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Associated Press | Prudential PLC has accepted defeat in its
ambitious $35.5-billion plan to acquire Asian insurance company AIA
from U.S. insurance company AIG.
Prudential said Wednesday that it is negotiating with AIG about
terminating the deal, which faltered because of resistance of
Prudential shareholders to the high price, and AIG’s refusal to accept
less money.
By Ameet Sachdev |
U.S. Tax Advantage LLC, an Evanston-based tax consulting firm, has been
acquired by a Milwaukee accounting firm.
Through the acquisition, Clifton Gunderson will add 14 tax
professionals, including Mark Gasbarra, who founded U.S. Tax Advantage
five years ago. Gasbarra was previously a partner at two large
accounting firms.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Clifton Gunderson has a staff of more than 1,900 professionals in 46
U.S. offices, including nine in Illinois.
Reuters | Britain’s takeover watchdog, stung into action by Kraft Foods’
controversial takeover of Cadbury, has asked for opinions on a slew of
rule changes that could raise the bar for acquisitions.
The Takeover Panel’s consultation follows debate among business leaders
and politicians about whether the country’s decades-long openness to
deals puts it at a long-term disadvantage.
Associated Press | Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. says its railroad service unit will spend $820 million cash to acquire locomotive maker Electro-Motive Diesel.
Caterpillar says that its Progress Rail Services division has agreed to buy EMD from private equity firms Berkshire Partners and Greenbriar Equity Group.
By Ameet Sachdev | Two Chicago area insurance brokers have expanded into new markets through acquisitions. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. of Itasca said Tuesday that it purchased
London-based Risk & Reward, its first acquisition of a
employee-benefits consulting firm in the United Kingdom. Terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.
Chicago-based Hub International Ltd., a Gallagher rival, acquired Risk
Transfer Insurance Alliance LLC, based in Southborough, Mass. RTIA,
which has annual revenues of about $3 million, focuses on healthcare
industry clients. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Reuters | Caterpillar Inc. agreed to buy a U.S. maker of railroad locomotives
Tuesday for $820 million in cash, expanding its rail business from
service into engine manufacturing.
The world’s largest maker of heavy equipment said it was buying
LaGrange-based Electro-Motive Diesel, which last year generated $1.8
billion in revenue, from private equity firms Berkshire Partners LLC
and Greenbriar Equity Group LLC.
Associated Press | Bailed-out U.S. insurer AIG said Tuesday it
won’t accept a lower offer for its Asian insurance business from
Prudential, which proposed a $5 billion cut to calm rebellious
shareholders who thought the price was too high.
London Stock Exchange-listed Prudential PLC initially agreed to pay
$35.5 billion for AIA, the Asian insurance business of American
International Group Inc. Faced with the growing possibility that it
could not win 75 percent backing from shareholders, Prudential lowered
the offer to $30.375 billion.
Reuters | European Union regulators extended their probe of Unilever’s bid for
Sara Lee Corp’s body care business after the Anglo-Dutch company
declined to offer concessions to address competition concerns. The
European Commission, the EU competition watchdog, said on Tuesday that
it would decide by Oct. 5 whether to clear or block the $1.3 billion
deal. Its previous deadline was May 31.
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Corn Products International, the Westchester-based company whose stock price has slumped by a third since 2008, is in talks to buy National Starch &
Chemical Co., a deal worth more than $1 billion.
Get the full story: chicagobusiness.com.
Associated Press | The CEOs of United and Continental airlines
are telling Congress their merger will be good for consumers, airline
employees and the small communities that rely on them for service.
United’s Glenn Tilton told the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday that
the new airline will improve its profitability through efficiencies,
not higher fares. Continental’s Jeffery Smisek pledged that the nearly
150 small communities and metro areas served by the carriers won’t lose
service.
Reuters | EU antitrust regulators have still to decide whether to extend by more than a month their review of Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever’s $1.3 billion acquisition of Sara Lee Corp’s personal care brands.
Dow Jones Newswires | Australian shopping mall giant Westfield
Group on Thursday ruled out a bid for General Growth Properties Inc.,
saying it would only look at individual assets its bankrupt U.S. rival
puts on the market.
Reuters | United Airlines and Continental Airlines should
provide more information about their merger to a U.S. congressional
committee concerned about possible job and service cuts, key lawmakers
said.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and competition
subcommittee Chairman Henry Johnson said on Wednesday the companies’
written responses failed to answer key questions raised by the panel.
Reuters | Financial services company Northern Trust Corp is actively planning to expand and is considering acquisitions, executives said Wednesday.
The executives, speaking at the company’s investor day in New York, said Northern Trust will expand on both U.S. coasts and will look at acquisitions to expand its geographic reach and capabilities.
“We have tons of capital,” said Chief Executive Officer Frederick Waddell. He said the shake-up in the market has produced attractive assets for sale.
By Ameet Sachdev
| Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, one of Chicago’s oldest law firms, has agreed to merge with Denton Wilde Sapte of Britain, creating a giant 1,400-lawyer firm.
The two firms said Wednesday that the combination will be known as SNR Denton. Sonnenschein Chairman Elliott Portnoy will share leadership of the firm with Denton’s chief executive Howard Morris as co-CEOs.
The deal is subject to a partnership vote on June 9.
