■BIOTECHNOLOGY
Genzyme rejects takeover
The board of directors at US biotechnology firm Genzyme has unanimously rejected an US$18.5 billion takeover offer from French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis, Genzyme said on Monday. A letter to Sanofi management, signed by Genzyme chief executive Henri Termeer, recalled that the board had turned down an earlier offer on Aug. 11. The latest proposal, Genzyme said in a statement, “provides no new information and no improvement in price and therefore fails to establish a basis for engagement by the Genzyme board.” It added that the board was “not prepared to engage in merger negotiations with Sanofi based upon an opportunistic proposal with an unrealistic starting price that dramatically undervalues our company.”
■INSURANCE
Aegon makes loan payment
Insurer Aegon NV said yesterday it has repaid 500 million euros (US$635 million), plus interest, to the Dutch state for the support it received at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. Based in the Hague, the Netherlands, Aegon earlier this year paid back 1 billion euros and last month the company struck a deal with EU regulators to repay the rest — “market conditions permitting” — by the end of 2011, including yesterday’s installment. Yesterday’s payment included an extra 63 million euros in premiums and interest. As part of the deal with the EU, Aegon agreed to keep its dividends frozen and not pursue any acquisitions until the money is paid back.
■ BANKING
HSBC out of US auto finance
British bank HSBC Holdings PLC said yesterday it has sold its last US auto finance businesses to Spain’s Santander for about US$3.56 billion in cash, completing its exit from a market that cost it billions during the financial crisis. On top of the payment, the Santander Consumer USA Inc unit is assuming US$431 million in debt, HSBC said. The loan book acquired by Santander was valued at US$4.3 billion. The deal follows a similar move in March, when Santander acquired US$1 billion in auto finance loan receivables from HSBC.
■ ADVERTISING
Bertelsmann posts profit
Improving European advertising markets and cost-cutting efforts helped Bertelsmann AG to a net profit in the first half, prompting the media group to raise its full-year forecast yesterday. Bertelsmann — whose assets include the RTL Group television division, book publisher Random House and magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr — said it earned 170 million euros in the January to June period, compared with a loss of 368 million euros a year earlier. Revenue, adjusted to take account of the sale this year of Britain’s Channel Five television, rose to 7.36 billion euros from last year’s 7.09 billion euros, the company said.
■ MINING
Coal India IPO next month
State-run Coal India said yesterday its giant initial public offering (IPO), set to raise billions of US dollars and possibly become India’s biggest ever share sale, is due to start next month. The country’s largest coal miner plans to sell 10 percent of its government-held equity as part of New Delhi’s plan to raise a record US$8.5 billion from asset sales by March next year. The IPO will start on Oct. 18 for four-days, company chairman Partha Bhattacharyya told reporters yesterday. Bankers have estimated that the issue could raise more than US$3 billion.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source