Linde says it sees BOC buy as merger
Linde is likely to appoint a BOC representative to the management board of the industrial gases group newly formed by the combination of Linde and BOC, the German company’s chief executive said. Wolfgang Reitzle told a German newspaper that he planned to handle Linde’s £8.2 billion takeover of BOC “as a merger” and that executives of the British company would be part of a management team to be announced on Wednesday.
Terra Firma in ThyssenKrupp sale
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Terra Firma, the private equity firm run by Guy Hands, was reported to be among investors interested in buying buildings belonging to ThyssenKrupp, including its headquarters. The newspaper Die Welt said that the steel company wanted to sell a property portfolio for up to €200 million (£135 million) by the end of next year. Germany’s largest steel producer said in March that it planned to move its base from Düsseldorf to Essen.
New use hailed for GSK asthma drug
Advair, GlaxoSmithKline’s asthma drug, is also an important treatment for a severe lung disease, a professor involved in a clinical trial said. Professor Peter Calverley told the European Respiratory Society in Munich that a study into Advair — the company’s biggest-selling drug — was the first clinical trial to show an improvement in the survival of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
RAB in talks on Asia fund specialist
RAB Capital, the hedge fund manager, is in talks to acquire Northwest Investment Management, the fund management group specialising in Asia, in a deal that would net the founders a total of up to £20 million. Northwest, founded by George Philips and David Rogers, has about £263 million under management.
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Yahoo! to provide all the answers
Yahoo!, the search engine, is expected to launch a service today that allows users to ask other people’s advice online rather than relying solely on electronically generated search results. The portal operator will promote Yahoo! Answers with its largest advertising campaign in Britain since the dot-com boom. The service is the latest example of social search, a new trend in online applications that allows people to collaborate and share information online.