1. US Wrap Leading News: *Microsoft contemplates consortium bid for Yahoo *Huntsman extends closing deadline with resistant Hexion *Blockbuster drops Circuit City bid Agricultural Production Food processor and fertilizer maker Bunge Ltd. is acquiring the international sugar-trading and marketing division of British sugar and sweetener producer Tate & Lyle PLC for an undisclosed sum. Bunge said the deal expands its international trading and marketing activities, which include a sugar-trading operation and mill in Brazil. (See also Europe M&A note). Apparel Australian glove-maker Ansell Ltd. is buying privately held Hawkeye Glove Co., the largest supplier of gloves to the U.S. military, for $10.8 million. Hawkeye has five manufacturing U.S. plants in the United States and has annual sales of $20 million. Beverages InBev Buyout Debt on Block A banking consortium has begun marketing some of the $45 billion in debt backing InBev SA’s bid for Anheuser-Busch Cos. Separately, attorneys for Anheuser-Busch are asking that a series of shareholder lawsuits involving the proposed takeover by brewer InBev be moved to Delaware. New Jersey Carpenters Annuity and Pension Funds filed suit saying Anheuser-Busch breached its fiduciary duty in rejecting InBev’s $46 billion purchase offer. Anheuser-Busch faces nine other such lawsuits. Brokerage, Investment & Mgmt. Consulting Morgan Stanley’s independent index and research firm MSCI Inc. is going to be spun off into a separate independent company. Morgan plans to file a registration statement for selling common stock in MSCI. Morgan initially plans to sell about half, but it may sell the whole stake. Chemicals, Paints & Coatings Huntsman Still Trying to Close Deal Huntsman Corp. said it exercised its right to extend the deadline for closing its merger with Hexion Specialty Chemicals as it tries to complete the buyout engineered by Apollo Management. Huntsman also wants a Delaware Chancery Court to force Hexion to close the deal. Hexion is asking the same court to terminate its $6.5 billion deal for Huntsman, alleging that completing the deal would create an insolvent company. 3M Co. said Wednesday it bought Australian chemical manufacturer K&H Surface Technologies Pty. Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. K&H makes body fillers, mold release agents and other products used in professional and do-it-yourself automotive refinishing as well as the hardware and construction markets. Computer Software, Supplies & Services Microsoft Corp. may be looking to do a club deal if it makes another attempt at buying Yahoo Inc. The Wall Street Journal reported. With Microsoft just interested in Yahoo’s search business, the software company has approached Time Warner Inc. and News Corp. to gauge their interest in the other properties such as Web sites and email. Although Microsoft has formally dropped its bid for Yahoo, it may also be trying to get Carl Icahn to help restart such talks. Microsoft representatives reportedly met with Icahn about his efforts to gain control of Yahoo’s board. IBM bought Platform Solutions Inc., a privately held technology company focused on main-frame computer technology. PSI will become part of the IBM System z business unit of the IBM Systems and Technology Group. Financial terms were not disclosed. Drugs, Medical Supplies & Equipment Postnatal medical-device firm Natus Medical Inc. acquired the neurology division of privately held Schwarzer GmbH to boost its position in Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed. Schwarzer Neurology sells diagnostic systems and disposable supplies used by doctors to diagnose neurologic disorders. The unit expects sales of $7.6 million this year. Northstar NeuroSciences Inc. received a going-private bid from its largest shareholder after the medical device maker’s lead product failed a major trial. Tang Capital Partners LP, which owns 20% of the firm, is seeking to buy the remainder for $2.25 a share in cash. Northstar had been trading around $8-per-share up until January, when it revealed that its main product, a device for stimulating stroke-addled brains, did not show much benefit. Food Processing H.J. Heinz Co. is buying France’s Benedicta, a maker of table-top sauces, mayonnaises and salad dressings. Terms were not disclosed. Heinz said Benedicta has about $90 million in sales. Insurance Transaction processing company Fiserv Inc. sold a 51% stake in its insurance transactions processing unit to private equity firm Stone Point Capital. The deal calls for Stone Point to invest approx $205 million and an additional $335 million in debt. Fiserv expects to receive approx $510 million in net after-tax proceeds, which will be used for a stock buyback. Leisure & Entertainment GameStop Corp. acquired The Gamesman, a New Zealand gaming retailer. