Search results for

On April 23 1999, the Commission approved the takeover of Bankers Trust Corporation by Deutsche Bank.

On April 29 1999, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed once again rule amendments and a new proposed rule governing the custody of mutual fund assets outside the US. At the same time, it extended the date for complying with the amendments to the foreign custody rules until May 1 2000. The proposed new rule would govern the use of foreign securities depositories and in recognition that the previous standard of care was unworkable, the proposal drops the requirement that a fund’s board, adviser or domestic custodian find that fund assets will be subject to reasonable care if held by a foreign depository.

Latin America-Development plan approved by Congress

Europe-Draft ordinance bans cold calling

Italy enacts new law on securitization

Swiss pharmaceuticals company Novartis is selling its Wasa crispbread unit to Italy’s Barilla Alimentare. The Italian food company is paying Sfr475 million ($315 million) including debt. The deal is part of Novartis’s move to refocus its consumer health division.

The UK’s General Electric Company (GEC) is buying Fore Systems, a Pittsburgh-based Internet equipment supplier. GEC recently agreed to sell its defence business to British Aerospace and is now concentrating on building up its telecoms and Internet capabilities. This acquisition follows GEC’s purchase of US telecoms company, Reltec.

Europe-Valuation of non-cash contributions in Hungarian companies

With the biggest privatizations over, international law firms in Hungary can no longer rely on highly profitable deals which require western legal know-how. As the market matures, the emphasis is on local law expertise. Rob Mannix reports

The merchant bank unit of Lehman Brothers Holdings is to buy Blount International, a manufacturer of tree-harvesting machinery, for $1.4 billion in cash and assumed debt.