Business news with words acquire+close+deal. 27 news.

DELEK Real Estate Ltd, the Israeli company that backed out of a US$2.9-billion deal with Jelmoli AG, has agreed to buy 12 Frankfurt-area supermarkets from Metro AG, Germany's biggest retailer, for 243 million euros (US$349 million), Bloomberg News reported on Sunday. Delek, through its Delek Global Real Estate unit, will acquire the buildings from the Real supermarket chain, a subsidiary of Metro, the Netanya, Israel-based company said in an e-mailed statement to the stock exchange. Real will rent 10 of the supermarkets from Delek through 2022, and the other two through 2020, beginning at 16 million euros annually for all the properties. The rent will increase 6.7 percent every five years. "DGRE has again purchased a property with a quality tenant for a long period in a central area, and proved that even in these times it can use its connections to close deals and get good financing," Chief Executive Officer Ilik Rozanski said in the statement. Delek Real Estate, a

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- W&T Offshore Inc. agreed to acquire the interest it doesn't own in Ship Shoal 349 field, located offshore Louisiana and covering two federal lease blocks, for $116 million from Apache Corp. W&T and Apache, both Houston energy companies, expect to close the deal by April 30. W&T said in a Monday statement that it would finance the deal from cash on hand.

Is News Corp. becoming a publishing centric media conglomerate? That appears to be a pattern emerging following Saturday's announcement that the company would divest of eight U.S. television stations to private equity firm Oak Hill Partners for about $1.1 billion. The divestiture, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2008, follows News Corp.'s deal to acquire print and online publisher Dow Jones and Co. for $5 billion, and moves to liquidate other TV assets, including stakes in DirecTV and Gemstar TV Guide.

Update: Bain and TPG announced they will acquire One Equity’s stake in Quintiles for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to close next month, and the company will incur no new debt from the sale. Bain Capital and TPG Capital have agreed to buy Quintiles Transnational, one of the biggest managers of drug trials, for [...]

General Motors Corporation and International Truck and Engine Corporation, the principal operating subsidiary of Navistar International Corporation , have entered into a non-binding deal in which Navistar would purchase certain assets and rights for GM's medium-duty truck business, the two companies said Thursday. Navistar would acquire GM's medium-duty truck business, including assets and intellectual property rights to manufacture some GMC and Chevrolet brand vehicles and the purchase of the related service parts business. The deal is expected to close in 2008 subject to completion of due diligence, the negotiation of a definitive purchase agreement, customary regulatory clearance and board approval, the companies said. Upon closing, transition of the business could take several months to conclude, they said.

CHINESE advertising firm Focus Media will acquire 100 percent of rival CGEN Digital Media Co Ltd, which is planning to list shares on Nasdaq. The deal will allow Focus to dominate China's in-store television advertising market and turn around declining sales in its network. Focus, China's largest overseas-listed advertising firm, will pay US$168.4 million in cash for CGEN Digital. Both firms are based in Shanghai. The deal, announced late on Monday night, will give the company stronger bargaining power to scale back discounts, industry observers said yesterday. An additional payment of up to US$181.6 million, part in cash and part in Focus's shares, will be offered if CGEN meets certain earnings targets during the next 24 months after the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter next year. It is the third time that Focus, which runs TV ad screens in office buildings, cinemas and residential complexes, has acquired rivals or entered a new business just

Providence Equity Partners Inc. may back out of a $1.2 billion agreement to acquire Clear Channel Communications' 56 television stations. Providence is the financial backer for Newport Television, a company formed by former Wichita television executive Sandy DiPasquale. Newport is operating out of Wichita offices pending its planned December move to Kansas City. DiPasquale is recuperating from an illness and could not be reached for comment Tuesday. His son, Michael, didn't return calls to the Wichita office. Other company officials declined comment. Providence may not close the deal on the terms agreed upon in April, San Antonio-based Clear Channel said Nov. 9 in a regulatory filing. The sale outcome doesn't threaten Clear Channel's pending $19.5 billion takeover by Thomas H. Lee Partners Inc. and Bain Capital LLC, the company said.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- AT&T Inc. said Monday one of its subsidiaries plans to acquire privately held Ingenio, a pay-per-call technology company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The companies expect the deal to close in January. AT&T plans to make Ingenio part of its directory service and local search advertising business.

3M said Thursday that it will acquire Aearo Technologies, a maker of personal protection like hearing and eye protectors, from British buyout firm Permira for $1.2 billion in cash. The deal will be financed by a combination of cash on hand and debt. The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008, [...]

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Ralcorp Holdings Inc. Thursday said Thursday that it agreed to acquire the Post cereals business of Kraft Foods Inc. , paying about $1.6 billion in stock for the business. Kraft will distribute ownership of Post to its shareholders in either a split-off or spin-off transaction, to be determined upon closing of the deal. Either way, Kraft shareholders will own about 54% of Ralcorp, with current Ralcorp shareholders owning the rest. The deal also includes the assumption of nearly $950 million in debt. The sale, expected to close in mid-2008, is expected to cut Kraft's annual earnings by 13 cents a share. The Post cereals business, which includes Raisin Bran, Grape-Nuts and a variety of Pebbles children's cereals, is the No. 3 U.S. cereal maker by sales after Kellogg Co. and General Mills Inc. , with net revenue of about $1.1 billion in 2006.

