Lyonnais penalty
Jean Peyrelevade, former head of Crédit Lyonnais, admitted in a US court lying in connection with the French bank’s 1990s acquisition of Executive Life, the US insurer. He was fined $500,000 with probation of five years under a prosecution pact. Other charges were dropped.
Icahn’s new focus
Carl Icahn, the billionaire activist shareholder, has switched his focus to Asia. The man behind recent shareholder action at Time Warner is piling the pressure on KT&G, the South Korean tobacco group in which he has a stake of under 5 per cent.
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Refco bonuses
A US federal bankruptcy judge granted Refco, the embattled commodities and futures broker, permission to pay $1.4 million (£565,000) in bonuses to 32 key employees. Judge Robert Drain approved the awards to staff at two Refco firms.
Gold takeover
Barrick Gold has received acceptances from shareholders representing 81 per cent of its takeover target Placer Dome and extended the deadline for its $10.4 billion (£5.9 billion) offer to February 3. The takeover will create the world’s biggest goldminer.
Airline to delist
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Swiss International Air Lines confirmed that Lufthansa, its German rival, now has 100 per cent of the carrier’s equity and will delist the airline’s shares in Switzerland on January 27. Swiss was formed in 2002 from the remains of Swissair, the collapsed flag carrier.