LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Here are the top stories on Thomson Financial News Sulzer drops Bodycote takeover ambitions
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Swiss engineering group Sulzer said it will not pursue its attempted takeover of Bodycote International after its UK rival knocked back an indicative 344.5 pence per share offer earlier today.
Earlier today, Bodycote rejected the improved 1.1 bln stg bid, saying it was short of the figure Bodycote told Sulzer would be enough to allow them access to Bodycote's books. Royal Bank of Scotland consortium says intends to make public offer for ABN
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - A consortium of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Banco Santander Central Hispano and Fortis NV has said that it intends to make a public offer for 100 pct of ABN Amro Hldgs NV.
The banks said that under Dutch regulations they cannot disclose full terms of the offer for seven days, but on Wednesday the consortium indicated that it may offer 39 eur per share for the Dutch bank, providing that the sale of LaSalle to Bank of America Corporation does not go through. Statoil to acquire Canada's North American Oil Sands Corp for 2 bln usd
OSLO (Thomson Financial) - Statoil ASA said it has an agreed an all-cash offer to acquire Canada's North American Oil Sands Corporation (NAOSC), in a deal worth 2 bln usd, or 20 cad per share.
Calgary-based NAOSC, was formed in 2001, and operates more than 257,000 acres of oil sands leases located in the Athabasca region of Alberta, north-east of Edmonton. Unicredito enters exclusive talks to sell BPH to GE Money
MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Unicredito Italiano SpA said it has decided to enter exclusive talks to sell the Polish bank BPH to General Electric Co's GE Money EMEA.
The Italian bank intends to complete the sale by the end of the year. German April preliminary CPI up 0.4 pct from March, up 1.9 pct yr-on-yr
WIESBADEN, Germany (Thomson Financial) - Consumer prices in Germany rose 0.4 pct in April from March and were up 1.9 pct from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Federal Statistics Office.
Economists polled by Thomson Financial News had forecast an increase of 0.2 pct month-on-month and an increase of 1.7 pct year-on-year. Eni to acquire Czech, Slovak, Hungarian petrol station network from Exxon
MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Eni SpA said it has reached an agreement with Exxon Mobil Central Europe to acquire Exxon's petrol station network in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary for an undisclosed sum.
Under the agreement, which is subject to local approvals, Eni is acquiring 102 petrol stations in the three countries, plus commercial activities in the airports of Prague and Bratislava, it said. Merck KGaA on right track for reaching 1 bln eur annual sales in liquid crystals
FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Merck KGaA said it is on the right track for reaching 1 bln eur annual sales for its Liquid Crystals division, despite a first-quarter drop in sales.
In the first quarter, sales in the company's liquid crystal operations were down 12 pct to 206 mln eur. Renault Q1 sales 10.256 bln eur; worldwide car sales down 3.8 pct
PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Renault SA said first-quarter sales fell 2.7 pct to 10.256 bln eur, from a restated 10.541 bln eur a year earlier, as a sharp decline in European sales led to a 3.8 pct fall in the group's worldwide car sales.
Cheuvreux analysts were expecting total first-quarter sales of 10.293 bln eur, while Exane BNP Paribas had forecast 10.600 bln. BPI's board rejects BCP's improved 7 eur per share takeover bid
LISBON (Thomson Financial) - Banco BPI non-executive chairman Artur Santos Silva said the bank's board has unanimously rejected Banco Comercial Portugues' improved 7 eur per share bid.
'The revised 7 eur price offered by BCP is still totally unacceptable,' Santos Silva told journalists late Thursday at a press conference. Infineon Q2 EBIT misses expectations after 54 mln eur in charges
MUNICH (Thomson Financial) - Infineon Technologies AG said its second quarter EBIT rose to 49 mln eur from 28 mln in the year-earlier period, but 54 mln eur in charges from a plant closure and other matters pushed the result far below analysts expectations.
A consensus of analysts estimates compiled by Thomson Financial called for the German chipmaker to achieve a second quarter EBIT of 103 mln eur. Carrefour sees Indian partnership signed 'in coming months'
PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Carrefour expects to sign a partnership with a local player giving it access to the Indian market 'in the coming months', a spokesman said.
Earlier, Indian daily the Economic Times cited Carrefour's India chief Gerard Freiszmuth as saying the group is putting its Indian plans on hold until policy issues on foreign direct investment in the retail sector are made clearer. COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.