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Friday, May 12, 2017

Sprint, SoftBank start early deal talks over T-Mobile: BBG

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Sprint and its controlling shareholder SoftBank have started preliminary conversations to merge with T-Mobile US, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Delaware judge denies Anthem injunction, effectively ending Cigna merger

WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - A judge effectively killed off any practical chance of Anthem Inc merging with Cigna Corp on Thursday as he declined to order Cigna not to terminate the deal.

Verizon beats AT&T to buy spectrum holder Straight Path

(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc snapped up wireless spectrum holder Straight Path Communications Inc in a $3.1 billion deal, roughly double rival AT&T's initial offer, as Verizon seeks an advantage in the race toward a 5G network.

Starboard buys 5.7 percent stake in Parexel, joining other activists

(Reuters) - Activist investor Starboard Value LP reported a 5.7 percent stake in Parexel International Corp on Thursday, saying the U.S. contract research firm's shares were "undervalued" and represented an attractive investment opportunity.

Bollore makes first step to merge Vivendi and Havas with 2.4 billion euro deal

PARIS (Reuters) - French tycoon Vincent Bollore took a first step on Thursday in his attempt to merge media giant Vivendi and advertising company Havas , two groups he controls through his family-run conglomerate.

Private equity-backed Neptune agrees to buy Engie oil and gas unit

PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Neptune Oil & Gas has agreed to acquire a majority stake in French utility Engie's exploration and production business for $3.9 billion, the latest private equity-backed firm to enter the international energy sector.

Exclusive: Rosneft's $12.9 billion Essar Oil deal held up over debt issues

NEW DELHI/MOSCOW/LONDON (Reuters) - Russian state oil firm Rosneft is struggling to close its $12.9 billion acquisition of India's Essar Oil Ltd because six of Essar's Indian creditors have yet to approve the deal, sources close to the talks said.

New Etihad boss to rethink strategy after Alitalia dream fails

DUBAI/MILAN/PARIS (Reuters) - The naming of a new boss at Etihad Airways presents the Gulf carrier with an opportunity to rethink its aggressive expansion strategy after the failure of minority-owned Alitalia underlined the big barriers to global growth.

TCI calls on Safran to drop Zodiac deal and fix engines

LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Activist investor TCI Fund Management has called on the board of French aerospace firm Safran to cancel a takeover of Zodiac Aerospace immediately and instead focus on fixing design problems with a new engine.

Canada's Enbridge eyes acquisitions and profit rise on Spectra deal

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc, North America's largest energy infrastructure company, said on Thursday it may acquire more assets and forecast a rise in adjusted earnings this year following its purchase of Spectra Energy Corp.