GE sells plastic division for $11.6 bn in cash
Boston: General Electric Co has agreed to sell its struggling GE Plastics business to chemicals company Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (2010.SE) in an $11.6 billion cash deal.

GE's Plastics unit recorded a 22 pc fall in profit last year to $674 million and was placed on the block in January. GE Plastics last year generated $6.65 billion in revenue.

GE said it would receive net after-tax proceeds of about $9 billion, which would primarily be put toward the company's current stock buyback.

About $6 billion will go toward buying back shares of the company, which has a $380.25 billion market capitalization, GE said. GE is the world's second-largest company by market capitalization, behind Exxon Mobil Corp.)

GE shares rose 35 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $37.31 in pre-market trading, from a $36.96 close on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Foreign stock exchanges can establish offices in China
Beijing: China has allowed representative offices of foreign stock exchanges to establish offices in the country, provided they satisfy and adhere to a slew of conditions.

To be eligible, the stock exchanges should be in operation for over 20 years and have fine financial records, according to the new rules coming into effect on July 1.

The bourses' home country should have signed memorandum of understanding on supervision cooperation with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the securities watchdog of China.

The representative offices can only do non-operating activities including liaison, promotion and research, the rules stated. Violators will face warning, confiscation of all illegal earnings, or even closure.
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EMI agrees to be taken over by Terra Firma
London: British music company EMI has agreed to a 2.4 billion pounds ($4.73 billion) or 265 pence a share cash takeover from private equity group Terra Firma.

The offer sent EMI's stock up to close 9.3 percent higher at 271 pence indicating possibilities of a counterbid.

Terra Firma said including debt the deal put a value of 3.2 billion pounds on EMI. The agreement also includes a break fee of 24 million pounds if EMI pulls out.

If the deal is accepted by shareholders, it would bring an end to the seven-year standoff between London based music company EMI and New York-based Warner.
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Blackstone Group to float IPO
New York: Blackstone Group LP plans to raise as much as $4.75 billion through a public issue in what would be the year's largest initial public offering in the US. A day ago the group sold a $3 billion stake to the Chinese government.

Blackstone said the IPO, which would be the largest in the United States this year, could value the entire firm at $33.6 billion.

In its prospectus, Blackstone said it plans to offer 133.3 million common units at $29 to $31 each, for proceeds of $3.87 billion to $4.13 billion. Another 20 million units may be sold to meet demand, boosting the IPO to as high as $4.75 billion.
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