France&#39;s AXA drops bid for Australian subsidiary
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SYDNEY, Oct 18  - Shares in Australian financial services group AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd tumbled Monday after its France-based parent AXA SA withdrew a AUD 3.1 billion (USD 2.2 billion) offer to take 100 percent control, dealers said.
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Australian nickel and copper miner WMC Resources has rejected aA$7.4 billion (3 billion pounds) takeover bid from Swiss-based Xstrata, but has left the door open for a higher offer.
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European aircraft maker Airbus SAS has withdrawn its petition to intervene in the European Commission&#39;s antitrust case against Microsoft Corp.
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Australia&#39;s political leaders hunkered down on Thursday to selling their multi-billion dollar platforms for an October 9 election, pledges which have been described as a bidding war to buy votes.
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A consortium led by British insurer Prudential PLC has dropped its bid for a major South Korean state asset managing company.
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Australian flag carrier Qantas Airways has rejected a 10.9 billion dollar (8.6 billion US) takeover bid from a private equity consortium, sending its shares into a nosedive.
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Akzo Nobel  said on Monday it was selling its drugs unit Organon BioSciences to Schering-Plough  for 11 billion euros ($14.5 billion), dropping plans to float it in a public share offer.
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THE dollar reversed yesterday&#39;s modest gains to open more than half a US cent weaker today, weighed down on news Axa Asia Pacific had knocked back a takeover proposal from its French parent.
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Alcatel and Lucent Technologies Inc have stepped further down the aisle after their shareholders separately voted in favor of their proposed union whereby the French telecom gear maker would buy its US rival for about $10.9bn.
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Business & money: Deal forced to be scrapped as the fallout from the sub-prime markets continues to spread
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Global private equity group CVC   has pulled out of a consortium eyeing a bid for Australia&#39;s  Coles Group Ltd.  after going through the retailers&#39;  books, the buyout group said Monday.
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Olivant Advisers dropped its bid for troubled British mortgage lender Northern Rock, saying its offer would not satisfy both the government and its own interests.
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Talks on buying the portion of the Australia-based subsidiary that it did not already own fell apart over price, says France-based AXA SA.
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By Karen Attwood  The Dutch healthcare and chemicals group Akzo Nobel ditched plans to float its biopharmaceutical division in favour of a sale yesterday, triggering speculation it would next make a move on the chemicals group Imperial Chemical Industries.
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Australian stocks fell, led by Axa Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd., after Axa SA, its parent, withdrew aA$3.4 billion ($2.5 billion) offer for the shares of the company it doesn&#39;t already own.
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A Qatari-backed investment fund abandons its takeover bid for supermarket chain Sainsbury's.
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LAHORE: Australia has officially pulled out of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament being played here from December 4-12 on security fears.