Gannett Co Inc (GCI.N), the publisher of USA Today, raised its unsolicited offer for Tribune Publishing Co (TPUB.N) to $15 per share from $12.25, valuing the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times at about $475 million. Including debt, the ... More »
Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) is buying Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc (ANAC.O) in a $5.2 billion deal to add an eczema gel to its portfolio, a month after the U.S. drug major scrapped plans to buy Allergan Plc (AGN.N). Anacor shares rose 54 percent to $98.60 in premarket tr... More »
Gannett Co Inc (GCI.N), the publisher of USA Today, raised its all-cash offer to buy Tribune Publishing Co (TPUB.N) to $15 per share from $12.25, valuing the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times at about $864 million. Tribune’s shares wer... More »
SAN FRANCISCO Warren Buffett struck media gold with a 2012 investment in debt-laden Media General Inc. Now the famed investor may try to reprise that success by supporting a bid for Yahoo Inc’s Internet assets. The Berkshire Hathaway Inc chairman is backing a ... More »
NEW YORK Oaktree Capital Management urged newspaper publisher Tribune Publishing to negotiate a merger with Gannett Co Inc after it declined a purchase offer by Gannett, Barron’s reported, citing 13D filings from May 5-11. Oaktree holds 14.8 percent of Tribune... More »
Berkshire Hathaway Inc Chairman Warren Buffett is backing a consortium vying for Yahoo Inc’s internet assets that includes Quicken Loans Inc founder Dan Gilbert, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. While there is no certainty that the consortium wi... More »
NEW YORK Charter Communications Inc said on Thursday its proposal to buy Time Warner Cable Inc was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, overcoming the last hurdle to complete the deal. “We look forward to closing these transactions next week... More »
Medivation Inc (MDVN.O) will actively seek to sell itself after the US cancer drug maker rejected a $9.3 billion takeover offer from France’s Sanofi SA (SASY.PA), according to people familiar with the situation. The San Francisco-based company has agreed to op... More »
Newspaper publisher Tribune Publishing Co (TPUB.N) said its board had adopted a shareholder rights plan – popularly known as a “poison pill” – in a bid to thwart Gannett Co Inc’s (GCI.N) unsolicited takeover offer. Tribune shares fell nearly 6 percent in morni... More »
WASHINGTON The U.S. Federal Communications Commission confirmed on Friday that it had voted to approve Charter Communications Inc’s acquisitions of Time Warner Cable Inc and Bright House Networks. The deals, which would create the second-largest U.S. broadband... More »
BRUSSELS – Warner Music Group and independent labels have urged EU regulators to fight Sony Corp’s bid to buy out Michael Jackson’s stake in its music publishing joint venture, saying the move gives Sony too much power. Sony last month signed a deal to acquire... More »
The parent of Britain’s Daily Mail said on Wednesday it had not submitted its own bid to buy Yahoo Inc’s core Internet business, but was still in talks to partner with other suitors of the U.S. company. Yahoo, which has been struggling with falling ad revenue ... More »
The parent company of the British newspaper, the Daily Mail, is in talks with several private equity firms about a possible bid for Yahoo Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Daily Mail & General Trust PLC’s potential bid could take one of two form... More »
MILAN/PARIS French media group Vivendi (VIV.PA) agreed on Friday to buy the pay-TV operation of Italian broadcaster Mediaset (MS.MI), completing a major step in billionaire businessman Vincent Bollore’s plan to build a southern European content and video-on-de... More »
PARIS/LONDON When French Prime Minister Manuel Valls phoned billionaire Martin Bouygues on Thursday evening in an attempt to save a merger between Bouygues Telecom (BOUY.PA) and state-controlled Orange, it was already too late. The deal would have created the ... More »
Time Inc (TIME.N) is considering partnering with a private equity firm on a bid for Yahoo Inc’s (YHOO.O) core Internet assets, according to people familiar with the matter, as the U.S. publishing company seeks to boost its digital presence. The deliberations o... More »
Dell Inc is set to announce an agreement on Monday to sell its non-core information technology consulting division to Japan’s NTT Data Corp for $3.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The move will allow U.S. computer maker Dell to trim s... More »
Bank of America Corp is hiring a new team of investment bankers who cater to midsized companies, four years after dismantling a similar business, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The precise number of middle-market bankers it plans to add co... More »
MILAN Silvio Berlusconi’s broadcaster Mediaset is close to selling its pay-TV unit to Vivendi, three sources close to the matter said, a move that would strengthen the French media group’s grip on Italy. Vivendi is already the top shareholder in Telecom Italia... More »
