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Cisco to buy Sourcefire, more network security deals seen

(Reuters) – Cisco Systems Inc said on Tuesday it plans to purchase cybersecurity company Sourcefire Inc for $2.7 billion, a deal that analysts say should spark more acquisitions in the industry as large vendors seek to profit from growing demand for IT securit... More »

Vivendi says in talks to sell Maroc stake for 4.2 billion euros

PARIS (Reuters) – French media and telecoms conglomerate Vivendi SA (VIV.PA ) said on Tuesday it had entered into exclusive talks to sell its majority stake in Maroc Telecom (IAM.CS ) to Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat ETEL.AD for 4.2 billion euros ($5.54 billion) in... More »

Third Point to sell most of Yahoo stake, Loeb to quit board

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Activist hedge fund Third Point LLC reached an agreement to sell two-thirds of its stake in Yahoo Inc back to the company, pocketing a tidy profit and relinquishing three seats on the board of a company trying to effect a tricky turna... More »

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Dell postpones meeting on buyout as more votes needed

NEW YORK/ROUND ROCK, Texas (Reuters) – Dell Inc on Thursday postponed a shareholder vote on CEO Michael Dell’s $24.4 billion buyout offer, after he won 11th-hour backing from several large investors but still fell short of enough votes to seal the deal. The me... More »

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Opponents of Dell buyout say don’t delay vote

(Reuters) – Opposition to Michael Dell’s bid to take his computer company private grew on Wednesday, and billionaire Carl Icahn argued Dell Inc had no right to delay a shareholder vote, even if the deal looked more likely to fail. Holders of nearly 30 percent ... More »

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US Airways, American offer EU concessions over merger deal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – US Airways Group (LCC.N ) and AMR Corp’s (AAMRQ.PK ) American Airlines have offered concessions to European Union antitrust regulators to win approval for their planned $11 billion merger to create the world’s largest airline. The European... More »

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Dell shareholder Yacktman backs Icahn buyout proposal

(Reuters) – Dell Inc shareholder Yacktman Asset Management threw its support behind Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management’s buyout proposal for the PC maker. Yacktman, which holds 14.8 million shares of Dell, said it believes Dell founder and Chief Exec... More »

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Dell shares fall as investors bet against higher buyout bid

(Reuters) – Shares of Dell Inc fell more than 3 percent on Friday, as investors grew skeptical that founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners will raise their $24.4 billion buyout bid in order to overcome growing opposition. A deteriorating outlook for the... More »

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Panasonic to buy stake in Slovenia’s Gorenje

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) – Japanese consumer electronics firm Panasonic Corp will buy up to 13 percent of Gorenje, one of the biggest household appliance makers in Eastern Europe, as it aims to tap growing demand in the region. Panasonic is pulling away from unprof... More »

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Founder told to sweeten offer for Dell as Icahn ups the stakes

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Michael Dell has been advised to raise his $24.4 billion offer for Dell Inc, coming under further pressure as billionaire investor Carl Icahn revealed he had committed more than $3 billion to back an alternative proposal. The PC maker’s sp... More »

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Yahoo buys mobile app co Qwiki

(Reuters) – Yahoo Inc said that it will buy Qwiki Inc, a mobile app for creating videos in Apple Inc’s iPhone, as it tries to increase its presence in the world of smartphones and tablets. The company paid about $50 million for the deal, tech blog AllThingsD c... More »

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JP Morgan leads Nokia’s 1.2 billion euro acquisition loan: sources

LONDON (Reuters) – JP Morgan is leading the 1.2 billion euro ($1.56 billion) loan backing Finnish mobile handset maker Nokia’s 1.7 billion euro acquisition of Siemens’ 50 percent stake in joint-venture Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), banking sources said. The ne... More »

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Italy’s RCS not in talks with News Corp: Elkann

MILAN (Reuters) – Italian publisher RCS Mediagroup’s main shareholder John Elkann on Monday dismissed press reports of a link-up between the loss-making group and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, where he sits on the board. When asked to comment on a possible News ... More »

Tribune to buy 19 local TV stations for $2.73 billion

(Reuters) – Tribune Co said on Monday that it would acquire 19 television stations from Local TV Holdings LLC for $2.73 billion in cash, making it the largest TV broadcaster in the United States. The purchase from New York private equity firm Oak Hill Capital ... More »

