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AMERICAS
Sinclair Broadcast Group, a publicly-traded American telecommunications conglomerate, closed its $10.6bn acquisition of 21 regional sports network from Walt Disney, an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. The deal was announced in May 2019.
Chris Ripley, President & CEO of Sinclair, commented, "We are very excited about the transformational aspects the RSN acquisition will have on Sinclair and are eager to bring those opportunities to life. We welcome Jeff Krolik, President of the RSNs, and the rest of the RSN management team and staff to the Sinclair family. We have an exciting future ahead of us."
Deutsche Bank, Guggenheim Partners, Moelis & Co, Pursuit Advisors, RBC Capital Markets, Fried Frank, Latham & Watkins, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Thomas & Libowitz advised Sinclair. Allen & Company, JP Morgan, Covington & Burling and Cravath Swaine & Moore advised Walt Disney Company. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and RBC Capital Markets provided debt financing and were advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Hasbro, an American worldwide toy and board game company, agreed to acquire Entertainment One, a publicly-traded Canadian multinational mass media and entertainment company, for $4bn. The cash consideration represents a 31% premium to eOne's 30-day volume-weighted average price as of August 22, 2019.
"The acquisition of eOne adds beloved story-led global family brands that deliver strong operating returns to Hasbro's portfolio and provides a pipeline of new brand creation driven by family-oriented storytelling, which will now include Hasbro's IP," said Brian Goldner, Hasbro chairman and chief executive officer. "In addition, Hasbro will leverage eOne's immersive entertainment capabilities to bring our portfolio of brands that have appeal to gamers, fans and families to all screens globally and realize full franchise economics across our blueprint strategy for shareholders. We are excited to welcome eOne's talented employees from around the world into the Hasbro family."
JP Morgan, Mayer Brown, and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt are advising Entertainment One. Centerview Partners, Cravath Swaine & Moore, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and Stikeman Elliott are advising Hasbro.
VMware, a leading innovator in enterprise software, agreed to acquire Pivotal Software, an American multinational software and services company based in San Francisco and Palo Alto, for $2.7bn. The consideration comprised of $15 per share in cash to Class A stockholders, and the exchange of shares of VMware’s Class B common stock for shares of Pivotal Class B common stock held by Dell Technologies, at an exchange ratio of 0.0550 shares of VMware Class B stock for each share of Pivotal Class B stock.
“The time is ideal to join forces with VMware, an industry leader who shares our commitment to open source community contributions and our focus on adding developer value on top of Kubernetes,” said Rob Mee, CEO, Pivotal. “VMware has a proven track record of helping organizations run and manage consistent infrastructure in support of mission critical applications, and our two companies have already built a strong foundation on our successful VMware PKS collaboration. We look forward to continuing our work with VMware to provide even more value to customers building modern applications.”
Morgan Stanley, Davis Polk & Wardwell, and Latham & Watkins are advising Pivotal Software. JP Morgan, Lazard, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati are advising VMware. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is advising Dell.
TSG Consumer Partners, a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the branded consumer sector, agreed to acquire Joe Hudson’s Collision Centers, a leading platform in the collision repair industry, from Carousel Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“JHCC’s longstanding reputation for providing customers with exceptional service has enabled it to grow into one of the leading regional players in the collision repair industry,” said Pierre LeComte, Managing Director at TSG. “We are thrilled to join forces with JHCC CEO Traweek Dickson and the management team as the Company looks to capitalize on a number of compelling growth opportunities, including increasing its geographic footprint and expanding in its existing and adjacent markets.”
Harris Williams and K&L Gates are advising Joe Hudson's. Ropes & Gray is advising TSG. Harris Williams and K&L Gates are advising Carousel.
Cache Creek Industries, a US-based private equity firm in partnership with Rockmont Capital Partners, acquires Brandywine Communications, a leading designer and manufacturer of mission-critical time and frequency devices that serve the military and infrastructure markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"I am very excited to partner with Cache Creek. Their highly relevant investment and operational experience will enable Brandywine to achieve its long-term growth ambitions while maintaining its customer-centric culture,” Gary Smith, Brandywine President.
