Business news for Tue, 18 Dec 2007 & with word bid. 16 news.

Dragons' Den star James Caan was today weighing up a bid for the basket case that is property services firm Erinaceous.

The European Commission plans to integrate EU mortgage markets, which could lower the cost of loans.

The bid from Mahindras was at $1.9 billion.

The ECB found strong demand for its offer to lend euro-zone banks extra money to get them through year-end, lending $502 billion for two weeks in its bid to ease persistent money-market tensions.

Bankrupt Interstate Bakeries has rejected the joint bid from Ronald Burkle’s Yucaipa and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters after it decided that the $580 million offer was not a qualified bid because it left too many unanswered questions. According to the maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies, the Yucaipa proposal, which was submitted to IBC Dec. [...]

European equities rose in late morning trade amid bid speculation in the telecoms sector and helped by strength among banking stocks.

Shares in Debenhams soared almost 15pc after on speculation that retail entrepreneur Mahesh "Micky" Jagtiani has taken a 7pc stake in department store chain.

South Africa's Naspers agreed to buy British Internet auction house Tradus for $1.91 billion, in a bid to fast-track growth in Central and Eastern Europe.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, told a Treasury committee meeting that there never was a firm Lloyds TSB proposal to buy Northern Rock before the bank was forced to take emergency Bank of England support. He said there was "a vague phone call" in which Lloyds TSB wanted 30 billion pounds of funding for a few years at no penalty rate. King said he was of the view such a loan would be akin to state aid barred by the European Commission.

The Bank of England will step up its attempt to ease the crisis in the credit markets today when it auctions off the first slice of ?10bn of funding it is offering to lenders. A second auction will take place on January 15.

The Takeover Panel yesterday gave the consortium headed by Carlsberg and Heineken five weeks to make a formal takeover bid for brewer Scottish & Newcastle or withdraw its

Cambodia and Thailand signed a deal that will allow foreigners to visit both countries with a single visa, in a bid to boost tourism.

The board of Auckland International Airport recommended Monday that shareholders reject a partial takeover bid for New Zealand's air transport hub by a Canadian pension fund.

American industrial giant Ingersoll-Rand is to buy Trane for $10.1bn (?4.96bn) in a bid to expand its presence in the competitive air-conditioning market.

Labour peer Lord Puttnam and South Bank Show presenter Lord Bragg are fronting a bid by Channel 4 and the TV production company which makes Question Time to operate the Government-funded channel Teachers TV

Carlsberg and Heineken have been given five weeks to launch a formal bid for Scottish & Newcastle or withdraw from bidding for the Edinburgh brewer for at least six months.