Citigroup, yesterday announced that they had completed the $13.4 billion takeover of Nikko Cordial, the Japanese brokerage group. Including the 4.9 per cent it already owned, Citigroup now owns in excess of 60 percent of the shares in Japan’s third biggest brokerage group.
Harman International, the audio company, announced yesterday an agreement to be acquired by Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts and Goldman Sachs’ private equity fund, GS Capital Partners, for approximately $7.8 billion. The agreement contains a "go-shop" and permits the current shareholders of Harman to elect to receive up to 27% of the equity in the newly private company. I blogged about these features yesterday.
Inter-Tel, a full-service provider of business communications solutions, announced an agreement to be acquired by Mitel Networks Corporation for US$25.60 per Inter-Tel share or approximately $723 million in total.
North American Oil Sands Corp., a Canadian, oil-sands developer, announced an agreement to be acquired by Statoil ASA, Norway’s biggest oil company, for U.S.$2 billion.
The Royal Bank of Scotland consortium (RBS, Fortis NV & Santander Central Hispano SA) announced that they intend to proceed with an unsolicited public offer for ABN Amro despite ABN Amro’s endorsement of a pending offer from Barclays.
Sobeys, Canada’s second-biggest grocery chain, announced an agreement for its founding family to take the company private by purchasing the 28 percent stake it doesn’t already own for U.S.$950 million.