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Primary Metal Processing Graphite electrode maker GrafTech International Ltd. bought a 18.9% stake in Seadrift Coke LP for $135 million. Seadrift is a privately held producer of petroleum needle coke, the primary raw material needed to manufacture graphite electrodes. Retail Blockbuster Ends Circuit City Bid Blockbuster Inc. dropped its plans to buy Circuit City Stores Inc. after the company reported a worse-than-expected fiscal first quarter results. Circuit City had allowed Blockbuster and other potential bidders to access its books as the company began a formal sales process, ushered by Goldman Sachs. Circuit City said it continues to evaluate a sale and other strategic alternatives to boost its share price. 2. Europe Wrap Leading News * Pardus Capital Management and Centaurus Capital own 21.01% of Atos Origin * Nokia gets regulatory approval to acquire Navteq for $8.1 billion * Bunge buys Tate & Lyle’s sugar and marketing biz * Informa gets £2.15 billion offer from PE consortium * Carrefour buys more of Chinese JV Guangzhou Jiaguang Supermarket for €3.6 billion Agricultural Products Who Knew Watercress Was So Popular? U.K.-based food preparer Vitacress Salads Ltd. is being sold to Portuguese conglomerate Grupo RAR for around £50 million, Daily Telegraph reported. Vitacress is best known as a supplier of watercress and other salad products to retailers and grocers, but it packages a number of other produce products. Aerospace, Aircraft & Defense BA Believes in Business Class U.K. airline British Airways PLC is acquiring French business airline L’Avion for £52 million and BA said in a statement that L’Avion will be merged into BA’s OpenSkies division. OpenSkies recently began operating a Paris to New York flight, which L’Avion also flies, though to different airports. L’Avion used to go by the name Elysair. It’s been a rough time for business class-only flights, with L’Avion the last European company still standing after a slew of bankruptcies and sales that put the business class-only model in doubt. Banking & Finance UniCredit Gets Stake in U.K. Investment Firm Italian financial group UniCredit SpA acquired 5% of U.K. investment firm NewSmith Capital Partners and has bought NewSmith Financial Products, NewSmith’s credit advisory unit, UniCredit said in a statement. UniCredit said at the present time there will be no layoffs and all NewSmith employees will become part of UniCredit. NewSmith runs multiple hedge funds and a $5 billion equity fund in the U.K. Communications French ISPs Look to Google French Internet providers Free and Bollore Telecom are negotiating with U.S.-based Internet goliath Google Inc. in an attempt to shore up funding for Free and Bollore Telecom’s wireless broadband company, Les Echos reported. Computer Software, Supplies & Services Vultures Swoop Round Atos Hedge funds Pardus Capital Management and Centaurus Capital have accumulated 21.01% of French computer firm Atos Origin SA, including 21.01% of voting rights. The two investors have been trying to bully their way into Atos’ board for some time and finally so did very recently, though both said they would not seek a complete buyout of Atos. The last month has seen huge changes in Atos ownership, as private equity firm PAI Partners also bought an 18% chunk. Electric, Gas, Water & Sanitary Services E.ON Nixes Nuon Rumors German utility E.ON AG denied rumors that it would be buying a minority stake of Dutch rival Nuon NV, Het Financiele Dagblad reported. The denial reportedly came from E.ON’s CEO Wulf, Bernotat. Electronics Nokia Gets Approval for Navteq Finnish mobile group Nokia Oyj finally got European regulatory approval to acquire U.S.-based digital map maker Navteq Corp. for $8.1 billion. In a related deal, Dutch digital navigator TomTom NV is still working on a $4.5 billion offer for digital map developer TeleAtlas NV. The two are very similar in that they are distributors buying their suppliers and both are obviously blockbuster deals. Food Processing Bunge Buying Tate’s Legendary Sugar Biz U.S.-based agribusiness Bunge Ltd. said it is buying the global sugar and marketing unit of U.K.