UPDATE 3-Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions
(Updates Lehman, adds Procter & Gamble, Nasdaq OMX, others)
Sept 3 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday.
(For Reuters columns on deals, click on [DEALTALK\] )
** Coca-Cola Co (KO.N), the world's leading drinks maker, agreed to pay $2.5 billion for Chinese juice maker Huiyuan (1886.HK), three times its value, in China's biggest takeover by a foreign company. To read more, please double click on [nHKG153943]
** Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) said it has acquired Nioxin Research Laboratories Inc, adding products for thinning hair to a haircare line that includes the Head & Shoulders and Wella brands. [ID:nN03391192]
** USA Today publisher Gannett Co Inc (GCI.N) has increased its stake in the CareerBuilder jobs website to 50.8 percent by buying a 10 percent stake for $135 million from Tribune Co, the two companies said. [ID:nN03520416]
** Nasdaq OMX Group Inc (NDAQ.O) could bid for a majority stake in the Prague Stock Exchange, which is on the auction block and would give the U.S. company a foothold in the hotly contested region, sources familiar with the situation said. [ID:nN03257841]
** A lifeline from South Korea for troubled investment bank Lehman Brothers LEH.N appeared in doubt on Wednesday as the bank leading the plan said nothing had been decided, and other lenders denied interest in taking part. [ID:nSEO152269]
** South Korea's military savings fund would consider joining Korea Development Bank in a bid for Lehman Brothers LEH.N if KDB made such an offer, as now appears a good time for U.S. investments, the fund's chairman said. [ID:nSEO16029]
** General Motors GM.N expects to sell its Hummer brand by the end of this year or early in 2009, as it shores up capital to survive a deep industry slump amid record losses, its chief operating officer said. [ID:nBOM183228]
** CtW Investment Group, which advises union pension funds, has told Longs Drug Stores Corp LDG.N it suspects a $2.54 billion takeover offer from CVS Caremark Corp (CVS.N) undervalues the company's real estate assets. [ID:nN03258066]
** Friends Provident FP.L, Britain's smallest blue-chip life insurer, will not sell its Lombard and F&C units if it cannot get a good price, recently appointed chief executive Trevor Matthews said. [ID:nSIN220103]
**H&R Block Inc (HRB.N), the largest U.S. tax preparer, said it agreed to buy the operator of its Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma franchised units for $278 million in cash. [ID:nN03494010]
**Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) will likely fold one of its small consumer finance units into affiliate Acom Co (8572.T), a newspaper said, the latest move by a Japanese bank to strengthen its position in the struggling consumer lending market. Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan's largest bank, will seek to merge unlisted DC Cash One with Acom, the Nikkei newspaper said. [ID:nT151912]
** Irish supermarket group Superquinn has received six expressions of interest from potential bidders, including Britain's Asda (WMT.N) and J Sainsbury (SBRY.L), the Irish Times newspaper said.[ID:nL3343566] (Compiled by Tina Kwan in Singapore, Aftab Ahmed and Amiteshwar Singh in Bangalore)
