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World Business Quick Take

■ FINANCE

Royal Bank may raise funds

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, which reportedly is contemplating going to the market to raise billions of pounds, said yesterday it would make a statement on its plans next week. The Daily Telegraph reported that the bank was looking at a possible rights issue worth between £5 billion (US$9.9 billion) and £12 billion to shore up its position. “RBS notes recent speculation about a possible rights issue,” the group said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange. “RBS confirms that its interim management report covering trading performance and capital will be made next week.”



■ STEEL

POSCO to buy stake in mine

South Korean steelmaker POSCO said yesterday it would buy a 13 percent stake in a South African manganese mine as part of a drive to secure a stable supply of raw materials. POSCO, the world's fourth largest steelmaker, said the investment would from 2010 secure an annual supply of 130,000 tonnes of manganese or a quarter of its annual needs. The investment will be made through Pallinghurst, a consortium led by a British mining firm which owns a 49.9 percent stake in the mine. To buy the stake in the mine and finance other projects, POSCO will invest US$200 million in the consortium by issuing new shares in its subsidiary in Australia, the company said.



■ DAIRY

Aussie firm mulls takeover

Australia’s National Foods, a subsidiary of Japanese brewing giant Kirin, was considering a bid for rival Dairy Farmers, the takeover target said yesterday. Dairy Farmers said National Foods had asked the competition watchdog whether it would object to the takeover, which would give it a dominant share of Australia’s milk and dairy market. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had indicated it would take at least eight weeks to assess the potential deal, Dairy Farmers said in a statement. The statement did not say how much National Foods was willing to pay for Dairy Farmers.



■ FOODS

Steel Partners drops sauce

Japan's Bull-Dog Sauce Co said yesterday that the US investment fund Steel Partners had sold its entire stake in the iconic condiment maker after its defeat in a high-profile takeover battle. Steel Partners sold its remaining shares in the company as of March 31 and removed its name from the list of shareholders, a Bull-Dog spokeswoman said. The fund was at the center of a heated takeover tussle last year with Bull-Dog that set off a legal battle that went all the way to the country’s top court. The sauce maker became the first Japanese company to carry out threats of a “poison pill” defense, a tactic to block takeover bids by issuing new shares to dilute the stake of a bidder.



■ AUTOMOBILES

Chrysler rebuts speculation

Chrysler LLC chief executive Robert Nardelli denied reports on Thursday that the US carmaker was in talks with Italy’s Fiat about a possible alliance. “There are no talks,” Nardelli said after a speech in Detroit, Michigan, rejecting reports in Europe that Chrysler was in talks with Fiat. “I don't know where that came from,” he said. Nardelli, however, said he was continuing to develop a strong working relationship with Nissan-Renault chairman Carlos Ghosn. “We're very pleased to have the special arrangements on products with him,” he said.


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