NEW YORK BlackRock Inc is accelerating its push in Latin America, making plans for its first launch of a private equity infrastructure fund targeting that market, a company document showed. The launch is anticipated this year, according to the document, an inf... 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 »
SAO PAULO Oi SA (OIBR3.SA) will start talks to restructure $14.3 billion of bonds as early as Monday, sources familiar with the situation said, pitting some of the world’s biggest investors against each other as Brazil’s most-indebted phone carrier fights for ... More »
At an early 2015 investor conference, SunEdison’s then-chief financial officer, Brian Wuebbels, trumpeted the profit potential in the solar developer’s relationship with a venture it had recently spun off. SunEdison had established TerraForm Power Inc as a “yi... More »
MOSCOW Russia’s Onexim group, which manages the assets of tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, said on Sunday that it was not in talks to sell its RBC media group and power generating company Quadra. Russian online news site gazeta.ru reported earlier on Sunday, citing s... More »
NEW YORK A New York lawyer was sentenced on Thursday to six months in prison for participating in a fraudulent scheme in which a con man impersonated his successful father in order to raise money to buy Maxim magazine. Harvey Newkirk, 40, was sentenced by U.S.... 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 »
HONG KONG/SINGAPORE U.S. oil and gas major Chevron Corp has put all of its Myanmar gas block stakes up for sale, which at a combined likely valuation of $1.3 billion, would be the biggest deal involving Myanmar assets to date, financial sources familiar with t... More »
Ailing Viacom Inc (VIAB.O) controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone opposes Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman’s plan to sell a minority stake sale in Viacom’s Paramount Pictures movie studio, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The report added to... 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 »
TOKYO Japan’s government and auto giants Toyota Motor Corp Nissan Motor Co will join in an effort to develop intelligent maps by 2018, the Nikkei daily said, as competition heats up to improve the technology key for autonomous driving. Japanese automakers, map... 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 »
VIENNA Vienna’s Leopold Museum said on Thursday it had reached a settlement over five Nazi-looted works of art in its collection that will return two of them to the heir of their original Jewish owner, a victim of the Holocaust. The five pieces, all by Austria... More »
LONDON Dozens of journalists at oil-price reporting agency Argus Media are set to become multi-millionaires when a deal to bring an investor onboard goes through later this year, potentially valuing the firm at as much as $1.3 billion. Argus, which makes the b... More »
ATHENS Greece on Monday picked a local theater director to curate its most renowned annual summer arts festival after Belgian artist Jan Fabre quit following protests from artists that his plans excluded Greek works. Fabre resigned on April 2, complaining of a... 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 »
LONDON Britain said on Sunday that UK steel producers must be considered for infrastructure and other government contracts involving steel supplies, as part of plans to find a long-term solution to a crisis in the industry. The government is looking for ways t... More »
DETROIT Tesla Motors Inc said orders for its new Model 3 electric sedan topped 253,000 in the first 36 hours — a fast start for the company’s first mass-market vehicle, which may not begin to reach customers for another 18 months or more. Tesla Chief Executive... More »
SAKAI, Japan Foxconn and Sharp Corp (6753.T) on Saturday formally signed a long-awaited deal that would see the Taiwan firm take control of the Japanese display maker, as executives sought to dispel lingering doubts over whether Sharp can turn around its ebbin... 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 »
TORONTO Canada’s Rogers Communications Inc (RCIb.TO), the primary national broadcaster of National Hockey League games, said on Thursday it will begin selling its top sports channels online without a cable subscription. Taking its cue from services like Netfli... More »
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O) is interested in acquiring a minority stake in Viacom Inc’s (VIAB.O) Paramount Pictures, a source close to the situation said on Wednesday. The company would be interested in exploring a deal that would create synergies fo... 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 »
TOKYO Sharp Corp (6753.T) and Taiwan’s Foxconn are set to sign a takeover deal next week after repeated delays, with the two sides set to agree on a smaller bailout than originally planned for the troubled Japanese electronics maker, two sources familiar with ... More »
Healdsburg, CALIFORNIA Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) executives are in early talks with potential Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) investors about contributing to financing to buy the troubled Internet company, a person familiar with the situation said. The talks are preliminary,... More »
