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Cnooc
drops bid to buy Unocal
Shanghai: Chinese oil company, Cnooc, said
Tuesday that it was withdrawing its $18.5 billion offer
to buy Unocal, the American oil company that it had bid
for.
The
decision comes on the back of intense resentment and bitterness
that has formed in both countries over the effort to buy
what some consider being a strategic asset.
Analysts
say, that the tensions are not expected to disappear along
with the bid, as Chinese companies increasingly try to
buy major international companies. The withdrawal by Cnooc
also lets the Bush administration avoid having to make
a sensitive decision about whether to formally block the
transaction.
The
decision allows American oil company Chevron to seal its
acquisition of Unocal for about $17 billion in cash and
stock. The failure of Cnooc's takeover attempt may prove
to be even more irritating for the Chinese because Cnooc's
offer was higher than Chevron's bid. Even though the company
hired an army of high-price brand-name firms, Wall Street
advisers like Goldman Sachs and Washington lobbyists like
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, it still failed to
negotiate a superior offer.
In
a statement issued late Tuesday in Hong Kong, Cnooc explained
its decision to withdraw by saying: "This political
environment has made it very difficult for us to accurately
assess our chance of success, creating a level of uncertainty
that presents an unacceptable risk to our ability to secure
this transaction."
According
to analysts, the failed effort will have ramifications
beyond the deal, as it could broadly affect trade relations
between China and the Unites States far beyond mergers
and acquisitions.
According
to these analysts the way the U.S. government treated
Cnooc and politicized the deal may ensure that Chinese
companies, not only in oil, but other industries as well,
may no longer want to play the game by the U.S. rules.
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Adidas
is said to be close to deal to acquire Reebok
New York: Adidas-Salomon is near a deal to acquire
Reebok International for about $4.4 billion, according
to media reports, which quoted executives involved in
the discussions. If it comes through the transaction has
the potential to reshape the sports footwear and apparel
industry.
The
deal would give Nike its first formidable competitor in
more than a decade. A combined Adidas-Reebok would control
about 20 percent of the market, but would still remain
behind Nike, which has about a third of the $145 billion
worldwide market.
The
transaction puts two of the world's best-known brands
together and combines a star-studded stable of athlete
and entertainment endorsers including the basketball player
Allen Iverson (Reebok), the soccer player David Beckham
(Adidas) and the rap artists Jay-Z (Reebok) and Missy
Elliott (Adidas). The transaction would also bring together
Reebok's other brands, like Rockport and Greg Norman's
line of golf wear, with Adidas's other lines, including
its Solomon ski franchise and its TaylorMade golf equipment
and apparel business.
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