(Adds Eni, Viacom, KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) and Bilfinger)
April 28 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers,
acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on
Thursday:
** Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) ABT.N said it agreed to buy medical
device maker St. Jude Medical Inc STJ.N for $25 billion as it
looks to add heft to its heart devices business. French drugmaker Sanofi SASY.PA went public with a $9.3
billion offer to buy Medivation MDVN.O on Thursday, setting up
what could be a lengthy takeover fight after the U.S. cancer
firm rebuffed its approaches. AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) ABBV.N said it would buy privately held
oncology company Stemcentrx in a deal valued at $5.8 billion to
expand its portfolio of drugs to treat cancer. Comcast Corp CMCSA.O , the owner of NBCUniversal, said
it would buy DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc DWA.O for $3.8
billion in cash. Three major European utilities are lining up rival bids
for a big chunk of Italian oil major Eni's ENI.MI retail gas
and power business, sources said, in a deal that could be worth
up to $3.4 billion and reshape the Italian retail energy
industry. Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd 3333.HK said it would
buy an additional 17.28 percent stake in Shengjing Bank
2066.HK for 10.02 billion yuan ($1.54 billion), after the
commercial bank was granted a consumer finance license.
Viacom Inc VIAB.O has narrowed the number of bidders
for a minority stake in its Paramount Pictures movie studio from
more than 40 to a handful and expects to begin negotiations late
next month, Chief Executive Philippe Dauman told analysts on
Thursday. Anglo American AAL.L has agreed to sell its niobium and
phosphates businesses in Brazil to China Molybdenum for $1.5
billion in cash, it said, as it seeks to cut debt in a radical
restructuring of the global mining group. Citigroup (NYSE:C) C.N has dropped out of the group of banks
providing a $1.5 billion bridge loan to Gulf-based Adeptio for
its planned purchase of a majority stake in Kuwait Food Co
FOOD.KW (Americana), three sources aware of the matter said.
Citigroup has put its Asia credit card payment processing
business on the block as part of an ongoing global plan to exit
non-core operations, people familiar with the matter told
Reuters. Cleveland-based KeyCorp KEY.N and First Niagara
Financial Group Inc FNGF.O will sell 18 First Niagara branches
in and around Buffalo, New York, to resolve antitrust concerns
tied to KeyCorp's planned acquisition of First Niagara, the U.S.
Justice Department said on Thursday. European tourism group TUI TUIT.L has agreed a deal to
sell its Hotelbeds unit to private equity group Cinven CINV.UL
and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for 1.19 billion euros
($1.35 billion) in cash, it said. Cnova CNV.O , the e-commerce arm of French retailer
Casino CASP.PA , said on Thursday that it was reviewing the
possibility of merging its business in Brazil with Via Varejo
S.A, the consumer electronics business of Brazilian retailer
Grupo Pao de Acucar (GPA) PCAR4.SA. Italy's biggest retail bank Intesa SanPaolo ISP.MI is
in final talks to sell its payments unit Setefi to banking
services firm Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari (ICBPI) in
a deal worth more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), a source
familiar with the matter said. A division of Chinese aviation and shipping conglomerate
HNA Group has agreed to buy the owner of the Radisson hotel
chain in a deal that will nearly quadruple the number of its
hotels around the world. A century after an American founded Australia's biggest
underwear brand Bonds, the label is set to return to U.S.
ownership after its parent company Sydney-listed Pacific Brands
Ltd PBG.AX accepted a A$1.1 billion ($836 million) buyout by
clothesmaker HanesBrands Inc HBI.N .
** Chipmaker Cypress Semiconductor Corp CY.O said it
agreed to buy Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) Ltd's AVGO.O Internet of Things (IoT)
business and related assets for $550 million in cash.
Canadian oil and gas producer Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO
said on Wednesday it has agreed to pay about C$937 million
($745.96 million) to acquire an additional 5 percent stake in
its Syncrude oil sands joint venture from Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Corp's
MUR.N Canadian unit. Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) ORCL.N said it would buy cloud-based
payment management services provider Textura Corp TXTR.N for
$663 million in cash. German engineering services group Bilfinger GBFG.DE is
nearing a decision on the future of its Building and Facility
unit after the field of serious contenders has narrowed to one,
several people familiar with the matter said. Norwegian rig firm Seadrill Ltd SDRL.OL has sold its
8.2 percent stake in Malaysia's Sapurakencana Petroleum Bhd
SKPE.KL for $198 million, according to a term sheet seen by
Reuters on Thursday. Polish state-controlled coal miner JSW JSW.WA said it
had sold combined-heat-and-power (CHP) company PEC to gas firm
PGNiG PGN.WA for 190.4 million zlotys ($49 million).
British private-equity firm 3i Group Plc III.L said it
would sell its Mayborn Group unit to Chinese chemical products
maker Shanghai Jahwa United Co 600315.SS . Russia-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk POG.L said it
had entered into an agreement with Russian businessman Musa
Bazhaev to acquire Amur Zoloto, a gold mining company with
assets in Russia's far eastern Khabarovsk region. Barclays BARC.L said it had agreed to sell its
Barclaycard consumer payments business in Portugal and Spain to
Bancopopular-e, pressing ahead with the disposal of unwanted
assets under new Chief Executive Jes Staley. Hedge fund Snow Park Capital Partners has taken a 4.6
percent stake in Ashford Hospitality Prime Inc AHP.N ,
according to a person familiar with the matter, and plans to
push the company to move more quickly with a stock buyback plan.
Vale SA VALE5.SA is considering spinning off its
fertilizer assets into a joint venture controlled by Apollo
Global Management LLC APO.N if they succeed in a joint bid for
Anglo American Plc's fertilizer operations in Brazil, three
sources with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters on
Wednesday. TPG Growth TPG.UL , the growth capital arm of U.S.
private equity firm TPG, has taken a majority stake in staffing
business Frank Recruitment Group, the company said. Italian private equity group Investindustrial has bought
a majority stake in the country's fourth-largest hotel group
with a view to expanding in southern Europe, it said.