Deal roundup, 3.20.15

The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by Reuters as of 2000 GMT on Friday, March 20.

• British bank TSB has agreed to a 1.7 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) takeover by Spanish lender Banco Sabadell in one of the biggest cross-border banking deals since the financial crisis of 2007-09.

• A group of bondholders at Kaisa Group has rejected a proposal by the struggling Chinese property developer to restructure its $2.5 billion debt, which could scupper a takeover deal by larger rival Sunac China Holdings.

• Britain’s biggest retailer, Tesco, has regained sole ownership of 21 superstores in a 733 million pounds ($1 billion) asset swap with British Land, part of new boss Dave Lewis’s plan to strengthen its core UK business.

• Simon Property Group Inc, the No.1 U.S. mall owner, made what it said was its “best and final offer” for Macerich Co three days after its smaller rival rejected its initial proposal and adopted a poison pill takeover defense.

• Germany’s largest drugmaker, Bayer, said it was considering strategic options for the consumer products part of its Environmental Science business, which makes about 220 million euros ($236 million) in sales from pesticides, pest control products and fertilizers.

• India could raise 225.74 billion rupees ($3.6 billion) from the sale of stakes in four state-owned firms including Oil and Natural Gas Corp and National Aluminium Co Ltd, Junior Finance Minister Jayant Sinha said on Friday.

• Alliance Trust rejected Elliott Advisors’ proposals for a management overhaul, prompting a sharp reaction from the activist investor and setting the stage for a battle with one of the world’s best-known hedge funds.

• Serbia and Turkey’s state-run Halkbank signed a 10.1 million euro deal for the sale of a 76.74 percent stake in local lender Cacanska Banka, Serbia’s finance ministry said.

• Swedish fund manager Altor became the top owner of call-center operator Transcom on Friday after paying 421 million Swedish crowns ($48.5 million) for a 24.5 percent stake, it said in a statement.

• China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) is close to becoming the biggest single shareholder in Pirelli in a deal that would trigger a 7 billion euro ($7.5 billion) buyout of the Italian tire company. Three sources familiar with the deal said ChemChina was in talks with Pirelli’s top shareholders to buy a holding company called Camfin, which owns 26 percent of Pirelli and is 50 percent owned by Russia’s Rosneft.

• British America Tobacco Plc slightly reduced on Friday an offer for the 24.7 percent stake it does not already own in Souza Cruz SA to account for a dividend payout that Brazil’s largest cigarette maker approved this week.

• Enea, Poland’s third largest power company, is eyeing the sale of the country’s biggest unlisted utility, PKP Energetyka, Enea’s chief executive said on Friday.

• French telecoms groups Orange said it was buying shares held by French defense group Thales and the CDC state-backed lender in its cloud computing joint venture Cloudwatt.

• Czech electricity company CEZ has financial resources for acquiring both Enel’s stake in Slovak utility Slovenske Elektrarne and Vattenfall’s German assets, its chief executive was quoted as saying on Friday.

• Holcim Ltd and Lafarge SA have agreed new financial terms and leadership to save their plans to create the world’s biggest cement company, after the merger came to the verge of collapsing.

• Royal Dutch Shell said on Friday it had completed the sale of its stake in a Nigerian oil field for $737 million as the Anglo-Dutch oil major nears the completion of a strategic asset review in the West African country.

• Germany’s Evotec has announced a strategic alliance with French drugmaker Sanofi, which it said was worth 250 million euros ($267 million).

• South African hotel chain Sun International announced plans on Friday to take over casino resort group Peermont for nearly 9.5 billion rand ($775 million).

• U.K.-based Stemcor has sold its steel stockholding business for an undisclosed amount to MBM Group Services Ltd as talks to sell its core steel trading operations continue.

• Loss-making Japanese electronics firm Sharp Corp said it was not considering spinning off its liquid crystal display business as part of a bailout plan under discussion with lenders seeking restructuring moves in return for extending support.

• Standard General LP’s reduced buyout offer of $145.5 million is RadioShack Corp’s only hope of surviving bankruptcy and staving off liquidation, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing the hedge fund’s lawyers.

• Slovenia’s largest brewer, Pivovarna Lasko, received five binding bids in a sale that is expected to be completed by the end of June, Lasko said in a statement late on Thursday.

• Serbia has agreed a deal with Turkey’s state-run Halkbank for the sale of a 76.76 percent stake in local lender Cacanska Banka and they will ink the deal on Friday, Serbia’s finance ministry said. Serbia’s daily Blic reported on Friday that Halkbank had offered over 10 million euros ($10.73 million) for the stake.

• Several private equity firms are preparing to make offers to acquire enterprise software maker Informatica Corp, in what could be this year’s largest leveraged buyout, according to people familiar with the matter.

• Shares of U.S.-based agribusiness Andersons Inc jumped more than 6 percent on Friday, outpacing the sector, after a Bloomberg News report speculated that Glencore PLC could be interested in acquiring the company.

 

($1 = 62.52 Indian rupees) ($1 = 0.68 pounds) ($1 = 8.68 Swedish crowns) ($1 = 12.26 rand) ($1 = 0.93 euros)

 

(Compiled by Yashaswini Swamynathan and Anannya Pramanick in Bengaluru)