Deals - Europe Headlines

France takes delivery of first Airbus A400M

PARIS - France took delivery of the first Airbus A400M on Thursday, ending a four-year wait for Europe's military transporter whose development has been plagued by technical problems and soaring costs.

Mechel sells ferroalloy assets to Yildirim for $425 million

MOSCOW - Russian coal miner Mechel is selling its ferroalloy assets to Turkey's Yildirim Group for $425 million and will use the proceeds to shrink its debt of more than $9 billion as well as invest in core projects, it said.

BAE sees key Saudi jet deal agreed in second half

LONDON - BAE Systems Plc said it expects a long-awaited multi-billion dollar Saudi fighter deal to complete in the second half of this year, enabling it to forecast a more than 10 percent lift to yearly underlying earnings.

UAE's Etihad to buy 49 percent stake in Serbian airline

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BELGRADE - United Arab Emirates' Etihad Airways, which has stakes in Virgin Australia and Air Berlin , will acquire a 49 percent stake in Serbia's loss-making JAT Airways.

UK government says no timetable, price target for Lloyds sale

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LONDON - Britain's government reiterated on Thursday that it has no set timetable or target share price for starting the sale of its 39 percent stake in state-backed bank Lloyds .

Lloyds in position for UK to start selling shares: CEO

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LONDON - The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group said it is now in a position for Britain to start selling its 20 billion pound stake in the lender, although the timing is up to the finance ministry.

Wed, Jul 31 2013

Britain's centuries-old Royal Mail eyes end of state control

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LONDON - After three aborted privatization attempts in 19 years, Britain's Royal Mail postal service looks closer than ever to a sale that would end almost five centuries of ties to the state.

Actelion buys U.S.-based firm with cancer drug in development

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ZURICH - Actelion said it will acquire Ceptaris, a privately held U.S.-based specialty pharmaceutical company developing a topical drug, Valchlor, to treat a form of cancer.

Belaruskali says was not consulted on Uralkali pullout

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MINSK - Belarussian potash producer Belaruskali said it was not consulted by Uralkali before the Russian company quit their joint venture, as it promised a new sales strategy to address the expected impact of its partner's exit.

Siemens to book 400 million euro gain from NSN stake sale: new CEO

FRANKFURT - German engineering group Siemens' will book a one-time gain of about 400 million euros ($530 million) from the sale of its stake in Nokia Siemens Networks in its current financial year, its designated chief executive said.

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McCain, Biden coming together for Sedona, Arizona forum

These days Washington is not known for bipartisanship, but every now and then a breakthrough is made. It is noteworthy that Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Senator John McCain, a Republican, are appearing together at a forum in Sedona, Arizona on Friday.