COMPANIES

Hunan Taizinai Group, a top dairy products maker in China, on Friday denied a Chinese media report that it was in talks to sell assets to the world's biggest food group Nestle AG.

A top German government official warned bidders for Opel on Friday to develop a business plan that can meet European Union guidelines on state subsidies because Berlin expects an in-depth anti-trust probe of any deal.

Wilmar International, the world's largest listed palm oil company, has hired three banks to handle what sources say could be a $3 billion flotation of its China business.

Petro Andina, a Canadian-based oil and gas exploration company, said on Friday its board unanimously recommends that its shareholders reject an unsolicited bid by Netherlands-based Pluspetrol Resources Corp.

Global investors Carlyle and Primus are among the bidders for AIG's Taiwan insurance unit, sources said on Friday, as the troubled U.S. insurer looks to divest some of its global assets.

Global miner Rio Tinto wrapped up one of the world's biggest rights issues on Friday, saying its Australian shareholders had taken up 94.76 percent of their entitlements to the new shares.

GE Enterprise Solutions' Fanuc Intelligent Platforms on Thursday reveals its new PAC8000 RTU controller with flexible system design and high availability allowing Oil & Gas to be easily monitored, diagnose and maintain.

Global miner Rio Tinto wrapped up one of the world's biggest rights issues on Friday, saying its Australian shareholders had taken up 94.76 percent of their entitlements to the new shares.

Ford Motor Co of Canada was the number one selling automaker in the country for the first time in 50 years as it posted a 25 percent jump in sales in June over a year earlier, the company said on Thursday.

Markets tumble after dour jobs report, GM warns of liquidation if sale not approved, Desertec could create 240,000 jobs

Markets tumble after dour jobs report, GM warns of liquidation if sale not approved, J&J buys stake in biotech firm Elan, acquires Alzheimer's research

China will research into policies that will allow domestic listing of overseas firms, in efforts to secure stable foreign direct investment, Jian Chen, Vice Minister of Commerce, said on Thursday.

General Motors Corp would be forced into liquidation if its proposed asset sale were not approved despite urging from dissident bondholders that another course be pursued, the company's lead bankruptcy lawyer said on Thursday.

Magna's board of directors is scheduled to approve on Tuesday a business plan for the acquisition of German carmaker Opel, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

J&J buys stake in biotech firm Elan, acquires Alzheimer's research; Rio Tinto overcomes 2009/2010 debt problems, completing rights offer; Boeing Steady with plane deliveries, 125 in 2Q

Rio Tinto said the British leg of its $15.2 billion rights issue had been successfully completed, putting the world's top iron ore miner back in growth mode after slashing its debt.

Magna expects to resolve the last few issues holding up its takeover of German carmaker Opel from former parent General Motors by Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

China's state-run carmaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co is preparing to make an offer for General Motors' Opel unit in the coming days, a source told Reuters, but the Russian partner of bid frontrunner Magna said the race was all but over.

GMAC said on Wednesday that it has converted to a corporation from a limited liability company, a move that could allow the auto and mortgage lender to sell shares to the public.

The Chinese government has hired three banks to handle the public listing of a railway holding company, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, in an IPO that could be worth around $5 billion.

Validus Holdings Ltd. reiterated its unsolicited offer for reinsurer IPC Re on Thursday, one day after Flagstone Reinsurance Limited made a higher competing bid.

Securities firm International Assets Holding Corp agreed to buy commodity risk management firm FCStone Group Inc in an all-stock deal valued at about $130 million, as it looks to expand presence in the commodities market.

Onex Corp said on Thursday it acquired a majority stake in the Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino after the property emerged from bankruptcy protection.

Alcatel-Lucent still expects the global telecoms equipment market to fall 8-12 percent in 2009 at constant currency exchange rates, the chief executive of Alcatel-Lucent France said on Thursday.

Some of Europe's cash-strapped biotech companies may just be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

India's Tata Steel, the world's sixth-largest steel maker, plans to sell global depositary receipts worth about $600 million, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Thursday.

China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), the country's largest oil company, plans to revive a $17 billion bid for the Argentinian unit of Spanish oil major Repsol-YPF, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday, citing sources.

Rio Tinto Ltd sold virtually all of the UK part of its $15.2 billion rights offer, the world's fifth-biggest, easing its huge debt burden and putting the world's top iron ore miner back in growth mode.

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co plans to present a detailed bid for General Motors Corp's Opel unit in Europe within the next few days, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.