Calfee Halter & Griswold is advising Cache Creek. Academy Bank, Medallion Capital, and Spell Capital are providing debt to Cache Creek.
VMware, a leading innovator in enterprise software, agreed to acquire Carbon Black, a leader in cloud-native endpoint protection, for $2.1bn. Following the close of the transaction, VMware will be positioned to provide a highly differentiated, intrinsic security cloud that will better protect enterprise workloads and clients through big data, behavioral analytics and AI.
“The security industry is broken and ineffective with too many fragmented solutions and no cohesive platform architecture. By bringing Carbon Black into the VMware family, we are now taking a huge step forward in security and delivering an enterprise-grade platform to administer and protect workloads, applications and networks,” said Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware. “With this acquisition, VMware will also take a significant leadership position in security for the new age of modern applications delivered from any cloud to any device.”
Morgan Stanley and Goodwin Procter and advising Carbon Black. JP Morgan and Morrison & Foerster are advising VMware.
Serent Capital, a leading private equity firm, invests in Davisware, a provider of ERP software for service businesses. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“For more than 30 years, we’ve been focused on delivering the best, most innovative solutions to our customers in the Field Services Industry,” said Davisware’s Co-Founder and CEO Dan Davis. “Our partnership with Serent will bring the resources and expertise needed to reach even more customers and with more innovation.”
GCA Advisors is advising Davisware.
Oregon Potato Company, a leading grower of fruits and vegetables, acquires NORPAC Foods, a producer of canned foods. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are excited about bringing the growers, employees, partners and various assets of NORPAC together with our family of companies. The combined businesses will enhance the offerings and service to customers across all business channels.” Frank Tiegs, Oregon Potato Company President.
SierraConstellation Partners and Tonkon Torp are advising NORPAC.
Arsenal Capital Partners-backed Meridian Adhesives Group, a global adhesive and sealant firm, acquires Epoxies, a leading resin formulator of epoxies, urethanes, and silicones. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to be part of the Meridian Adhesives Group," said Michael Harrington, President & CEO of Epoxies, Etc. "This merger will enable us to continue our rapid growth in our strategic markets. Our customers and all Epoxies stakeholders will benefit from Meridian's support."
Grace Matthews is advising Epoxies.
Allianz, a leading global insurance firm, acquires the automobile and a property-casualty business unit of SulAmerica, Brazil's leading insurance brokerage company, for $734m.
“With the acquisition of SulAmérica’s Property-Casualty operations, we have taken another major step in the strategic repositioning of our Latin American insurance businesses,” says Oliver Bäte, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz. “We are attaining a clear leadership position to effectively compete in the growing Property-Casualty market of the largest economy in South America.”
Ajinomoto Group, a leading food packaging firm, acquires a 50.1% in More Than Gourmet Holdings, a US-based specialty food packager. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Ajinomoto will utilize the menu customization capabilities in the foodservice and restaurant market as well as the direct sales channel to foodservice and restaurant companies it will acquire through this partnership and combine them with its own ingredients and taste and texture technologies. By doing so, Ajinomoto aims to expand its Integrated Food Solutions business in North America and establish a new specialty.
The acquisition is expected to be completed this month. Ajinomoto plans to maintain MTG’s current management structure after the share acquisition.
O'Reilly Automotive, a leading retailer in the automotive aftermarket industry, agreed to acquire Mayasa Auto Parts, a large specialty retailer of automotive aftermarket parts in Mexico. Financial terms were not disclosed.
O'Reilly's CEO and Co-President, Greg Johnson, commented, "We are excited to announce we have entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Mayasa, a highly respected, family-operated auto parts supplier in Mexico, which operates five distribution centers that support 20 company-owned stores and over 2k independent jobber locations throughout Mexico. From their beginning over 65 years ago, Mayasa has built a very successful business by focusing on the same fundamental culture values of hard work and excellent customer service that have also been key to O'Reilly's success. Mayasa's seasoned management team will continue to operate the business and, partnering with O'Reilly's experienced leadership, will continue to grow the successful and profitable organization they have established. We are very happy to welcome the over 1.1k Mayasa team members to the O'Reilly family, and we look forward to working together as we build upon Mayasa's strong and rich history in the Mexican automotive aftermarket."