CAIRO Orange Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard has said he might look into the possibility of a merger deal with Telecom Italia if French billionaire Vincent Bollore invited him to, but does not think that would happen. Bollore is chairman and the bigge... More »
NEW YORK American Express Co shares rose more than 1 percent on Monday after Fox Business News reported that the credit-card company might be acquired by Wells Fargo & Co or another financial firm. American Express shares closed up 1.2 percent at $59, after hi... More »
TORONTO Canadian fund Catalyst Capital, a fierce critic of Corus Entertainment Inc’s (CJRb.TO) C$2.65 billion ($2 billion) bid for Shaw Communications Inc’s (SJRb.TO) media assets, on Friday called on the Shaw family that controls both companies to prove the d... More »
SYDNEY/LONDON The world’s largest miner BHP Billiton (BLT.L) (BHP.AX) is sitting on an $11 billion cash pile and what CEO Andrew Mackenzie does with the money will be a critical test of his ability to invest during the industry’s worst downturn in decades. Ann... More »
Time Inc (TIME.N), publisher of Sports Illustrated, People and Time magazines, has been exploring a bid to acquire Yahoo Inc’s (YHOO.O) core Internet business for several weeks, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Tuesday. Time Inc has been re... More »
MILAN France’s Vivendi has tabled an offer for a majority stake in the pay TV unit of Mediaset, Il Corriere della Sera said on Saturday. The offer has been on the table of the Italian broadcaster’s CEO for several days, the newspaper said without citing source... More »
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp said rumors about the company’s interest in buying microblogging site Twitter Inc or building a stake in it were untrue. Twitter’s shares, which rose as much as 14 percent on Wednesday, pared some gains and closed up 4.1 percent at $... More »
TORONTO Canada’s Shaw Communications Inc said on Wednesday that it would sell its media unit to Corus Entertainment Inc for C$2.65 billion ($1.9 billion), gaining funding for its Wind Mobile purchase and sending its shares up nearly 7 percent. Corus, which ope... More »
LONDON Drugmaker Shire Plc clinched its six-month pursuit of Baxalta International Inc on Monday by agreeing a $32 billion cash and stock offer that will make it one of the world’s leading rare disease specialists. The London-listed group, which first approach... More »
TOKYO Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp (6752.T) has agreed to buy a majority stake in U.S. refrigeration systems maker Hussmann from a private equity firm for over 150 billion yen ($1.2 billion), people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Panason... More »
TOKYO Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp’s (6723.T) CEO said an acquisition by Germany’s Infineon Technologies (IFXGn.DE) was unlikely as he believed its top shareholder, a government-backed fund, would not sell a majority stake to a foreign buyer. Th... More »
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Friday it approved the $9.1 billion sale of U.S. regional cable company Suddenlink Communications to European telecoms group Altice NV. The Dutch firm announced in May its acquisition of a majority stake in Su... More »
FRANKFURT Chinese investment group Fosun has withdrawn its offer for wealth management group BHF Kleinwort Benson, the Belgian stock market regulator said on Friday. Fosun had offered 5.10 euros per share for BHF, but its bid was challenged by French private b... More »
LONDON AstraZeneca (AZN.L) said on Thursday it had agreed to buy 55 percent stake of privately held biotech firm Acerta Pharma for $4 billion to give it access to a new kind of drug for fighting blood cancers. AstraZeneca will pay $2.5 billion upfront, with a ... More »
LONDON Royal Dutch Shell’s takeover of BG Group may look less attractive after the slide in oil prices but the fact the same investors own nearly half of both firms means the deal is still likely to go through. Investors holding about 43 percent of Shell’s sha... More »
Rupert Murdoch, co-chairman of Wall Street Journal publisher News Corp (NWSA.O), on Friday said he had “strong word” that the Tribune Publishing Co’s (TPUB.N) newspaper group will be bought by a Wall Street firm, while the Los Angeles Times will be split off a... More »
LONDON/NEW YORK/FRANKFURT Investment bank Lazard is working with Sanofi’s management to prepare a sale or listing of its Merial animal health unit, aiming to land the leading advisory job for the deal, which could value the business at up 12 billion euros ($12... More »
Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) secured formal board approval on Sunday for its acquisition of Botox maker Allergan Plc (AGN.N) for more than $150 billion, a deal that will create the world’s biggest drug maker, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal, the l... More »
Pfizer Inc’s (PFE.N) looming deal to buy Botox maker Allergan Plc (AGN.N) for more than $150 billion will cap a record-breaking run for mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare sector, taking the cumulative value of deals in 2015 to more than $600 billion. H... More »
