In headlines this morning: $51.3 billion won’t buy Vivendi and Xstrata swoops on Falconbridge, while Mittal’s ready to pounce on Arcelor and One Equity cashes out with a billion-dollar sale.
Vivendi SA has rejected a breakup offer of roughly $43 per share, from Norwegian billionaire Alexander Vik’s Sebastian Holdings Inc., claiming it is based on “unrealistic” economic and legal hypotheses. Also Wednesday, the music and mobile phone titan posted a better-than-expected 12% increase in adjusted net income to €592 million, powered by customer growth at France’s No.2 mobile phone operator SFR, and improved sales at its Universal Music Group unit.
Also out of Europe, Swiss miner Xstrata plc made a long-anticipated bid for Canadian rival Falconbridge Ltd. valued at $18 billion, potentially thwarting the target’s plan to merge with Inco Ltd. and create the world’s No.1 nickel producer.
Meanwhile, steelmaking giant Mittal Steel Co. NV says it will bid $27 billion tomorrow for rival Arcelor SA, a bid three-months coming.
In other news, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s private equity arm, One Equity Partners LLC, stands to gain five times its initial $400 million investment in Progress Rail Services Corp., as the portfolio company goes for a cool $1 billion to Caterpillar Inc.
And coming up in The Daily Deal midday PDF and also on TheDeal.com: Pitney Bowes Inc. plans to sell its capital services external financing business to Cerberus Capital Management for nearly $745 million; a tag-team defense proclaims Enron’s former CEO Kenneth Lay innocent in closing arguments; and Mellon Financial Corp. will expand its international business buying Scottish investment firm Walter Scott & Partners Ltd. for an undisclosed sum.—Carolyn Murphy
Vivendi rejects breakup offer
Xstrata bids for Falconbridge
Mittal sets Arcelor bid date
One Equity posts Progress gains
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