped the Arabian Business Rich List for the 10 successive year, with a personal fortune of $31.2bn
.
Click here to view the world’s richest Arabs

The Kingdom Holding Company chairman saw his wealth rise by over 20 percent in the past twelve months, from $25.9bn. The figure – verified by his private office, reflects a series of strong performances and investments in the last year, most notably his $300m stake in Twitter, which rose in value by 200 percent when the company floated this year.
Alwaleed’s personal wealth for 2013 is more than twice that of second placed hotels magnate Mohamed Al Jaber. Financial statements seen by Arabian Business - and also verified by Al Jaber’s private office – put his total wealth at $12.662bn – nearly double last year’s figure of $7bn.

The Olayan family ($12.5bn), Mohammed Al Amoudi ($12bn) and Issam Al Zahid ($11.6bn – a figure also verified by his private office) – top the remaining slots in the top five.
The 2013 list showed the top 50 richest Arabs in the world now have a combined wealth of $266.11bn, up from $257.21bn last year.

But only 11 of the names on last year’s list saw their figures rise.
Saudi Arabia accounted for nearly half the entries on this year’s list, with 23, followed by the UK and Kuwait, with four each. Seven of this year’s entries are based in Europe, with the UAE accounting for just three.

Arabian Business Editor Ed Attwood said: “The last 12 months have seen some solid performances by Arab business leaders across the globe, but what is significant is only 11 of the top 50 saw their wealth increase. The overall wealth has increased largely because of phenomenal performances by the top two in our list, Prince Alwaleed and Mohamed Al Jaber."
The list does not include any members of royal families, unless their wealth is specifically derived from business interests.

Revealed: The world’s richest Arabs list 2013

Revealed: The world’s richest Arabs list 2013

Welcome to the tenth edition of the Arabian Business Rich List, our annual countdown of the world’s richest Arabs.
 
 

Photos

The world's richest Arabs 2013
The world's richest Arabs 2013
Prince Alwaleed grew his wealth by just over 20 percent in the course of 2013 — proving yet again why he is the world’s richest Arab.
World's richest Arabs in construction
World's richest Arabs in construction
The Binladin Group won deals to construct Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Tower and the expansion of the King Abdulaziz International Airport.
World's richest Arabs in investment
World's richest Arabs in investment
Prince Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding Company is among the world’s largest and most diverse investors.
World's richest Arabs in retail
World's richest Arabs in retail
Kuwaiti family conglomerate the Kharafi Group is looking to Asia as its next target for investment.

Interviews

HRH Prince Alwaleed interview
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HRH Prince Alwaleed interview

In a candid interview at his offices in Riyadh, the prince explains why he has been vindicated with the investments...
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A man for all seasons
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Kuwait's Al Kharafi on plans for the family empire
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Kuwait's Al Kharafi on plans for the family empire

In his most wide-ranging interview since he took a more prominent role in the family business, Bader Nasser Al Kharafi...
Shehab Gargash interview
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Shehab Gargash interview

Legendary Dubai investor Shehab Gargash explains why - despite pushing his own firm’s IPO back to 2015 - sentiment in...
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Features & Analysis

Rich List 2013: How we did it

Rich List 2013: How we did it

Welcome to the tenth edition of the Arabian Business Rich List, our annual countdown...
1

Opinion

Cash rich
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Cash rich

Prince Alwaleed grew his wealth by just over 20 percent in the course of 2013 — proving...

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Photos