-based peer Tate & Lyle PLC. Tate is best known for its sugar business. Bunge said Tate’s sugar business staff will be absorbed into Bunge. Bunge said in a statement that the acquisition allowed expansion in sourcing in Brazil and Thailand, among other countries. It seems Bunge is on a bit of a buying spree. Last month it shelled out $4.4 billion to acquire U.S. corn processor Corn Products International. Mining & Minerals European Regulators Digging Deep on Mining Probe European regulators are getting deeply involved in investigating the proposed $170 billion takeover of major miners BHP Billiton PLC by Rio Tinto PLC. It’s not a normal investigation, as the European Commission generally checks antitrust concerns spanning a few years, but in this instance is looking at long-term effects as far out as seven years. Printing & Publishing Informa Considering PE Sale U.K. events organizer and publisher Informa PLC said it is mulling a £2.15 billion takeover offer made by a private equity consortium, it said in a statement. According to Informa, Providence Equity LLP, The Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman teamed up to make the 506 pence-per-share offer. “Discussions continue to be at an early stage and there can be no certainty that an offer will be made,” Informa’s statement said. Including debt, the buyout would be worth £3.4 billion. The price is more than Informa’s current market valuation, which is about £1.9 billion. The announcement came from Informa just as word hit the market that it was no longer in buyout talks with rival United Business Media PLC. Retail Carrefour & Asia French retailer Carrefour SA acquired 25% more of a Chinese joint venture Guangzhou Jiaguang Supermarket Co. Ltd. The stake was sold by an existing partner, Guangzhou Grandbuy Co. Ltd. for €3.6 billion, according to a press release put out by Guangzhou Grandbuy. In other Carrefour news, if Carrefour sold its Thailand business it would get about €400 million, Challenges reported. 3. Asia Wrap Leading News *New wildcards emerge in bid for Aussie miner Midwest *Abu Dhabi sovereign fund stands by Citigroup *India’s Essar Group collects $45 million parting gift for failed Esmark bid *Korea’s STX Group to form consortium to cop Daewoo Shipbuilding *Dismal retail numbers give Aussie bidder justification for Just Group bid Japan Pioneer Corp. on Wednesday said it started negotiations to sell its plasma display panel factory to a flat panel developer backed by Sony Corp. The factory in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan, is scheduled to stop PDP production in January of 2009. Pioneer and Sony’s Field Emission Technologies Inc. have yet to agree on the value of the deal, but Pioneer estimates the plant’s value to be between ¥20 billion to ¥30 billion, which is roughly the same range as $190 million to $300 million. Field Emission Technologies spun off from Sony in December 2006. Broad Career Corp. acquired the system design and software development operation of Management of Information Systems Institute Co. Ltd. for ¥152 million ($1.4 million) in cash. Broad Career is a temp staffing company and the assets of its target are researched based as MISI is an IT training company. A private group of investors led by Yasuo Uchihara agreed to acquire a 12.7% minority stake, or 1,746 ordinary shares, in NC Network Co. Ltd. from Telewave Inc. for ¥122 million ($1.1 million). Under the terms of agreement, the deal is expected to be closed by the end of July. NC Network is an IT consultancy focusing on clients in the manufacturing industry. China Central Prosperity Holdings Ltd., an investment holding company controlled by PE shop and investment fund Warburg Pincus Private Equity IX LP, will acquire CITIC Capital Shopwell Investment Ltd. from Fine Investment Ltd. for HK$750.7 million ($96.3 million). Incorporated in Hong Kong, the target is principally engaged in department stores operation and other investment holdings such as its 26.3% equity interest in CITIC Development-Shenyang Commercial Building Co., which the bidder, Central Prosperity, will gain as part of the deal. Giant Interactive Group Inc. agreed to acquire a 25% minority stake in Shanghai Five One Network Development Co. Ltd. for approximately 349.7 million yuan ($51 million). Based in Shanghai, the target operates the 51.com website, one of the most popular social networking portals in China. Giant Interactive believes the partnership provides synergies for both companies in establishing a larger online community in the world’s most populous country. Huafu