BOSTON Billionaire investor William Ackman, whose hedge fund is one of the biggest investors in drug company Valeant, has been asked to supply information to U.S. legislators probing price hikes in the pharmaceutical industry. Ackman told investors in his Pers... More »
Playboy Enterprises [ICONAP.UL], the owner of Playboy magazine, is exploring a sale, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, in a move that comes after the storied magazine stopped publishing nude photos of women and put up the iconic Playboy Mansion u... More »
WILMINGTON, Del A U.S. Appeals Court has ruled that creditors of the Tribune Co cannot claw back the $8 billion paid to the multimedia company’s public shareholders nearly a decade ago in a buyout that was blamed for its bankruptcy. The ruling stems from the s... More »
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N), owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, is in talks with private equity firms including KKR & Co LP (KKR.N) and Hopu Investments to sell a minority stake in its China operations as it prepares to spin off the once booming unit, ... More »
ZURICH Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam received 18.9 million Swiss francs ($19.4 million) from the Swiss bank in 2015 even after he asked to have his bonus cut by 40 percent, according to its annual report published on Thursday. Thiam, who... More »
MILAN Italian broadcaster Mediaset (MS.MI) poured cold water on Tuesday on speculation it was planning to sell part of its pay TV unit to French group Vivendi (VIV.PA). Chief Financial Officer Marco Giordani told analysts Mediaset Premium was part of the compa... More »
BERLIN German media group Bertelsmann (BTGGg.F) on Tuesday reported a 4.7 percent rise in full-year core profit and reiterated it wanted to raise its stake in Penguin Random House, the book publisher which helped to drive the earnings increase. Bertelsmann con... More »
MILAN/LONDON Telecom Italia Chief Executive Marco Patuano officially resigned on Monday, confirming reports at the weekend he was on his way out as top shareholder Vivendi tightens its grip on the Italian phone group. Telecom Italia’s shares rose 4 percent, ad... More »
MOSCOW Russian banks may use yuan to boost their capital, Mikhail Sukhov, a deputy governor with the Russian central bank, was quoted as saying by TASS news agency. RIA news agency quoted him as saying that a number of Chinese banks are interested in buying Ru... More »
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI Shares in the Indian units of U.S.-based drugmakers Pfizer (PFE.N) (PFIZ.NS) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) (ABOT.NS) fell as much as 5 percent on Monday after authorities imposed a ban on their codeine-based cough syrups, saying they posed a... More »
MUMBAI A year ago, Micromax vaulted past Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to become India’s leading smartphone brand. Today, its market share has nearly halved, several top executives have resigned, and the company is looking for growth outside India. In Micromax’s ... More »
MILAN French media group Vivendi (VIV.PA) has raised its stake in Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) to 24.9 percent, just below the 25 percent threshold that would force it to launch a takeover bid, according to a filing with U.S. market authorities. Vivendi previously... 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 »
TOKYO Sharp Corp’s (6753.T) two main banks are set to lower interest rates on billions of dollars in loans and offer other financial support as part of a planned takeover by Taiwan’s Foxconn, a source with direct knowledge of the plan said. The move is partly ... More »
TOKYO Toshiba Corp (6502.T) has granted Canon Inc (7751.T) exclusive negotiating rights for its medical equipment unit after a hotly contested auction, with a report putting Canon’s offer at more than 700 billion yen ($6.2 billion). The conglomerate put Toshib... More »
NEW YORK Embattled drug company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, whose stock price has tumbled 38 percent this year, will appoint three new board members as soon as Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The drug maker will award... More »
TOKYO Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said its board of directors would hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the planned sale of its medical equipment unit and announce the outcome swiftly if a decision is reached. The cash-strapped Japanese company said in a statemen... More »
TOKYO Canon Inc is front-runner to buy the healthcare business of Toshiba Corp with a bid of over 700 billion yen ($6.2 billion), Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported. Toshiba, a laptops-to-nuclear conglomerate seeking cash to restructure after an accounting scan... 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 »
iHeartMedia Inc has hired Moelis & Co as a financial adviser, the most significant step yet by the largest owner of U.S. radio stations to deal with its $21 billion debt pile, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes as iHeartMedia, one of ... 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 »
NEW YORK/LONDON Thomson Reuters Corp is open to selling its intellectual property and science business in two or three parts to facilitate a divesture that could raise more than $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The news and data provid... 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 »
MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin has called for a meeting with top managers of Russia’s leading oil producers on Tuesday, which is is expected to be dominated by low oil prices and taxation, industry sources said on Monday. The Vedomosti business daily cited a ... More »
TOKYO Sharp Corp’s (6753.T) list of liabilities that prompted Taiwan’s Foxconn to suspend signing a takeover deal was an unverified study of worst-case scenario risks, rather than liabilities requiring disclosure, a source briefed on the matter said. The list,... More »
LONDON Online retailer Amazon (AMZN.O) is set to enter the British fresh food market after striking a supply deal with supermarket Morrisons (MRW.L), potentially ramping up competition in the already cut-throat sector. Morrisons, Britain’s fourth biggest super... More »
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday said fourth-quarter profit rose 32 percent, helped by improved results in its insurance operations and higher gains from investments and derivatives. Net income rose to $5.48 billion, or $3,333 per Class A sh... More »
NEW YORK Warren Buffett will release his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholders after a year when its stock price lagged the broader market by the most since 2009, adding to years of underperformance. The letter, due Saturday, is a must-read on W... 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 »
Yahoo Inc. shareholder Canyon Capital urged the company to proceed quickly with the auction of its core business, citing concern that the Internet giant’s management team does not share the sense of urgency held by the board of directors. “We remain concerned ... More »
Viacom Inc (VIAB.O) is considering selling a “significant” minority stake in its Paramount Pictures movie studio, Chief Executive Philippe Dauman said on Tuesday In the face of weak advertising sales and poor ratings at its cable networks, investors have been ... More »
WASHINGTON Two leading House Democrats introduced legislation on Tuesday intended to curb corporate tax inversion deals by preventing companies from lowering the effective tax rates of U.S. business operations after moving their headquarters overseas. A bill, ... More »
BARCELONA Britain’s BT said it would increase investment in superfast broadband, including more fiber to the home, if regulator Ofcom decides against forcing a break-up of the company. Ofcom is examining whether BT’s networks arm Openreach should remain part o... 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 »
SEOUL Smartphone maker LG Electronics Inc plans to boost marketing spend in a bid to lift sales of its new flagship handset, the South Korean firm’s mobile division chief said. LG is trying to establish itself as a top smartphone player with the G5, which was ... More »
PARIS French media group Vivendi said on Tuesday it had bought a 26.2 percent stake in TV production and distribution company Banijay for 290 million euros in cash ($319.15 million). It said Banijay Group has 900 million euros ($990.45 million) in revenues and... More »
MILAN French media group Vivendi has increased its stake in Telecom Italia to 22.8 percent, a regulatory filing showed, further strengthening its position as the top shareholder in the Italian phone group. The filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commi... 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 »
BOSTON U.S. ratings agency Standard & Poor’s warned on Friday it may cut the credit rating of billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises to junk status after the portfolio absorbed heavy commodity sector losses in the last few months. S&P placed its t... More »
FRANKFURT Volkswagen AG’s (VOWG_p.DE) trucks business may pursue acquisitions or even a public listing, the company said on Monday, only days after the parent company was forced to delay publishing earnings in the wake of a diesel emissions scandal. “We’re kee... More »
TOKYO The Japanese government fund may reduce its stake in Tokyo Electric Power Co to below 50 percent in 2017 if the company achieves its goals including its first bond issuance in six years, the company’s president said. Tepco was saved from bankruptcy by th... More »
Activist investors are putting the U.S. banking sector in their crosshairs, betting that headwinds whipping through the industry will accelerate consolidation among lenders. While these activist hedge funds have already targeted some major financial companies,... More »
WASHINGTON Facebook Inc (FB.O) prohibited global users from coordinating person-to-person private sales of firearms on its online social network and its Instagram photo-sharing service on Friday, countering concerns that it was increasingly being used to circu... More »
Xerox Corp (XRX.N) will split into two companies, one holding its legacy printer operations and the other its business process outsourcing unit, it said on Friday, in a bid to be more nimble after years of trying to integrate the businesses. Activist investor ... More »
LONDON Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) tried to put its troubled past behind it on Wednesday by making a 3.6 billion pound ($5.1 billion) provision to top up its pension fund and make amends for British and U.S. mis-selling. Chief Executive Ross McEwan has been... More »