Icahn seeks Dell meeting after securing $5.2 billion for bid

(Reuters) – Billionaire investor Carl Icahn asked for a meeting with Dell Inc’s special board committee after lining up $5.2 billion in loan commitments to back up his bid for a leveraged recapitalization of the personal computer maker. Icahn, in an open lette... More »

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Nokia to buy out Siemens equipment venture- shares surge

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Nokia shares surged on Monday after it announced plans to buy out Siemens AG’s share of their network equipment joint venture, betting on the technology to run 4G networks as it struggles in the smartphones business. Loss-making Nokia gain... More »

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Nokia to take full control of network venture for $2.2 billion

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Nokia will pay $2.2 billion to buy out partner Siemens AG in their network equipment joint venture, a deal that is likely to bring some stability to the company after it stumbled in smartphones. Loss-making Nokia also gained full control o... More »

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Oracle and NetSuite unveil cloud-computing alliance

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Software companies Oracle and NetSuite announced an alliance to deliver cloud-based services to mid-size business customers, the third tie-up unveiled this week by Oracle as it pushes further into services delivered over the Internet.... More »

Rio Tinto overhaul plans dented as diamond sale scrapped

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX ) has scrapped the proposed sale of its $1.3 billion diamonds business, a setback for its plan to sell a swag of mines and company stakes to tighten operations during a global industry downturn. The world no.3 miner ... More »

Vodafone announces agreed $10.1 billion Kabel deal

LONDON (Reuters) – Vodafone (VOD.L ) has agreed to buy Germany’s largest cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KD8Gn.DE ) for 7.7 billion euros ($10.1 billion), making its biggest deal since 2007 a bet on TV and fixed line services to protect its most important ma... More »

Rosneft to double oil flows to China in $270 billion deal

ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) – Russia’s Rosneft (ROSN.MM ) agreed a $270 billion deal to double oil supplies to China on Friday, as the Kremlin energy champion shifts its focus to Asia from saturated and crisis-hit European markets. The deal, one of the biggest eve... More »

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Jefferies readies loans for Icahn’s Dell bid: sources

(Reuters) – Jefferies & Co will provide $5.2 billion in term loans to back Carl Icahn’s bid for computer manufacturer Dell Inc, sources told Thomson Reuters LPC. The funding will be launched on Monday at a 4:00 p.m. lender call that the billionaire investor is... More »

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Morgan Stanley finishes wealth business buyout

(Reuters) – Morgan Stanley said it will buy the rest of its wealth-management joint venture with Citigroup Inc by the end of the month, completing a deal started during the financial crisis that was designed to stabilize both banks. Morgan Stanley will pay $4.... More »

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Rosneft says Chinese oil deal worth $270 billion

ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) – Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft (ROSN.MM ) has committed to supply China with 365 million tonnes of oil over 25 years in a deal worth around $270 billion, chief executive Igor Sechin said on Friday. Sechin said the new su... More »

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Senators urge inclusion of food safety in Smithfield review

(Reuters) – A bipartisan group of 15 U.S. senators urged the Obama administration on Thursday to consider whether the proposed sale of Smithfield Foods Inc to the Chinese meat company Shuanghui International posed a threat to the U.S. food supply that could ju... More »

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SoftBank confident Sprint deal will close in July

TOKYO (Reuters) – SoftBank Corp CEO Masayoshi Son said on Friday he was confident his company’s acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corp will be completed in early July after rival bidder Dish Network Corp failed to make a counter move this week. SoftBank, a Japanese... More »

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Sprint raises Clearwire bid, wins key investor support

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sprint Nextel Corp raised its buyout offer for Clearwire Corp to $5 per share on Thursday and announced support from a key group of dissident shareholders, likely ending a bitter battle with rival suitor Dish Network Corp. Sprint, currentl... More »

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Vodafone and Liberty face battle for Kabel Deutschland

LONDON (Reuters) – Vodafone faces a battle for Germany’s largest cable company, Kabel Deutschland, although rival bidder Liberty Global of the United States has bigger regulatory and funding hurdles to overcome. Liberty Global, which owns Unity Media, Germany’... More »

Leasing firm CIT orders 30 Boeing 737 MAX planes

PARIS (Reuters) – Boeing (BA.N ) has won an order for 30 of its 737 MAX 8 aircraft worth $3 billion at list prices from leasing firm CIT Group (CIT.N ), the two companies said at the Paris Airshow on Wednesday. The deal comprises 10 new aircraft and the conver... More »

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Softbank closer to acquiring Sprint after Dish abandons bid for now

TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Japan’s SoftBank Corp cleared a major hurdle in its attempt to buy U.S. wireless provider Sprint Nextel Corp, as rival bidder Dish Network Corp declined to make a new offer after SoftBank sweetened its own bid last week. SoftBank Chi... More »

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Kodak prepares $406 million offering as it eyes bankruptcy exit

(Reuters) – Eastman Kodak Co on Tuesday said it will seek court approval for a $406 million rights offering that could give creditors a big equity stake in the company after it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Kodak said creditors agreed to backs... More »

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Dish abandons Sprint bid for now to focus on Clearwire

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Dish Network Corp said it would not make a new offer to buy No. 3 U.S. wireless provider Sprint Nextel in time for a Tuesday deadline and will instead focus on its tender offer for Clearwire Corp. The decision may be good news for Japan’s ... More »

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Vodafone raises Kabel Deutschland offer after rival bid: report

(Reuters) – Britain’s Vodafone Group Plc has raised its preliminary offer to buy Germany’s largest cable operator, Kabel Deutschland Holding AG, a day after U.S. media group Liberty Global Plc made a rival bid, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people fami... More »

Universal Music’s EMI bid to face EU objections

ST GALLEN, Switzerland (Reuters) – Universal Music’s $1.9 billion deal to buy smaller rival EMI’s recorded music business is set to face objections from the European Union’s competition authority and may have to make concessions to allay concerns about the com... More »

Australia’s Seven eyes counterbid for Packer’s Consolidated

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian media conglomerate Seven Group may bid to gain control of Consolidated Media Holdings, the nation’s competition regulator said, taking on Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp in a battle for coveted pay-TV assets. News Corp’s Australian uni... More »

Universal Music uses star power for merger hearing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Universal Music Group brought out big-name allies as it made its case on Thursday before U.S. lawmakers for its much-criticized deal to buy a chunk of rival EMI. Irving Azoff, the executive chairman of Live Nation Entertainment, which fa... More »

EU says Universal, EMI deal hits competition: sources

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU regulators have told Universal Music Group that its plans to buy an EMI unit will significantly impede competition, signaling a possible veto unless it offers major concessions, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The... More »

News Corp split sets stage for possible Lachlan return

(Reuters) – Rupert Murdoch’s decision to become chief executive of a new, separate entertainment company split off from News Corp but not to head the new publishing business sparked speculation he was setting the stage for the return of his eldest son Lachlan ... More »

Japanese ad giant Dentsu enters Europe with Aegis

LONDON (Reuters) – Japanese ad giant Dentsu is buying marketing group Aegis for 3.2 billion pounds ($5 billion), the biggest deal in its history as it seeks to expand outside its home market with the British firm’s European and digital business. Revealing how ... More »

SpongeBob, Snooki, Jon Stewart go missing from DirecTV

SUN VALLEY, Idaho (Reuters) – The latest and most high-profile dispute between pay-TV distributors and content owners over the cost of programming pits DirecTV and Viacom Inc against each other. The two companies failed to reach a new contract before a midnigh... More »

Murdoch to invest in Dutch cable soccer broadcaster

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Rupert Murdoch’s international media business, FOX International Channels (FIC), is to buy a majority stake in a Dutch cable television soccer broadcaster, in a deal media reports said was worth around 1 billion euros ($1.24 billion). FIC... More »

Antitrust group asks for Universal, EMI deal to be stopped

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An independent antitrust group urged U.S. regulators on Thursday to stop Universal Music Group’s plan to buy EMI Music’s labels for $1.9 billion because it says the deal would give Universal too much power in the music industry. The inde... More »

Anschutz puts sports and entertainment empire up for sale

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – U.S. conglomerate Anschutz Co said on Tuesday it wants to sell its sports and entertainment unit, whose assets range from teams like the Los Angeles Kings hockey franchise to concert venues such as London’s famous O2 arena — in... More »

Europe, U.S. approve Universal purchase of EMI unit

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vivendi’s Universal Music Group won European and U.S. approval for its $1.9 billion purchase of EMI’s recorded music business on Friday, with the EU requiring the company to sell labels that account for about a third of the Brit... More »

Variety being sold to Penske, Third Point : sources

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Variety, the century-old entertainment trade newspaper once considered the bible of the movie industry, is being sold to online publisher Jay Penske and private equity firm Third Point LLC for about $25 million, two sources with knowled... More »