Forecast5, the leading provider of decision support tools for local government administrators, acquired SchoolFinances, the leading provider of decision support and planning tools and services for Minnesota K-12 school districts. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"There is a high level of alignment between Forecast5 and SchoolFinances.com," said Mike English, Forecast5 founder and President/CEO. "During our discussions, we had a great opportunity to get to know Todd and Ann, and we could not be more excited about the cultural fit and the expertise that they bring to our organization. I believe they will continue to strongly influence Minnesota school finance as well as provide leadership that will extend Forecast5's influence around the country."
Mucci Farms, a vertically integrated fruit and vegetable grower, acquires Orangeline Farms, an award-winning grower predominantly known for their unique pepper offerings. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“In searching for growth opportunities for both Orangeline’s staff and our ever loyal customers, the chance to partner with a world-class organization like Mucci Farms was an easy decision to make,” Duffy Kniaziew, Orangeline Farms founder.
Rich Products, a privately held, multinational food products corporation, acquired Nashville-based Christie Cookie Company, a privately-owned maker of gourmet cookies. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The acquisition of Christie Cookie Company furthers our position as a premier supplier in the growing cookie category," said Ray Burke, President of Rich's US-Canada business. "Adding the iconic and beloved Christie brand of products to our portfolio is something we're very excited about as we move forward."
Aliaxis, a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of advanced plastic piping systems, acquired Silver-Line Plastics, a US leader in the manufacturing of plastic pipe products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Consistent with our strategy, this acquisition strengthens our leadership position in North America, expands our footprint and reinforces our value proposition in the United States," says Laurent Lenoir, Aliaxis CEO.
Unity FI Solutions, a leading provider of payment and software processing solutions, agreed to acquire Florida-based Money Transfer Systems, one of the nation's premier electronic check recovery processors for financial institutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The Unity FI Solutions team has always focused on delivering best in class financial solutions for our family of clients," said Stephen Contino and Dan Miller, co-founders of Unity FI Solutions. "We share both a spirit of innovation and a common set of organizational core values that made Money Transfer Systems the ideal choice for this strategic growth initiative."
Sphero, the leading robotics, and educational STEAM company, agreed to acquire and merge with littleBits, the company that invented the electronic building block. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Sphero and littleBits are on a mission to make hands-on learning fun and memorable," said Paul Berberian, Sphero's CEO. "Together, we're able to make an even greater impact by delivering the best possible solution — whether it is programming a robot to solve a maze or building an electronic music synthesizer. There are infinite learning possibilities — and they're all fun."
KKR considers $5bn sale of Epicor Software. (FS)
Buyout firm KKR is exploring a sale of Epicor Software that could value the US enterprise resource planning software provider at close to $5bn, including debt, Reuters reported.
Companies such as Epicor that generate recurring revenue through business software sales have been popular targets for the private equity industry. The sources said that Epicor would likely attract interest from other buyout firms.
SoftBank-backed Oyo to rebrand Hooters hotel in Vegas in a $135m deal. (FS)
SoftBank-backed Indian hospitality startup Oyo will rebrand Hooters Casino Hotel in Las Vegas in a deal worth $135m, Reuters reported.
Oyo said it would partner with restaurant operator Highgate, which runs the Hooters hotel in Vegas, to rebrand it Oyo Hotel and Casino. The hotel, with 657 rooms and a 35k square-feet casino located near the famed Las Vegas Strip, will continue to be managed by Highgate.
Oyo and Highgate will spend $20m in total to renovate the hotel, which will remain open during the transformation.
S.G. Preston proposes to buy fire-damaged Philadelphia refinery.
S.G. Preston, a biofuels producer, proposed to buy the fire-damaged Philadelphia refinery of Philadelphia Energy Solutions. The firm looks to convert the asset to make renewable diesel and jet fuels.
"We can use the existing equipment, labor and regional waste streams to show the rest of the country how to bring back our jobs and industries," Randy LeTang, chief executive of Philadelphia-based S.G. Preston, said in a statement.
