Deal roundup, 2.23.15

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  • Rare disease drugmaker PTC Therapeutics Inc is exploring a potential sale amid takeover interest from several pharmaceutical companies including Shire PLC and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

  • EU antitrust regulators launched an extensive investigation into General Electric’s proposed takeover of Alstom’s power equipment business, concerned that the 12.4-billion-euro ($14.06 billion) deal may reduce competition.

 

  • The European Commission said it had opened an in-depth investigation into Cargill Inc’s planned acquisition of the industrial chocolate business of rival Archer Daniels Midland Co.

 

  • Keurig Green Mountain Inc, the maker of the K-Cup single-serve coffee pod, will buy back more than half of Italian coffee maker Luigi Lavazza SpA’s stake in the company for about $624 million.
  • Italian aerospace and defense group Finmeccanica is set to announce the sale of its shares in rail and signaling units AnsaldoBreda and Ansaldo STS to Japan’s Hitachi as soon as Tuesday, a source close to the matter said.

 

  • German holding company Primondo GmbH is looking to sell mail-order group TriStyle and plans to approach private equity groups with an interest in fashion, such as Permira Beteiligungsberatung, two people with knowledge of the offering said.

 

  • Canada’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc agreed to acquire gastrointestinal drug maker Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd in an all-cash deal valued at about $10.1 billion, the two companies said.

 

  • Japanese chemical maker Asahi Kasei Corp said on Monday it would buy Polypore International Inc’s Energy Storage segment for $2.2 billion as it seeks to expand in the energy and environment business.

 

  • Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said it would buy privately held drugmaker Flexus Biosciences Inc for up to $1.25 billion to add an emerging class of cancer-fighting drugs to its pipeline.

 

  • U.S. silicon-alloy producer Globe Specialty Metals Inc and Spain’s Grupo FerroAtlántica SA said they would merge to form a company with an enterprise value of $3.1 billion and controlled by FerroAtlántica shareholders.

 

  • Britain’s finance ministry has raised 500 million pounds ($769 million) through the sale of a further 1 percent stake in Lloyds Banking Group Plc, cutting its holding to below 24 percent.

 

  • Aviation services provider AAR Corp said it would sell its cargo handling business, Telair Cargo Group, to TransDigm Group Inc for $725 million in cash.

 

  • South Africa’s Bidvest Group Ltd has offered to buy shares it doesn’t already own in drugmaker Adcock Ingram Holdings Ltd, in a deal worth a potential 6 billion rand ($515 million).

 

  • Japan’s Sosei Group Corp is to buy privately owned British biotechnology business Heptares for up to $400 million, the companies said, continuing the feverish pace of dealmaking in the sector.

 

  • Germany’s Aareal Bank AG said it had agreed to buy property lender Westdeutsche Immobilienbank for 350 million euros ($398 million) from Erste Abwicklungsanstalt.

 

  • DS Smith Plc, a British maker of corrugated cardboard, recycled paper and plastic packaging, said it agreed to buy Vienna-based packaging business Duropack for about 300 million euros ($341 million) from a subsidiary of One Equity Partners.

 

  • A trade union group representing Aer Lingus Group Plc workers has reversed its position and said it would now back a takeover approach by International Airlines Group SA after the British Airways’ owner laid out its growth plans for the Irish airline.

 

  • British holiday company Thomas Cook Group Plc is seeking to sell its airline business as part of a cost-saving plan, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.

 

  • Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc held preliminary takeover talks with Discovery Communications Inc with a view to creating a $100 billion entertainment giant, the Australian Financial Review reported. Fox, which like other broadcasters is battling a shift to on-demand TV, denied there had been any talks with Discovery, which owns Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel.

 

  • South Korea’s Samsung SDI Co said it had agreed to buy the battery pack business of Canadian car parts maker Magna International Inc, marking a further push by the Samsung Electronics affiliate into a key automotive parts business.

 

  • Japan’s biggest airline, ANA Holdings Inc, confirmed that it offered to help bail out bankrupt airline Skymark Airlines Inc.

 

  • Private equity firm Abraaj Group has bought a minority stake in Hepsiburada.com, one of the largest online retailers in Turkey, from the Dogan family, the Dubai-based firm said.

 

  • British American Tobacco Plc is considering a buyout of the 24.7 percent stake it does not already own in Souza Cruz SA, Brazil’s largest cigarette company, in a deal that could cost about 2.3 billion pounds ($3.53 billion).

 

  • The private equity owners of Parques Reunidos have put on ice plans to sell the Spanish zoo, marine and water park operator that could have valued the business at about 2 billion euros, six sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.

 

  • Construction materials maker Armstrong World Industries Inc said it would spin off its flooring business to concentrate on its ceilings unit.

 

  • Austrian property group Buwog AG has no plans to buy competitor conwert Immobilien Invest SE but would be interested in its German real estate portfolio should this be put up for sale, Buwog Chief Executive Daniel Riedl said.

 

  • Russia’s Sberbank Rossii OAO is preparing to sell its Slovak and Hungarian operations, Czech newspaper Lidove Noviny reported, citing unnamed sources.

 

($1 = 0.88 euros) ($1 = 0.65 pounds) ($1 = 2.86 Brazilian reais)

 

(Compiled by Amrutha Gayathri and Kshitiz Goliya in Bengaluru)