Random House and Penguin merge to take on Amazon, Apple

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Pearson and Germany’s Bertelsmann plan to merge their publishers Penguin and Random House, aiming to gain the upper hand in their relationship with Amazon and Apple, the leaders in the ebook revolution. Education and media publishe... More »

News Corp seals $2.1 billion Australia pay-TV deal

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp boosted its share of Australia’s pay-TV market after shareholders in Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd voted in favor of a A$2 billion ($2.1 billion) takeover offer from News. The deal will double the stake of New... More »

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Netflix seeks to fend off Icahn with poison pill

(Reuters) – Netflix Inc adopted a poison pill defense to prevent a hostile takeover, acting just days after activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed he had bought a stake in the streaming video and DVD-by-mail subscription service. The move is meant to prevent a... More »

News Corp close to deal for YES stake: WSJ

(Reuters) – News Corp is in the process of closing a deal to buy a minority stake in New York regional sports network YES, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing sources. A deal that values the home network of the New York Yankees at about $3 bi... More »

Rupert Murdoch sheds some News Corp shares

(Reuters) – News Corp Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch sold about $10 million of the company’s Class A shares on November 20, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. The sale of 418,631 Class A shares represent about 5 percent of Murdoch and his family’s... More »

News Corp to take 49 percent stake in Yankees TV channel

(Reuters) – News Corp will acquire a 49 percent equity stake in the YES Network from the New York Yankees baseball club and its partners, giving the media company a major sports presence in the largest U.S. TV market. After three years, News Corp would be able... More »

HBO extends Universal deal, keeping films from Netflix

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Home Box Office said Sunday it extended its deal with Universal Pictures for the rights to the studio’s movies through 2022, allowing HBO to keep them away from video-streaming rival Netflix, which is aiming to compete with HBO, Showtim... More »

GE to sell rest of NBC stake to Comcast for $16.7 billion

(Reuters) – Comcast Corp on Tuesday said it would buy General Electric’s remaining 49 percent equity stake in their NBCUniversal joint venture for about $16.7 billion, speeding up a deal that had not been expected until at least late 2014. Analysts said Comcas... More »

GE to return $18 billion to shareholders after early NBC deal

(Reuters) – General Electric Co expects to return about $18 billion to investors this year in share buybacks and dividends as it sells its remaining stake in NBC Universal. The sale of the network GE bought in 1986 was the latest step in Chief Executive Jeff I... More »

New York Times puts Boston Globe up for sale again

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Times Co is putting The Boston Globe on the auction block for a second time as it seeks to focus solely on growing its flagship newspaper, the company said on Wednesday. The sale, which will also include the Worcester Telegram... More »

Tribune hires banks to explore sale of dailies

(Reuters) – Tribune Co has hired investment banks Evercore Partners and J.P. Morgan to assess interest in its newspaper unit, which includes The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, the company confirmed in a statement on Tuesday. A sale of its eight major n... More »

Bertelsmann buys KKR’s stake in music rights group BMG

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Bertelsmann, Europe’s largest media company, is buying private equity firm KKR’s stake in their joint venture music rights management company BMG. The German group, best known for its TV arm RTL and publisher Random House, said on Friday ... More »

News Corp gives publishing company $2.6 billion in cash

(Reuters) – Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp will start its largely print-based publishing company with no debt and $2.6 billion in cash when it completes the spinoff. The amount of cash and debt, which analysts generally expected, gives the publishing company a pur... More »

Exclusive: MGM board expected to discuss IPO at March 18 meeting

(Reuters) – The board of MGM, the storied Hollywood studio that exited bankruptcy in 2010, will discuss a long-awaited initial stock offering when it meets on March 18 amid indications that debt-holders who control the company may be nearing a decision to file... More »

Liberty eyes cable TV deals after Charter investment

(Reuters) – Liberty Media Corp will buy a 27 percent stake in Charter Communications Inc, signaling Chairman John Malone’s return to his roots in cable television and a renewed appetite for consolidation in the sector. Chief Executive Greg Maffei said Liberty ... More »

Liberty Media close to buying stake in Charter: report

(Reuters) – Liberty Media Corp is close to buying a 25 percent stake in cable operator Charter Communications Inc for about $2.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation. Charter Communications sha... More »

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Fox picks up Big East basketball for 12 years

(Reuters) – Fox Sports has signed a 12-year contract to carry the new Big East basketball conference, the first major sports rights agreement it has entered since announcing its new national cable channel to compete with ESPN. Terms of the deal were not disclo... More »

