FT story here about ongoing UPS/ TNT talks, the latest turn being that an increased offer of €9 was rejected. Excerpt:
UPS could bid as high as €15 without seeing higher borrowing costs, and US rival FedEx as high as €13, without requiring an issuance of equity, wrote analysts at Wolfe Trahan.
If it were successful in its bid, UPS is likely to hold talks with potential buyers, such as FedEx and PostNL, about buying assets it would need to divest to avoid the deal being blocked by the European Commission, two of the people said.
“UPS would likely have to divest some assets – to avoid European Commission antitrust issues – in countries like the UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, assets which FedEx could acquire, but FedEx would still be boxed out from much of Europe,” said the Wolfe Trahan analysts.
Also, Shell's bid for Cove Energy is being contested by Thai oil and gas company PTT Exploration and Production, reports NYT DealBook.
