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Sanofi-Aventis SA and Genzyme Corp. have reached an agreement in principle under which Sanofi will acquire Genzyme for $74 a share in cash plus a right to future payments based on the performance of Genzyme’s experimental multiple sclerosis drug, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions.
The deal is expected to be announced by Wednesday morning, the source said.
Starbucks Corp. and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters are in partnership negotiations, a source close to the talks told Reuters on Monday, sending Green Mountain shares surging.
Starbucks, the world’s biggest coffee chain, wants to be a big player in the fast-growing single-serve coffee segment that Green Mountain dominates with its Keurig one-cup brewers. Get the full story »
Chicago-based CME Group is considering horning in on merger talks between the New York Stock Exchange owner and a stock exchange in Germany, according to reports.
CME, which employs about 2,000 in Chicago, is considering a strategic response to the impending takeover of the Big Board by Deutsche Boerse AG. Get the full story »
Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. has acquired a Mountainview, Calif.-based company that makes the Android mobile operating system secure for business environments.
The acquisition will help Motorola sell more Android smart phones to business customers, a realm traditionally dominated by Research In Motion’s BlackBerry. Three Laws Mobility Inc., or 3LM, is a developer of security software and other products for Android. Get the full story »
(Tim Boyle/Bloomberg)
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. may knock on the doors of the tech-heavy Nasdaq or Chicago’s CBOE as the world’s most valuable stock exchange operator eyes a partner amid a frenzy of merger activity engulfing the sector.
Despite their geographical proximity, political, economic and organizational challenges make any potential marriage between the HKEx and the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchanges difficult.
“If I am the Hong Kong exchange, I would be trying to approach the bigger U.S. stock exchanges like Nasdaq right now,” said Ronald Wan, managing director of the Hong Kong unit of China Merchants Securities. Get the full story »
The U.S. exchanges left out of this week’s flurry of announced acquisitions now need to consider whether they, too, should strike a deal, a CBOE Holdings Inc. executive said on Friday. Get the full story »
CME Group Inc. is still digesting the news that Deutsche Boerse is in talks to buy NYSE Euronext, a top executive said, and it is unclear how difficult a deal it will be to complete. Get the full story »
Google Inc.’s YouTube is in talks to buy video producer Next New Networks, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Get the full story »
CBOE Holdings and Nasdaq OMX Group may scramble to find deal partners as global exchanges’ merger mania returns with a bang.
Germany’s Deutsche Boerse announced on Wednesday it was in advanced talks to buy NYSE Euronext, hours after the London Stock Exchange said it had agreed to buy Canadian stock market operator TMX.
The deals sent shares of exchanges up across the board as investors bet more is to come. Get the full story »
The London Stock Exchange and TMX Group, which operates the Toronto Stock Exchange, are merging. The LSE and TMX on Wednesday said they would combine in an all-share merger of equals, creating one of the world’s largest stock exchanges. Get the full story »
The chief executive of Northern Trust Corp., which has been mentioned as a possible takeover target, said chances are “quite good” that Chicago’s biggest locally headquartered bank will remain independent.
Speaking Tuesday before the CFA Society at the Standard Club in Chicago, CEO Frederick Waddell fielded a question from the audience about whether the company might be an acquisition target. Through much of 2010, its stock underperformed and its key U.S. rivals dwarf Northern in a major business segment. Get the full story »
Allstate Corp. and Discover Financial Services said they had entered an agreement in which Discover will buy substantially all of Allstate’s bank deposits.
The companies called the deal a “multiyear distribution and marketing agreement.” As part of the agreement, Allstate agents and affiliates will offer personal savings and money-market accounts as well as other financial services to their customers through Discover. Get the full story »
Sara Lee's Ball Park franks on display at a grocery story, Jan. 28, 2011. The company is splitting into two public ones. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
On the same day that Sara Lee Corp. reported second-quarter earnings, its executives attempted to clarify an announcement made in January that Sara Lee plans to split into two publicly traded companies early next year. The company’s shares rose 2 percent in midday trading.
The Downers Grove-based maker of cheesecake, Jimmy Dean sausages and other food products reported net income of $880 million, or $1.37 per share, for the quarter that ended on Jan. 1, up from $371 million, or 53 cents per share, a year earlier.
Last month, Sara Lee announced that its North American Retail and North American Foodservice business would be spun off, keeping the company’s name and remaining in Downers Grove. The International Beverage and International Bakery divisions will constitute a second company under the working name of CoffeeCo. CoffeeCo is expected to remain in the U.S. at first because of tax considerations. Get the full story »
Sara Lee Corp.’s managers passed up three chances to sell itself in the last year, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing people with knowledge of the negotiations. Get the full story »
