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World Business Quick Take

■INVESTMENT

Temasek gets approval

Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings has received approval from US anti-trust regulators to raise its stake in Merrill Lynch, a source said yesterday. Temasek said last month it was investing a further US$3.4 billion into Merrill Lynch as part of the US investment bank’s efforts to raise new capital. Temasek is expected to receive the formal letter of approval this week, said the source, who declined to be identified. Temasek has said it held an estimated 9 percent stake in Merrill Lynch at the end of March. The additional investment will raise that to between 13.0 percent and 14.0 percent, the source said.



■ENERGY

EON cuts 1,800 jobs

The biggest German power company, EON, will cut 1,800 jobs in Germany as it reorganizes its distribution network, a senior executive said yesterday. The company intends to regroup six of its seven regional units, Klaus-Dieter Maubach told the Die Welt newspaper. “From 60 sites at present there should be no more than 20 in the future,” Maubach said, leading to the loss of 1,800 posts from a total of 15,000. “No one will be laid off,” the head of the Energie unit said.



■TAKEOVERS

WPP bid turned down

British market research group Taylor Nelson Sofres again rebuffed a £1.1 billion (US$2 billion) hostile bid from WPP after preferred suitor GfK dropped its takeover attempt yesterday. TNS, which reported strong first-half results and gave a confident full-year outlook, said the offer from advertising group WPP undervalued the company and said it would recommend again that shareholders reject the cash-and-shares bid. “I believe that WPP is being opportunistic at a time in the market when the market is low,” chief executive David Lowden told reporters on a conference call. GfK, which had spent months trying to find finance to fund an all-cash bid for TNS after WPP’s bid scuppered its original agreed merger plans, said it had not found suitable terms.



■AUTOMOBILES

Most expensive car unveiled

Aston Martin has released scant details and sketches of its new super car codenamed One-77 that will sell for at least 1.3 million euros (US$1.95 million), excluding tax, making it the most expensive car on the market. Each of the 77 limited edition Aston Martins will be tailored to the individual buyer and the engineers and designers will work out the exact specifications with the future owner. The car’s aluminum body will be handcrafted and the owner will even be able to choose his or her own exhaust note. The V12 engine has a top speed of 354kph accelerating from zero to 100kph in 3.5 seconds, producing about 700 hp. The first cars are expected to be delivered to customers at the end of next year.



■SHIPBUILDING

Firms seek stake in Daewoo

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co, steelmaker POSCO and two other Korean companies officially expressed interest yesterday in acquiring a majority stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co, state banking officials said. The state-run Korea Development Bank was arranging the sale of a 50.4 percent stake in the world’s third-largest shipbuilder at an estimated cost of 7 trillion won (US$6.45 billion). Energy and construction-focused GS Group and Hanwha Group, led by chemicals maker Hanwha Corp, have also submitted letters of intent for the acquisition. The bank is to pick a bidder by October.


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