ADELAIDE, Australia News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said Tuesday he intends to make access to The Wall Street Journal's Web site free, trading subscription fees for anticipated ad revenue. "We expect to make that free, and instead of having one million (subscribers), having at least 10 million-15 million in every corner of the earth," Murdoch said. News Corp. has signed an agreement to acquire Dow Jones & Co., and the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. A special shareholders meeting is scheduled for Dec. 13 in New York. Murdoch said he believes that a free model, with

The Nasdaq Stock Market is close to inking a deal to acquire the 218-year-old Philadelphia Stock Exchange for roughly $650 million. The tech-heavy market wants the PHLX so it can expand into the lucrative business of trading options, according to...

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. Wednesday said it's in a deal to acquire the Philadelphia Stock Exchange for $652 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008, subject to customary approvals, and is forecast to become accretive to Nasdaq's 2009 earnings. In addition to the Philadelphia Stock Exchange's options market, Nasdaq will acquire a futures market operated by the Philadelphia Board of Trade, an equities business and the Stock Clearing Corp. of Philadelphia, according to a press release. The two exchanges have scheduled conference calls for later Wednesday morning to discuss the deal.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Railroad operator Genesee & Wyoming Inc. said Monday that it's agreed to acquire 87.4% of Maryland Midland Railway Inc. for $29.1 million, with adjustments for working capital at the time of closing. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2007. The remaining 12.6% stake belongs to Maryland Midland's biggest customer, Lehigh Cement, which will retain its holding in the railroad.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Zebra Technologies Corp., the Vernon Hills, Ill., producer of specialty digital printing and automatic identification solutions, said it agreed on one acquisition and closed another. In a statement late on Monday, Zebra said it agreed to acquire Navis Holdings LLC, the Oakland, Calif., provider of solutions for managing logistics, assets, inventories and cargo flows across the supply chain, for $145 million cash. Subject to antitrust clearance and other conditions, Zebra hopes to close the deal this year. Zebra also said it acquired Proveo AG, the Crailsheim, Germany, provider of real-time-location technology, for $16.3 million in cash.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Apria Healthcare Group, the Lake Forest, Calif., provider of home therapies and equipment, definitively agreed to acquire closely held Coram Inc., the Denver provider of home-infusion and specialty pharmaceutical services, for $350 million cash, the companies said on Monday. "The two organizations care for more than 100,000 patients annually and together are licensed to serve patients in all 50 states," they said. The deal also enables Apria to enter the specialty pharmaceutical market, "while expanding existing managed-care relationships associated with its respiratory/home medical equipment business," they said. Subject to conditions including regulatory clearances, the companies hope to close the deal as early as mid-November.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Specialty retailer Finish Line Inc. said late Thursday UBS extended its termination date for financing to acquire Genesco Inc. The financing, which was set to expire Dec. 31, has been extended to April 30, 2008. In September, Genesco sued Finish Line to close on the $1.5 billion acquisition after Finish Line accused Genesco of breaching the companies' deal by refusing to provide it with financial information and access to Genesco's officials. (Corrects old financing expiration date)

CHINA Minsheng Banking Corp will buy up to 20 percent of UCBH Holdings Inc in its first overseas expansion move. Minsheng, China's seventh-largest bank by market value, will initially buy 5.4 million shares of UCBH for between US$97 million and US$145 million, representing a 4.9 percent stake, Minsheng said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday. Next year, Minsheng will increase its ownership to 9.9 percent for between US$115 million and US$172 million. The bank also has the right to increase its UCBH stake to 20 percent, the statement said. Minsheng will pay up to a combined US$317 million for the 9.9 percent stake. "The strategic investment offers Minsheng a platform to step into the US markets and also marks Minsheng's first foray overseas," the Beijing-based bank said. The lender has no overseas network now, and UCBH's 70 branches on the east and west coast of the United States and its sound base in the Chinese community in America will help boost Minsheng's business. The investment is pending approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. UCBH is the biggest bank serving the Chinese community in the US. UCBH, the holding company for United Commercial Bank, has US$10.7 billion in assets and 70 branches in the US and one in Hong Kong. UCBH will use the proceeds for an acquisition in China, the US bank said. That part of the deal will close in the fourth quarter. In March, UCBH said it would buy China's Business Development Bank Ltd. Meanwhile, Minsheng plans to acquire a 26.58 percent stake in Shaanxi International Trust & Investment Corp for 2.34 billion yuan (US$311.6 million). The deal represents the second move by a lender to buy a stake in a trust company in China. The deal awaits approval by the CBRC and the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Minsheng Bank shares closed at 16.30 yuan yesterday in Shanghai, up 3.1 percent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.53 percent to 5,692.76.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Satellite maker Loral Space & Communications Inc. said Friday it is free to acquire satellite services unit Telesat Canada from BCE Inc. after the Federal Communications Commission gave its approval of the deal. In December, Loral and its Canadian partner, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, agreed to buy Telesat from BCE for $3.25 billion Canadian (US$3.31 billion). With the approval, Loral expects to close the deal later this month.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - United Natural Foods Inc. on Friday said it will acquire all the outstanding shares of Distribution Holdings Inc. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close within the next 30 days and is subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition accelerates United Natural's expansion into a number of high-growth business segments and establishing an immediate market share in the specialty foods market, the company said. The customer base of Millbrook, a unit of Distribution Holdings, will "significantly enhance" United Natural Food's conventional supermarket business channel. ""This combination will achieve our stated goal to increase the company's footprint in the specialty foods segment and will extend the breadth, scale and capabilities of our distribution network," said United Natural's President and Chief Executive Michael Funk. Credit Suisse acted as financial advisor to United Natural Foods.