France

European telecoms operators Deutsche Telekom (DT) and France Telecom (FT) have announced the start of operations in their procurement joint venture (JV) BUYIN. The companies announced... 2011-10-18

The first-round bids for French insurance giant AXA 's private equity unit are now all in. Five bidders successfully submitted their offers for the business by the October 3 deadline,... 2011-10-05

Germany's third-largest sugar confectionery manufacturer Katjes International has taken full control of French group Lamy Lutti, after selling a EUR30mn bond to finance the purchase... 2011-09-14

There is currently one overriding trend in the banking industry; the largest banks in Europe and the US are trying to shed excess weight and sell off their non-core assets.

Alcatel-Lucent, the Franco-American equipment vendor, has been aiming to sell its enterprise unit for several months as part of its restructuring plan. The vendor is reportedly in talks... 2011-09-05

Hard discount operator Dia has posted its first set of results as an independent entity. Dia was spun off by retail giant Carrefour on July 5 2011 and the firm was listed in Spain with... 2011-09-01

Scandinavian retailer ICA, which is 60%-owned by Netherlands-based Ahold, plans to sell its Norwegian hypermarket business in an effort to stem falling profits in the market. The firm... 2011-08-18

Reports in the Brazilian press have suggested that Walmart has been in talks to acquire Carrefour's operations in the country. These reports come after Carrefour failed to secure a... 2011-08-10

BMI View: Sanofi's move to sell its skincare business to Valeant Pharmaceuticals highlights a recent industry wide-trend towards divestment. While it seems increasingly common for pharmaceutical... 2011-07-13

As the regulatory clamp in the banking sector continues to tighten, the spinning off of alternative assets by lenders continues. Indeed, for the past 18-months banks have sought to... 2011-07-06