Holding Co. Ltd. agreed to acquire Anhui Feiya Textile Group Co. from state-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission of China for 314.5 million yuan ($45.9 million). Based in Anhui, the target engages in cotton milling and produces gray cloths and yarns. Guizhou Liyuan Hydraulic Co. Ltd. agreed to acquire the remaining 63.8% majority stake in Wuxi Mashan Yonghong Heat Exchanger Co. Ltd. for 70 million yuan ($10.2 million). Liyuan Hydraulic will acquire 38.7% and 25.1% stakes from holding company Wuxi Mashan Heat Exchanger and Wuxi City Heping Cooler, respectively. Based in Wuxi, the target manufactures aluminum heat exchangers. Sinotrans Ltd., one of China's top logistics service providers, inked an agreement with Saudi Arabia-based Al Majdouie Group to establish a joint venture in Saudi Arabia for providing engineering services to the logistics industry. The two groups have not yet decided on a name for the JV company or released information on stake considerations. India DLF Ltd., India's biggest real-estate developer, will consider a plan to buy back shares at a board meeting on July 10. This comes as DLF’s stock is the third-worst performer on India's benchmark Sensitive Index this year, after having fallen 66% through Tuesday's close. To get a sense of how bad things are for DLF, the Sensex index, which has performed poorly itself, was down 36%. In addition to buying shares, the company may also consider shedding assets. A private group led by HDIL Infra Projects Pvt Ltd. commenced a tender offer to acquire an additional 20% stake in Broadcast Initiatives Ltd. for R184.8 million ($4.3 million) in cash. The expected opening date of the offer is August 14, with a closing date of September 2 of this year. Broadcast Initiatives is a small regional broadcaster in India. Essar Group will collect some $45 million for withdrawing its bid for US steel firm Esmark. The payment will come from the victor, OAO Severstal of Russia. Under the terms of merger agreement signed between Severstal and Esmark, which will nullify any previous agreements signed between Essar Steel and the target company, the Russian firm will pay the Indian entity $25 million as a termination fee for the previous deal, in addition to an estimated $20 million for termination of some loan facilities extended by the Indian bidder to Esmark under the previous deal structure. Korea Korean logistics and shipping giant STX Group said Wednesday it will form a consortium to bid for a controlling stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, the world’s third-largest shipbuilder. “Group-scale talks have been under way in jointly acquiring DSME to lessen the financial burden of an acquisition,” Bae Dae-kwan, vice president of the group said in a statement to Korean press on the sidelines of a government in meeting in Seoul. “We are looking for appropriate partners such as financial investors for the bid.” STX has officially stated its desire to go up against a POSCO-led consortium which has led Korean industry experts to estimate a price tag for Daewoo Shipbuilding at about 8 trillion won ($7.7 billion). As Flashwire reported last week, POSCO said it would join forces with SK Group to jointly bid for DSME. POSCO has requested SK Group to buy some 10% of DSME. Meanwhile, the state-run Korea Development Bank now owns a 31.3% position in DSME, while the Korea Asset Management Authority holds 19.1%. Both those institutions would have a say on which bidder wins out. Singapore Australia Oriental Minerals NL entered into an agreement to acquire a 30% minority stake, or 300 ordinary shares, in Asiatic Coal Pte Ltd. for S$9.2 million ($6.8 million). A diversified junior resource miner, Asiatic Coal operates an investment holding company and its subsidiary has rights to mine coal and market it in Indonesia. Asiatic Coal sold an identical stake in itself to a company out of Malaysia (See also Malaysia note below). Malaysia Pantai Irama Ventures Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, reached an agreement to acquire a 50% minority stake in Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd from Tan & Tan Developments Bhd and Insas Bhd for $52.5 million in cash. Malaysia Smelting Corp. Bhd entered an agreement to acquire a 30% minority stake, or 300 ordinary shares, in Singapore-based Asiatic Coal for S$9.2 million ($6.8 million). Asiatic Coal and other institutional investors will maintain the remaining 40% of the company now that Australia Oriental and Malaysia’s Smelting