Random House, Penguin merger wins EU antitrust approval

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – German media group Bertelsmann and British publisher Pearson secured unconditional EU regulatory clearance on Friday to merge their publishers Random House and Penguin to better compete with rivals Amazon and Apple. The deal, announced in ... More »

Carlos Slim’s Ora.TV buys Stick Figure Productions

(Reuters) – Ora.TV, the fledgling online digital TV network backed by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, has acquired television production company Stick Figure Productions in order to expand its content. Terms of the deal, announced on Wednesday, were not discl... More »

Liberty Global preparing Kabel Deutschland bid: report

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – U.S. cable company Liberty Global is preparing a takeover offer for Kabel Deutschland, Manager Magazin reported, sending shares in Germany’s biggest cable company higher. By preparing a bid, Liberty Global wants to steal a march on UK-bas... More »

Bertelsmann eyes up to $2.1 billion from RTL stake sale

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German media conglomerate Bertelsmann expects to raise as much as 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion) from the sale of a stake in broadcaster RTL as it seeks to fund its growth ambitions. Bertelsmann set a price range of 54 to 62 euros per s... More »

Bertelsmann offers RTL shares at 55.50 euros each

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German media conglomerate Bertelsmann has set the placement price for part of its stake in RTL Group at 55.50 euros, bringing it gross proceeds of up to 1.42 billion euros ($1.86 billion), RTL said on Monday. Privately-owned Bertelsmann i... More »

Dish lines up banks to finance Sprint bid: sources

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Dish Network Corp has lined up four banks to finance its $25.5 billion bid for Sprint Nextel Corp, escalating the bidding war against Japanese telecom company SoftBank Corp, according to two people familiar with the matter. Dish, run by bi... More »

Axel Springer shareholder sells 2.8 percent stake: bank

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Good Media Investment Holdings SARL is selling its 2.8 percent stake in German publisher Axel Springer AG, Deutsche Bank said on Tuesday. The shares are being offered via an accelerated bookbuilding procedure for which Deutsche Bank is ac... More »

Vivendi agrees proposal for mediator in Canal+ spat

PARIS (Reuters) – French media group Vivendi on Friday backed a proposal to name a mediator in the legal spat with media group Lagardere over their Canal+ France pay-TV venture. “Vivendi confirms it has accepted the proposal from Commercial Court President Fra... More »

Kabel Deutschland confirms preliminary offer from Liberty Global

(Reuters) – Kabel Deutschland – Germany’s biggest cable operator – confirmed on Monday that they have received a preliminary approach from U.S. media group Liberty Global Plc after a British newspaper reported that the company had put forward a 7.5-billion-eur... More »

Airbus clinches $11 billion easyJet order

LONDON (Reuters) – Airbus (EAD.PA ) clinched a deal on Tuesday worth about $11 billion to supply British budget airline easyJet (EZJ.L ) with 135 planes, dealing a blow to its U.S. rival Boeing (BA.N ). EasyJet agreed to buy 35 current-generation A320 aircraft... More »

Sprint sues Dish, Clearwire as key deadline looms

(Reuters) – Sprint Nextel Corp on Monday said it has sued Dish Network Corp to block its tender offer for Clearwire Corp, on the eve of a key deadline in a takeover battle that also includes Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank Corp. The lawsuit filed on Monday in... More »

Sprint files lawsuit against Dish and Clearwire

(Reuters) – Sprint Nextel Corp has filed a lawsuit against Dish Network Corp and Clearwire Corp to prevent the completion of Dish’s offer for Clearwire’s shares. The lawsuit details how Dish has “repeatedly attempted to fool Clearwire’s shareholders into belie... More »

Netflix boosts original programing with DreamWorks deal

(Reuters) – Video streaming service Netflix Inc is beefing up its original programing menu through a multi-year deal with DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc, the maker of movies such as Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda. DreamWorks said the deal, which involves 30... More »

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Gannett surges to five-year high on deal to expand TV reach

(Reuters) – Gannett Co Inc shares soared 27 percent to a five-year high after the largest U.S. newspaper chain struck a $1.5 billion deal for television company Belo Corp, dramatically increasing TV’s importance to Gannett’s results. Gannett’s surge nearly equ... More »

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Qatar sells back 10 percent Porsche stake to founding families

DUBAI/BERLIN (Reuters) – Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund, has sold its 10 percent stake in Porsche SE (PSHG_p.DE ) to the luxury carmaker’s family shareholders, four years after it first invested in the firm. Qatar H... More »

