Financial news from Sweden, Norway, Finland, China, Italy, Canada, The Netherlands, Jordan, Ireland, Israel, Britain, Brazil, and (yes) Colombia follow:
*Covidien plc, the Irish maker of medical equipment, will acquire Israeli capsule endoscope developer Given Imaging for $30/sh under a deal signed yesterday with IDB Holding Co. This is a 15% premium to the price on Friday of GIVN on Nasdaq. The $860 mn purchase will add to COV’s gastrointestinal offerings in a $3 bn global market. GIVN’s PillCam is an endoscope you can swallow. I believe a former writer for our newsletter is a shareholder in GIVN; Mazel Tov to him.
*Ratos will collect the equivalent of SEK 400 mn in Norwegian kronors from the refinancing of SB Seating, a maker of quality well-designed Scandinavian ergonomic office chairs of which it owns 85%. They sell under the HÅG, RH, and RBM marques in 30 countries. RTOBF invested in the very profitable chair-maker in 2007 and before the payout had SEK 444 mn net investment. After the refinancing it wil still have a net investment of SEK 44 mn and a lot of cash to deploy elsewhere. Thanks to our Scandinavian reporter FH for this news.
*Borzhe moy. Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI) won a contract to build a new 2 mn metric tonne/yr hydrocracker at Russia’s largest oil refinery run by JSC Gazprom Neft in Omsk (Siberia). It will use a FEED process licensed from Chevron Lummus. Price was not given but is huge. CBI is up.
*Israel’s Delek Group said it is too early to estimate when and how the offtake of gas from the Leviathan field (which lives up to its name, being huge) will be liquefied and sold. The Israeli government is trying to limit or control gas exports. Operator Noble Energy of Texas wants to export to the max and appears to have leaked information that if the Israelis don’t allow a huge offshore floating liquefaction plant to be built, developing the site will cost $8 bn and not be done until late 2017. The DGRLY denial or the NE rumors has pulled down its stock. Delek Group noted that the partnership developing the Leviathan license has not approved a plan or a budget. I put in a buy for more.