Corporation have both copped 30% positions in it. Middle East Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund at an estimated $800 billion in assets under management, said Wednesday it is sticking with the troubled Citigroup Inc. as an investor and has a ``long-term view'' of its investment – untroubled by the recent decline in its share price. ``I think ADIA has a long term view for these stakes,'' said Sebastien Henin, fund manager at Abu Dhabi Investment Co., a unit of ADIA, in a Bloomberg TV interview on Wednesday. “Even if they face some losses, it is not a problem for them because they have time.” ADIA took a 4.9% stake in the biggest U.S. bank by assets for $7.5 billion in November 2007 and has seen the value of those shares decline by more than 44%. To cover its risk, Abu Dhabi acquired securities that convert to stock and yield an 11% APR, almost double the interest Citigroup offers regular bond investors. But that doesn’t help much if Citigroup finds itself unable to muster a viable ROI for the fund’s generosity. A $500 million Islamic buyout fund backed by Kuwait's Global Investment House and Dubai Islamic Bank plans to complete three deals by the third quarter, the two companies said. The fund expects to complete a transaction in Turkey's financial services, acquire a stake in a major retailer in the Gulf Arab region and buy an asset management firm in India, said Ali Al-Fulaij, an assistant vice-president of Global Investment House, in a statement. Saudi Arabia’s top telco Etihad Etisalat Co, a.k.a. Mobily, acquired an undisclosed minority stake in Zajil International Saudi Arabia for an undisclosed amount. Zajil is an Internet service provider and the acquisition is a sign that Mobily is making good on its ambition to become a diversified and powerful regional telco player. Australia & New Zealand As it mulls whether or not to restrict Chinese investors, the Aussie government cleared U.S. private equity firm Harbinger Capital's purchase of shares in Aussie miner Midwest Corp. This comes despite an Australia Takeovers Panel ruling that it breached foreign investment regulation. The panel referred Harbinger's purchase of a 9.29% stake in Midwest to the Foreign Investment Review Board because it brought the combined shareholding of the U.S. fund with Perth-based Murchison Metals to 19.98%. Harbinger backs Murchison in its bid for Midwest. According to antitrust rules, foreigners must get approval before acquiring more than 15% of an Australian company, and Harbinger's additional 18.9% stake in Murchison implies a conflict of interest. For now, The Takeover Panel's decision that Harbinger cannot vote its shares in Midwest while China Sintosteel still has a bid for Midwest remains in place. Harbinger has previously turned down both Baosteel and Sinosteel in their bids to buy Midwest shares from Harbinger. The remaining wildcard is Midwest deputy chairman David "Dato" Law, who is said to be waiting until the end of the year to sell his 13% stake for what he called tax purposes. Who he will sell to and at what price remains to be seen. Shares of embattled and seemingly smug retail holding company Just Group Ltd. hit a three year low in Sydney on Wednesday as the retailer cut earnings forecasts, blaming record oil prices and 12-year high interest rates that are weakening consumer spending. What’s ironic is that as its shares went down, Just Group reiterated in an official statement its rejection of an A$809 million ($777 million) takeover bid from Premier Investments Ltd., the investment vehicle of retail magnate and investment guru Solomon Lew. Premier is offering 0.25 of its shares and A$2.095 ($1.92) in cash for each Just Group share, valuing the bid at A$4.02 ($3.84), based on Wednesday's closing prices. If the current trend continues though, Lew might have another opportunity to take a pass at the flailing retail giant. Qiagen NV acquired Sydney-based Corbett Life Science Pty Ltd. for A$72.9 million ($70 million) in cash and stock, plus an additional A$67.7 million ($65 million), subject to meeting certain profit targets. Per the deal, Netherlands-based Qiagen paid A$68.8 million ($66 million) in cash and issued A$4.2 million ($4 million) in restricted Qiagen common shares. Corbett Life Science manufactures and distributes instrumentation systems for life sciences research. Adelaide Brighton Ltd. acquired Hanson Building Products Pty Ltd. for A$81 million ($77.9 million) in cash. The target company engages in manufacturing masonry products.