HEALTHCARE
J&J may buy Synthes
US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is in talks to buy US-Swiss medical-equipment maker Synthes in a deal that could be valued at about US$20 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Citing unnamed “people familiar with the matter,” the newspaper said that if the two sides reached a deal, it would rank as one of the biggest healthcare takeovers in recent years. It is unclear just how far the talks have progressed, the Journal said. One person, the paper noted, cautioned that the talks were fragile and could fall apart at any time. Shares of Synthes rose 6.2 percent on Friday as speculation about a sale of the company mounted, the report said. However, these stock movements could also undo the transaction, the Journal said.
ELECTRONICS
Larsen and Toubro divesting
India’s biggest engineering company, Larsen and Toubro, is in talks with international firms to sell its electronics arm in a deal expected to be worth nearly US$3 billion, reports said yesterday. The company is in discussions with top French energy management company Schneider Electric and US diversified power management firm Eaton to sell the unit that makes switches, circuit breakers and other goods, the reports said. The electronics business has annual sales of 37 billion rupees (US$836 million) and contributes 7 percent to Larsen’s turnover.
AUTOMAKERS
Honda to slow production
Honda Motor Co will slow down production at its 11 North American factories into at least early next month because it’s running short of parts made by earthquake-damaged factories in Japan. The company said on Friday that it’s extending the cuts through May 6, and it expects more disruptions after that. The slowdowns, which could reduce output at its plants by up to 50 percent, are likely to cause shortages of Honda vehicles in a matter of weeks. Honda’s Japanese factories are running at half capacity, and the company’s president has said it could take a few months to return to full production.
STEEL
ThyssenKrupp CEO sentenced
The chief executive of German steelmaker Thyssen-Krupp’s Italian unit, Herald Espenhahn, was sentenced to 16-and-a-half years in jail on Friday over charges related to a fire that killed seven workers in 2007. Five other managers received 10-year plus sentences and the company was fined 1 million euros (US$1.45 million) after a court ruled they should be held responsible for the fire. Apart from the fine, the court ruled that the Italian ThyssenKrupp special steels unit would not be allowed to benefit from state subsidies for six months. It was also ordered to publicize the ruling in major Italian newspapers and banned from advertising its products for six months.
PORTUGAL
Q1 deficit down 60%
Debt-stricken Portugal, negotiating a massive bailout with the EU and IMF, said on Friday it had made progress in reducing its public deficit, a key measure of the country’s financial health. The government said the first quarter deficit — the balance between spending and revenues — tumbled 60 percent from a year earlier to 1.02 billion euros (US$1.45 billion). It said it cut spending by 3.7 percent in the three months to March while revenues jumped 15 percent, as it tightened up the public finances in what proved to be a failed effort to avoid having to call in the EU and IMF.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks