TOP STORIES

UNIVISION APPROVES SALE OF COMPANY FOR $12.3B
Univision board approves the sale of the Spanish-language broadcaster to a consortium of private equity investors for about $12.3 billion plus the assumption of $1.1 billion in debt. The bid, from a group made up of Madison Dearborn Partners; Providence Equity Partners; Texas Pacific Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners and media mogul Haim Saban, agree to pay $36.25 per share to acquire Univision, after beating Mexico's Grupo Televisa in an auction.


EU TO TAKE MICROSOFT DECISION BEFORE END JULY
The European Commission will decide "before the end of July" whether to impose fines against Microsoft for anti-competitive behavior, spokesman Jonthan Todd tells reporters.


ECB GARGANAS DOESN'T RULE OUT 50 BP RATE HIKE
European Central Bank council member Nicholas Garganas doesn't rule out a 50-basis-point interest rate increase as the ECB proceeds with tightening monetary policy this year, speaking in an interview with Bloomberg.


GERMAN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE SURGES IN JUNE
Business confidence surges in June, led by renewed enthusiasm among retailers. Ifo headline indicator rises to 106.8 from 105.7 in May, beating analysts' forecasts for 105.1. Ifo economist Gernot Nerb says there's no reason for ECB to accelerate pace of tightening.


PLIVA BACKS BARR TAKEOVER OFFER FOR $2.2B
Pliva accepts a $2.2 billion takeover offer by U.S.-based Barr Pharmaceuticals, ending weeks of speculation over who would triumph in a bidding war for the Croatian generics drug maker. Deal would be Barr's first overseas transaction.


EADS KEEPS DUAL STRUCTURE, SEEKS FIX AT AIRBUS
Core shareholders in EADS have decided to leave the Franco-German group's dual-management structure unchanged and are pursuing talks to fix problems at its Airbus subsidiary, reports The Wall Street Journal.


UK MORTGAGE LENDING JUMPS IN MAY
U.K. mortgage lending surges in May to GBP18.234 billion, the highest total on record, while the number of mortgage approvals tops 80,000. The May number is slightly more than double the GBP9.0 billion forecast by economists.


DEUTSCHE BANK LIKELY TO BID FOR FIAT'S FIDIS ARM
Head of Deutsche Bank's operations in Italy says he believes the bank is likely to be among a group of institutions bidding to buy a stake in auto maker Fiat's money-spinning financial services arm Fidis.


GM'S BUYOUT PACKAGE ATTRACTS 35,000 WORKERS
General Motors says 35,000 hourly workers have agreed to take financial incentives to leave the auto maker, allowing it to meet its job-cut target ahead of schedule and to increase its cost savings to $5 billion this year.


TPG-NEWBRIDGE, MACQUARIE MAY WITHDRAW PCCW BIDS
U.S. private equity firm Texas Pacific Group and Australia's Macquarie Bank may withdraw their bids for PCCW's core assets if the deal doesn't get the Chinese government's blessing, according to press reports.


SADDAM FACES TRIAL FOR 1980S DEATHS OF KURDS
Iraqi High Tribunal announces that Saddam Hussein and six co-defendants will be put on trial Aug. 21 for the 1980s Anfal campaign in which an estimated 100,000 Kurds were killed in northern Iraq.


PALESTINIANS BRACE FOR ISRAELI INVASION
Palestinian bulldozers block roads in northern Gaza with sand piles, bracing for a possible Israeli invasion after the recent abduction of an Israeli soldier. Meanwhile, Israel police say that are taking a new kidnap claim "very seriously".


VIVENDI SELLS STAKE IN DUPONT FOR $671M
Vivendi sells the 16.4 million DuPont shares that it had owned since its merger with Seagram. The transaction, on the American market, has been carried out based on a price per share of $40.82, namely for a total of $671 million.


AUTOSTRADE-ABERTIS SNAGS CAN BE SOLVED - ITALY MIN
Italy's Infrastructure Minister Antonio Di Pietro says that he believes the government and transport regulator Anas can resolve differences with Autostrade over the its disputed plan for a EUR25 billion merger with Abertis Infraestructuras.


ROCHE HALTS AVASTIN TRIAL IN PANCREATIC CANCER
Swiss drugmaker says it is stopping a trial for the use of its cancer drug Avastin for pancreatic cancer, after the drug failed to prolong the life of patients. Roche says this won't affect existing filings and approvals in colorectal, lung and breast cancer.


EUROTUNNEL SAYS BONDHOLDER PLAN WON'T SOLVE WOES Eurotunnel warns its staff in an internal email that an alternative rescue
restructuring plan from its bondholders wouldn't solve its debt problems. Meanwhile, AXA confirms it's committed to a Eurotunnel
refinancing plan.

KOPEYKA DELAYS IPO AMID MARKET TURBULENCE
Russian discount grocery chain says it has put its planned listing on the back burner, citing unfavorable market conditions. The company had said it would place a 25% stake domestically and in London by the end of July.



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