Virtua Partners acquired Courtyard by Marriott hotel. (FS)
Virtua Partners, a global private equity firm, announced the purchase of a 126-room Courtyard by Marriott under construction in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hotel Equities will manage the Marriott hotel in downtown Winston-Salem when it opens in Q1 2020. Hotel Equities and Virtua Partners joined forces last year to expand upon their current hospitality portfolio through new development and acquisition opportunities. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This transaction is a perfect example of what the strategic partnership between Hotel Equities and Virtua Partners was designed for,” said Joe Reardon, Hotel Equities’ chief development officer. “Our experience in identifying opportunities and the ability to provide equity and debt solutions through our partnership makes us a force in acquisitions and development. The new Courtyard in Winston-Salem will feature upscale accommodations and a rooftop bar overlooking the thriving downtown market. The community is dialed-in on the hotel’s construction progress and anticipating opening day of the unique Courtyard by Marriott.”
Petrobras in talks to sell Liquigas.
Petrobras, a semi-public Brazilian multinational petroleum corporation, entered negotiations with a consortium formed by Itaúsa, Copagaz and Nacional Gás Butano to sell Liquigas, its LNG subsidiary. This operation is in line with the company's portfolio optimization and improvement of capital allocation, aiming at creating value for its shareholders.
Endeavor Global to close of third global fund of up to $150m.
Endeavor Global, a US-based high impact entrepreneurship organization, is on track to hit the first close of its $100-$150m third global fund by September.
EMEA
Statkraft, a leading producer of renewable energy, acquires E-WALD, a German provider of EV-charging infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We look forward to supporting the E-WALD team in its ambitious growth plans, "said Bjørn Holsen, Statkraft senior vice president of new business. "The company complements our current portfolio in Germany very well and strengthens our growth targets in the German e-mobility market."
Avenue Capital Group, a global investment firm, acquires Irish development and bridging finance lending platform Castlehaven Finance from P2P Global Investments for $277m.
"The new partnership with Avenue allows us to continue to scale up. We'll be increasing volume and providing new opportunities to current clients, along with developers we've never worked with before." Will Aylmer, Castlehaven Finance Partner.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, a leading financial services firm, acquires UK-based private equity firm TT International. Financial terms were not disclosed.
This acquisition would help SMFG to strengthen its management capabilities and attract investors.
Deutsche Beteiligungs, a German private equity company, agreed to invest in Cartonplast Group, a company that processes and services reusable plastic layer-pads. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Due to the stable market environment and the company’s strong market position, Cartonplast is an attractive investment opportunity for Deutsche Beteiligungs. The entrepreneurial vision of the management also convinced us. We envisage very good conditions for further profitable growth.” Torsten Grede, DBAG’s Spokesman of Board of Management.
Tarczynski Group, a Polish corporate group of enterprises specialized in the meat and food industries, made an offer to buy ZM Henryk Kania, a troubled Polish poultry processing company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The decision to submit a preliminary conditional offer to purchase the organized part of ZM Henryk Kania is dictated by the development strategy planned by Tarczynki" said the statement released by the Tarczynski Group.
Folli Follie asks bidders to finalize bids for Links of London.
Greek watchmaking firm Folli Follie asked bidders to finalize their bids by the next week for the London-based jewellery chain Links of London. Folli Follie is racing to secure a buyer as the sale by the troubled firm is quite inevitable.
Deloitte is advising Links of London.
Harveys and Bensons for Beds put for sale.
Steinhoff, a South African international retail holding company, put its two furniture retailers, Harveys and Bensons for Beds, on the selling block. The group looks to raise funds for its creditors from an asset firesale.
PwC is advising on the sale.
Bain Capital increased its stake in Technicolor. (FS)
Bain Capital unveiled that it now holds 5.04% of the capital of Technicolor, a French multinational corporation that provides services and products for the communication, media and entertainment industries.
Technicolor stock price jumped by 20% in response to the news.
Bang & Olufsen Chairman said the company is for sale.