BEIJING/HONG KONG China’s Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd plans to invest 300 billion yuan ($47 billion) over the next five years in a bid to become the world’s third-biggest chipmaker, the chairman of the state-backed technology conglomerate said on Monday. Chairman Zh... More »
NEW YORKVerizon Communications Inc is exploring a sale of its enterprise assets which could be worth as much as $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, as the largest U.S. wireless carrier seeks to focus on its core business. The sale would ... More »
BRUSSELS Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (ABI.BR) CEO says a study of SABMiller’s (SAB.L) African beer markets and talks with top shareholders led to an “alignment of stars” that drew it to its nearest rival. But observers say the real catalysts for the $100 billion ta... More »
EMC Corp, the data storage company that is preparing to unveil an agreement to be acquired by personal computer maker Dell Inc [DI.UL] as early as Monday, is also planning to seek out other suitors, according to people familiar with the matter. EMC has asked f... More »
Dell Inc is planning to use equity in cloud software company VMware Inc (VMW.N) to help pay for its acquisition of EMC Corp (EMC.N) in a deal valuing the data storage company at more than $55 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. While the bul... More »
Gannett Co Inc, publisher of USA Today, said on Wednesday it will buy Journal Media Group for $280 million. The price of $12 a share represents an almost 45 percent premium to Journal Media’s closing share price of $8.29 Tysons Corner, Virginia-based Gannett s... More »
FRANKFURT German publisher Axel Springer is to buy a further 88 percent of news website Business Insider for $343 million, increasing its stake to 97 percent and accelerating its push into digital, English-language content. Springer said it already owns about ... More »
LONDON Talks between Vodafone and Liberty Global about exchanging assets to better compete in Europe’s converging mobile, broadband and TV markets collapsed on Monday because they could not agree on the value of their businesses. Vodafone, the world’s second-b... More »
OSAKA U.S. cable company Comcast Corp said on Monday it has agreed to buy a 51 percent stake in Osaka-based theme park operator USJ Co for $1.5 billion. Comcast said in a statement Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Seoul-based private equity firm MBK Partners and other... More »
Time Warner Cable Inc’s shareholders approved the company’s $56 billion takeover by Charter Communications Inc, according to preliminary votes at a special shareholder meeting. Later on Monday, Charter also said more than 99 percent of the votes cast at its sp... More »
PARIS Altice NV (ATCA.AS), one of the most acquisitive European telecoms groups, made a major move into the U.S. market on Thursday with a deal to buy fourth-largest operator Cablevision Systems Corp (CVC.N) for $17.7 billion including debt. Altice founder Pat... More »
FRANKFURT German publisher Axel Springer (SPRGn.DE) may want to increase its current 7 percent stake in U.S. news website Business Insider, German Manager Magazin reported on Thursday. Citing unnamed financial sources, the magazine said the publisher of Europe... More »
News Corp said it would buy Unruly Holdings Ltd, a UK-based video advertisement technology company, giving it the technology that analyzes historical sharing behavior to predict the potential for video ads to go viral. Rupert Murdoch-controlled News Corp will ... More »
Cable network operator AMC Networks Inc was in preliminary talks to buy billionaire John Malone’s premium TV cable network Starz, Bloomberg reported. Starz’s shares rose 8 percent to $41.89 in extended trading. The company had a market value of about $4 billio... More »
NEW YORK and CHICAGO U.S.-based Monsanto Co (MON.N) sweetened its offer to buy Switzerland’s Syngenta AG (SYNN.VX), valuing the company at around $47 billion as it tries to lure the Swiss firm to the negotiating table, a person familiar with the matter said on... More »
The New York Daily News is no longer for sale, according to a memo sent to employees by the newspaper’s owner, Mort Zuckerman, on Thursday. The memo from the media and property mogul said that, after meeting with several potential suitors, he had “decided to w... More »
NEW YORK Growing pension obligations at Precision Castparts Corp (PCP.N), which Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to buy for $32 billion, highlight an issue that large U.S. corporations still face, almost a decade into a low-interest rate environment. Berkshire’s ... More »
SAO PAULO HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) agreed to sell its Brazilian unit to Banco Bradesco SA (BBDC4.SA) for $5.2 billion, retreating from the second-largest emerging market economy after years of disappointing performance. Europe’s No. 1 bank said in a statemen... More »
MUNICH/FRANKFURT German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 and German publishing house Axel Springer have reignited talks for a merger, seeking to consolidate their push into digital media, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. Axel Springer, the publis... More »
