April 6, 2010 at 11:05 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International,
M&A
Associated Press | A cross-party committee of British lawmakers accused Kraft Foods
Inc. of acting “irresponsibly and unwisely” during its $17.5 billion
takeover of Cadbury.
In a highly critical report Tuesday, the Business Select Committee said the the deal would have long-term
implications for Britain’s takeover laws.
A man walks along a path in the grounds
of the Cadbury factory in Bristol, England which Kraft said it would
close. (AP Photo / Ben Birchall) >>
The months-long hostile battle by Kraft, based in Northfield to win the
195-year-old British chocolate maker dominated headlines in Britain,
where Cadbury is a much-loved brand, amid criticisms about the U.S.
company’s tactics.
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April 1, 2010 at 11:20 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International,
M&A
Dow Jones Newswires | Kraft Foods said Cadbury shareholders who have not yet accepted its final offer will have until April 16 to do so. The announcement is mainly a formality. At this point Kraft and Cadbury have already been working as a combined company since Feb. 2 and Cadbury shares have already been delisted from the exchanges.
Kraft announced in early February that it was able to go ahead with the acquisition after securing acceptances from shareholders representing more than 71.73 percent of Cadbury’s shares.
April 1, 2010 at 5:59 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
International,
Manufacturing
Associated Press | Budget carrier Virgin Blue said Thursday it
would buy up to 105 new Boeing 737s in its biggest ever single plane
order, signaling confidence that the Australian market is recovering. The price was not released, but CEO Brett Godfrey said the deal was
completed on “attractive commercial terms.” He said financing was
expected to be completed soon.
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March 31, 2010 at 5:50 p.m.
Filed under:
International,
Politics
Associated Press | The deadline for bids on a $35 billion contract for refueling jets will be extended by 60 days so the European maker of Airbus can compete, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said the military still plans to award the contract this fall.
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March 31, 2010 at 11:17 a.m.
Filed under:
International
Associated Press | The European Commission said Wednesday that it should take charge of authorizing Procter & Gamble Co.’s takeover of Sara Lee Inc.’s Ambi Pur air freshener business.
The €320 million deal is under the EU’s limit for ruling on takeovers and would usually be dealt with by regulators in European nations where the companies operate.
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March 30, 2010 at 11:38 p.m.
Filed under:
Defense,
Government,
International
U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy hold a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT)
Dow Jones Newswires | French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday that European aerospace group European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. EADS would rejoin the competition for the $40 billion U.S. Air Force aerial-refueling tanker contract if the process was fair.
Sarkozy made the comment during a joint press conference with President Barack Obama. There has been tension across the Atlantic about the tanker contract since the aerospace group’s U.S. partner, Northrop Grumman Corp., withdrew from the bidding, leaving Boeing Co. as the likely winner.
March 30, 2010 at 12:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Glenview-based Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. will join up with Saudi Arabia’s Almarai Co. to make baby food products in the
Gulf Arab region.
Get the full story: chicagobusiness.com.
March 30, 2010 at 5:43 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International
Tim Fenton, McDonald’s president for Asia, Pacific, Middle East and Africa, delivers his speech at the opening of McDonald’s Hamburger University in Shanghai, China today. (AP Photo)
Associated Press | McDonald’s inaugurated its first Hamburger
University in China on Tuesday to train new generations of managers as
foreign companies step up efforts to develop and keep Chinese talent.
China is McDonald’s Inc.’s fastest-growing global market, said Tim
Fenton, the company’s president for Asia, Pacific, Middle East and
Africa. He said the country’s $300 billion-a-year “informal eating out”
market is expanding at an annual rate of 10 percent, compared with 2 to
3 percent in the United States.
“It’s because of China’s strategic importance to McDonald’s that we
have chosen to have our new Hamburger University in Shanghai,” said
Fenton. “We have to get ahead of the people curve.”
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March 29, 2010 at 6:48 a.m.
Filed under:
Insurance,
International
Tribune staff report | Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it has signed a deal to acquire substantially all of the insurance brokerage business of FirstCity Partnership Ltd. of London, England. The transaction is expected to close in April 2010. Terms were not disclosed.
FirstCity specializes in insurance coverage for the financial services industry as well as coverage lines for professional risk, asset protection, trade and political risks and fine art. Its divisions will trade as part of London-based Arthur J Gallagher
International.
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March 29, 2010 at 6:37 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Government,
International
From the Times Online | The chief executive of European plane maker Airbus said his company will decide in the next two to three weeks whether to reenter the bidding contest for for a $35 billion U.S. Air Force refueling tanker contract after being invited by the Pentagon to bid as the lead contractor.
Northrop Grumman, Airbus’ U.S. partner in the controversial first round of bidding, pulled out of the bid two weeks ago, saying the terms of the bid favored Boeing.
Get the full story: business.timesonline.uk
March 29, 2010 at 6:22 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
International,
Restaurants
From Bloomberg News | McDonald’s Corp. plans to spend $415 million this year to add 520 restaurants in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The company’s planned spending in Asia is an increase of about 20 percent as it looks to boost its presence, particularly in meat-eating countries such as South Korea.
Get the full story: bloomberg.com
March 28, 2010 at 6:56 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
International,
M&A
Associated Press | Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has signed a
binding deal to buy Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo Cars unit for $1.8 billion,
representing a coup for the independent Chinese automaker which is
aiming to expand in Europe.
The purchase gives Geely a European luxury car brand with a reputation
for safety and quality at a time when China, which last year surpassed
the U.S. as the world’s largest car market, is eager to improve its
competitiveness by acquiring foreign automotive brands that might help
it improve its technology and expand into overseas markets.
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March 26, 2010 at 10:41 a.m.
Filed under:
China,
Credit Cards
From BusinessWeek | Discover Financial Services and other credit card companies are complaining that China is violating trade rules by blocking them from its $723 billion payment-processing market. According to Trade Representative Ron Kirk, the U.S. hasn’t decided whether to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization about restrictions that block U.S. credit card companies like Riverwoods-based Discover from processing credit- and debit-card transactions in China.
Get the full story: businessweek.com.
By Julie Johnsson |
The U.S. and European Union have struck a sweeping new pact to
liberalize air travel across the North Atlantic, the largest market in
the world, by eliminating restrictions on foreign ownership and control
of airlines.
The Open Skies II agreement, which must be approved
by the U.S. Congress and European parliament, would end U.S. rules
limiting overseas investors to a 25 percent ownership stake in a U.S.
airline.
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March 25, 2010 at 6:52 a.m.
Filed under:
International,
Internet,
Telecommunications
From Bloomberg | Motorola Inc. has removed Google Inc.’s search engine from its Zhishang device shipped to China Telecom Corp. after the search giant said it would no longer comply with China’s requirement that it filter censor search results.
“If you were partnering with Google in China, your business plans have just fallen apart,” said Bertram Lai, head of research at CIMB-GK Securities in Hong Kong.
Get the full story: businessweek.com