Chairman of Bang & Olufsen, a high-end luxury Danish consumer electronics company that designs and manufactures audio products, television sets, and telephones, said that the company is up for sale.
"If we were to get an approach, then we'll listen, but it would naturally also need to be discussed with the shareholders. We're obligated to do that," Chairman Ole Andersen said.
Michael Dell-linked group considers the acquisition of Sunderland football club.
The owners of Sunderland AFC, the English football club whose struggles were captured in a Netflix-documentary series, are in talks to sell it to US investors best known for running the fortune of billionaire Michael Dell.
John Phelan, Glenn Fuhrman, and Rob Platek, the principals at MSD Capital, which manages the investments of the founder of Dell computers, are nearing a deal to buy the League One club, Financial Times reported.
A-Property to buy Gazprombank's 49% in Elga coal deposit.
Russian company A-Property wants to buy 49% in the Elga coal project from Gazprombank and has already filed a request for permission to do so to the Federal Antimonopoly Service.
"The bank saw and sees Elga as an investment asset. Over the past several months, investors were interested in buying a stake in Elga. As of today, we received an offer from one of them. We will not disclose conditions of the supposed deal, but it is good for the bank," Gazprombank's spokesperson said.
Thyssenkrupp and Kloeckner considering cooperation in materials trading.
Thyssenkrupp is in talks with Kloeckner & Co, a listed, producer-independent steel and metal distributor, over future cooperation in materials trading but is not working on a near-term takeover of the metals firm, Reuters reported.
"It is difficult to assess what a deal between Thyssenkrupp and Kloeckner & Co would achieve as long as it is completely unclear what it could look like," Michael Muders, fund manager at Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder in Thyssenkrupp.
BT Group considers selling Irish corporate business. (FS)
Britain's BT Group is in talks to sell its corporate business in Ireland to London-based Mayfair Equity Partners, Reuters reported.
BT Ireland deal is likely to be for more than €300m ($332m).
Adyen founders to sell 15% of their holdings. (FS)
Dutch payments company Adyen said its founders CEO Pieter van der Does and CTO Arnout Schuijff were selling 15% of their holdings in the company in a private placement.
In a statement, Adyen said the pair "remain committed to Adyen in their current roles" but were selling the combined 497k shares to diversify their risk.
Irish building materials provider Kingspan looking for acquisitions.
Kingspan, a building materials company based in Ireland trading in over 70 countries with over 100 factories, is looking to expand through acquisitions. The company reported that both trading profit and revenue reached "record levels" in the first half of 2019.
"We have delivered a record first half with revenue growth in all our business units and a strong trading profit performance," Kingspan chief executive Gene Murtagh said. "We continue to expand our global production footprint with new facilities under construction in the US, Brazil and Sweden.
Frontline acquired 10 Suezmax oil tankers from Trafigura.
Frontline, the world's largest oil tanker shipping company, acquired 10 Suezmax oil tankers from Trafigura, a multinational commodity trading company, in a $675m deal. Under the terms of the deal Trafigura will take an 8.5% stake in Frontline valued at $128m, and will receive a cash payment of between $538m and $547m. The agreement will allow Frontline, which is controlled by Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen, to boost its future dividends, the Oslo-listed tanker operator said.
Robert Hvide Macleod, Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Management commented: “This transaction is backed by our strong belief in tanker market fundamentals and reflects our ability to act swiftly and decisively with the support of our largest shareholder. We welcome Trafigura as a strategic shareholder and believe the transaction reflects the value they ascribe to our equity. In addition to Trafigura being a longstanding customer of Frontline, we now have a unique partnership with Trafigura that we believe will lead to further synergies going forward. The structure of the transaction creates an immediate impact to our earnings at a time when we expect freight rates to increase significantly. Moreover, we expect the transaction to boost our dividend capacity going forward.”
Visma wants to sell a minority stake.
Norwegian software development company Visma is considering selling a minority stake in itself. The company hired Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to help find potential buyers.
Japanese travel agency HIS withdraws its bid for the hotel chain Unizo Holdings Company, leaving SoftBank-backed Fortress Investment Group as the sole bidder.
Unizo had rejected HIS' $398m bid earlier stating that the offer lacked synergy and was priced low, setting the stage for a potential rare hostile bid in Japan.
Benedi Consulting, KPMG, ZECOO Partners, Daiwa Securities, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Nishimura & Asahi, TMI Associates, Horwath HTL Asia Pacific, Hospitality Capital Management, and Ernst & Young are advising Unizo.
AIA Group, a leading Hong Kong-based insurance broker, acquires CommInsure Life, a life insurance unit from Commonwealth Bank of Australia for $1.5bn. CBA and AIA arrived at the final price for the life insurance unit after a year and half of stalled talks. CBA agred to settle for $101m lesser than the originally proposed value of $1.6bn.
“We are excited by the opportunity to bring together the strengths of AIA and CommInsure Life and are working hard with our partner to develop a new generation of products for CBA’s customers, which will deliver excellent customer outcomes." Matt Comyn, CBA CEO.
Debevoise & Plimpton is advising CommInsure Life. Ashurst is advising AIA. Herbert Smith Freehills is advising CBA.
A consortium consisting of Linc Properties, Bichmead and Fini Group acquires Midland Brick, the brick manufacturing unit of Boral, for $86m. Boral sells the brick business along with the associated ~800ha of landholdings. The transaction is expected to be closed by the end of the year.
"We are confident that this change of ownership will strengthen Midland Brick's prospects for the future which is great news for the customers and our local staff." Mike Kane, Boral CEO.
AboitizPower, a holding company engaged in power distribution, generation and retail electricity services, agreed to acquire Vietnam's Mekong Wind, a wind farm holding company, for $46m.
"We have announced our intentions to go international some time back and we have been prudent in looking for the right opportunity that will bring the best value for the company and our shareholders. This is such a transaction," AboitizPower President and CEO Erramon I. Aboitiz said.
POET Technologies, a designer, developer and manufacturer of optoelectronic devices, sold its wholly-owned Singapore-based subsidiary DenseLight to a special purpose company recently organized by China Prosper Group for $28m.
Following closing, DenseLight's operation in Singapore is expected to be expanded, both to support the preferred supply and strategic cooperation agreements negotiated with
POET as part of the Share Sale Agreement and to serve an expanded market presence in China. Future plans include the construction of a high-volume manufacturing plant in Suzhou, expansion of sales and marketing efforts in China and elsewhere, and a potential public listing for DL Shanghai in China.
PremjiInvest in talks to acquire 30% stake in API unit of Glenmark. (FS)
Private equity firm PremjiInvest is in advanced talks to acquire 30% interest in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients business unit of Glenmark Pharma. Glenmark is also in talks with Carlyle and Goldman Sachs regarding a potential sale of the business unit.
Glenmark plans to dispose of the minority stake in the unit for $150m, which would value the firm at $700m.
Avendus Capital is advising Glenmark on the sale.
Volkswagen ponders entering the Chinese market.
Volkswagen is exploring potential investments in Chinese automotive suppliers as it seeks to secure access to key technology in the world's largest car market, Bloomberg reported.
Options under discussion include buying equity stakes or forging joint ventures with Chinese suppliers, particularly firms with technology used in electric vehicles. VW has been examining several possible targets, including Guoxuan High-Tech, a battery maker based in China's Anhui province.
Amazon seeks to acquire a minority stake in Future Retail.
Amazon is set to snag a 3.6% minority stake in India's Future Retail, which operates more than 1.5k stores in India and owns several supermarket brands, including budget department and grocery store chain, Big Bazaar.
Future Retail said in a regulatory filing late that Amazon has agreed to acquire a 49% stake in Future Coupons. That entity, in turn, owns a 7.3% interest in Future Retail, according to prior filings.
China Overseas Nuoxin International in talks to buy Shanghai Tingxin Internet Financial Information Service.
Hong Kong-based China Overseas Nuoxin International announced that it is in talks to buy Shanghai Tingxin Internet Financial Information Service, which is principally engaged in the e-commerce business in the People's Republic of China. The potential acquisition is part of the group's plan to expand into the e-commerce sector and diversify its business.
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