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Netflix looks for more original programming with DreamWorks deal

(Reuters) – Video streaming service Netflix Inc will beef up its original programming menu through a new, multi-year deal with DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc, the maker of movies such as Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda. DreamWorks is looking to expand its te... More »

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IBM to buy website hosting service SoftLayer

(Reuters) – International Business Machines said on Tuesday it would acquire Web hosting company SoftLayer Technologies and create a new division for clients interested in so-called cloud services, a move to better compete with larger rivals in the space. Exec... More »

Sprint slams Dish’s latest offer for Clearwire

(Reuters) – Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N ) on Monday attacked Dish Network Corp’s (DISH.O ) competing bid for Clearwire Corp (CLWR.O ), saying Dish’s demands violate Sprint’s governance agreements with Clearwire and Delaware law. Sprint’s allegations, in a letter t... More »

Santander sells 50 percent stake in asset management arm

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s biggest bank, Santander, has reached a deal with U.S. private equity firms Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic LLC to sell them a 50 percent stake in its asset management arm. Santander said in a statement on Thursday announcing the ... More »

UBP snaps up Lloyds international private banking arm

ZURICH/LONDON (Reuters) – Union Bancaire Privee (UBP) is buying Lloyds Banking Group Plc’s international private banking arm, as the bailed-out British lender focuses on its domestic market and the Swiss wealth manager builds on a recent acquisition spree. Gen... More »

Dish eyes LightSquared’s Spectrum for $2 billion – Bloomberg

(Reuters) – U.S. satellite company Dish Network Corp has offered to buy bankrupt broadband company LightSquared Inc’s radio frequencies for $2 billion, Bloomberg said, quoting people familiar with the bid. Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen made the offer on May 15 a... More »

StanChart to buy Morgan Stanley India wealth management arm

(Reuters) – Standard Chartered has agreed to buy the Indian wealth management unit of Morgan Stanley, helping the British bank expand its private banking business in Asia’s third-largest economy. The sale underscores growing consolidation of Asia’s wealth mana... More »

Dish makes national security argument for Sprint offer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Dish Network Corp is asking regulators to suspend the review of the proposed acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corp to Japan’s SoftBank Corp, saying its own counter-bid would be preferable for national security reasons. Dish in the past has a... More »

Exclusive: Apax, Morgan Stanley look to sell Hub – sources

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Buyout firm Apax Partners and Morgan Stanley’s private equity arm are exploring a sale of Chicago-based insurance brokerage Hub International that could be valued at around $2 billion, two people familiar with the matter said this week. Th... More »

Analysis: For utilities, selling grids is like selling their soul

LONDON/FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) – For decades, Europe’s utilities were vertically integrated behemoths that had a monopoly on the production and distribution of energy. Keen to break their stranglehold on electricity and gas markets, the European Commission h... More »

EU grid champion stuck in tangle of wires and pipes

PARIS/MILAN/LONDON (Reuters) – The grids that channel electricity and gas around Europe are among the most immovable of assets, yet they are changing hands as if they were cattle at a country fair. From this tangle of wires and pipes, an EU grid champion is st... More »

UPS appeals EU rejection of $6.7 billion TNT Express bid

NEW YORK (Reuters) – United Parcel Services Inc (UPS.N ) has appealed the European Union regulator’s decision to block its 5.16 billion euro ($6.7 billion) bid for Dutch competitor TNT Express NV (TNTE.AS ), a UPS spokeswoman told Reuters on Sunday. U.S.-based... More »

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Rosneft moves closer to TNK-BP deal with EU clearance

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Russian oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM ) moved closer to finalizing its $55 billion takeover of TNK-BP &lt-TNBP.MM after winning EU regulatory approval for one of the biggest deals in the sector. State-owned Rosneft is buying TNK-BP from pr... More »

Spain in stand-off with Europe over Bankia valuation

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain is at odds with the European Commission over how much shareholders will lose in a rescue of nationalized lender Bankia (BKIA.MC ), sources familiar with the talks said, delaying the next phase of its bailout. The discussions over a few... More »

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EU to clear Lufthansa, United, Air Canada tie-up: source

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Lufthansa (LHAG.DE ), United Airlines (UAL.N ) and Air Canada (ACa.TO ) are set to win approval from the European Union’s competition regulator for their transatlantic tie-up with their offer to give up airport slots, a person familiar wit... More »