European pay-TV group Sky Plc has struck a deal to screen programs from CBS Corp’s popular Showtime stable, including Billions starring Damian Lewis, as competition for top shows heats up among European broadcasters. The licensing deal will allow Sky to offer ... More »
Bloomberg LP will get an opportunity to contest a U.S. judge’s order requiring more than 100 people to disclose if they shared confidential information with the media company’s reporters about the bankruptcy of Molycorp Inc. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher S... 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 »
WILMINGTON, Del. A U.S. judge on Tuesday denied a request by media company Bloomberg LP to stay an order requiring more than 100 people to disclose information they shared with its reporters about the bankruptcy of the largest U.S. rare earth mining company, w... More »
Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA has expressed interest in buying AT&T Inc’s pay TV assets in Latin America, which could be valued at around $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. AT&T bought the Latin American assets as par... More »
Foursquare’s chief executive, Dennis Crowley, is stepping down and will be succeeded by Jeff Glueck, the company’s current chief operating officer. Foursquare, which makes apps that helps users find restaurants and stores and “check” into them, also raised $45... 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 »
Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn said on Tuesday he did own any stake in media company Time Warner Inc. “I have no position in Time Warner. No options, no forwards, no stock,” Icahn said when reached by phone. Reuters and the New York Post reported on ... 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 »
PARIS Sanofi boosted its presence in cancer research on Monday by signing two deals with biotech companies worth up to $1.2 billion, as the French drugmaker plays catch-up with rivals in the hot research field. Shares in French biotech group Innate Pharma, one... More »
STOCKHOLM Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux said on Monday its CEO Keith McLoughlin would retire and be replaced by senior executive Jonas Samuelson, just a month after the biggest deal in the company’s history collapsed. McLoughlin will hand over on Feb... More »
WARSAW Poland dismissed European Commission concern on Friday that a new law on state-run media threatened media freedom, warning Brussels not to interfere in its affairs on the basis of “biased and politically-engaged” reports. Simultaneously, the government,... More »
BEIJING The Swedish automaker once known as Saab has emerged as part of China’s push to make electric vehicles a mass-market alternative to petrol cars, after getting a $12 billion order for EVs. Chinese-owned National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) – the comp... 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 »
Target Corp is in the early stages of developing its own mobile wallet, three people familiar with the matter said, joining Wal-Mart Stores Inc in posing a threat to recent entrants like Apple Pay. The fourth-largest U.S. retailer has not committed to launch t... 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 »
Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP [CBS.UL] is close to an agreement to buy Avon Products Inc’s (AVP.N) North American business for $170 million, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. New York-based Cerberus will also invest $435 millio... 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 »
LONDON Barclays Plc has sold its benchmark indices and risk analytics business, which includes the widely used Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, to financial information provider Bloomberg for about 520 million pounds ($781 million). Barclays said on Wednesd... More »
SEOUL The heir apparent of Samsung Group will buy up to 300 billion won worth of shares to be sold by affiliate Samsung Engineering Co Ltd should existing shareholders not fully take up the firm’s 1.2 trillion won rights issue, Samsung Group said on Monday. In... More »
LONDON Former world champions Red Bull and Nissan’s Infiniti premium car brand will end their Formula One partnership at the end of this year, the team said in a statement on Sunday. Infiniti, part of the Renault-Nissan alliance, have been with Red Bull since ... More »
BERLIN Volkswagen has denied a report saying its chief executive and chairman were urged on Sunday by its third-largest shareholder to reduce the influence of VW’s powerful unions as it battles to overcome its emissions scandal. CEO Matthias Mueller and Chairm... More »
BOSTON/SINGAPORE Parents who gave their child a Kidizoom smartwatch or a VTech InnoTab tablet may have exposed them to identity theft after Hong Kong-based VTech said hackers stole the personal information of more than 6 million children. The breach underscore... More »
GUANGZHOU, China Automakers are betting that Chinese families will embrace the mini-van, hoping the larger, unsexy sibling of the bestselling SUV will become the next big thing just as Beijing relaxes the one-child policy. Mini-vans, or multi-purpose vehicles ... More »
