DealBook: United Technologies Makes Bid for Diebold

To view the latest DealBook headlines on your mobile device, go to: http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/dealbook

Edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES | Monday, March 3, 2008 M & A: Volkswagen to Raise Stake in Scania BANKING: HSBC Profits Rise 10% PRIVATE EQUITY: Carlyle Hires UBS' Sarkozy for Financial Deals HEDGE FUNDS: Peloton Blames Credit Squeeze for Liquidation OFFERINGS: I.P.O. Cancellations Hit $21.4 Billion VENTURE CAPITAL: Eisner: A New-Wave Media Mogul LEGAL: Buffett's State of the World: There's Folly in Wonderland TOP STORY United Technologies Makes Bid for Diebold The United Technologies Corporation made public on Sunday an unsolicited $3 billion bid for Diebold, one of the largest makers of automated teller machines and voting machines. In Diebold, United Technologies sees a chance to expand its electronic security business with one of the field's largest players. The bid is $40 a share in cash, or a 66 percent premium over Diebold's Friday closing price of $24.12, United Technologies said. The move was just the latest in a string of unsolicited or hostile offers made public this year, despite an overall slowdown in deal-making activity. Go to Article from The New York Times» Go to Press Release from United Technologies» Read More Add a comment ADVERTISEMENT Back to Top MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS German carmaker Volkswagen said on Monday it would raise its stake in Swedish truck maker Scania to 68.6 percent, a move that may lead to a merger of Scania and German truck maker MAN. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment HSBC Holdings, Europe's largest bank, said Friday it has received an offer of about $3.2 billion in cash for its French regional banking subsidiaries from France's Banque Federale des Banques Populaires. Go to Article from The Associated Press via CNN Money» Read More Add a comment Restoration Hardware is completing a proposed buyout from Catterton Partners after deciding a competing bid from Sears Holdings was inferior. Go to Article from The Chicago Tribune» Go to Article from The Associated Press via BusinessWeek» Read More Add a comment The Australian miner Oxiana launched an agreed 6 billion Australian dollar, or $5.6 billion, takeover offer for Zinifex on Monday, as they look to diversify to benefit from booming global minerals demand. Go to Article from Reuters via The International Herald Tribune» Read More Add a comment Xstrata said Monday it was still in deal talks with Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce after reporting that its profit more than tripled for the year, helped by the acquisition of Canada's Falconbridge and by emerging-markets demand for metals. Go to Article from MarketWatch» Read More Add a comment Barclays , Britain's third-biggest bank, acquired Russian lender Expobank for $745 million in its first overseas acquisition since losing the bidding contest for ABN Amro Holding. Go to Article from Bloomberg News» Read More Add a comment Back to Top INVESTMENT BANKING HSBC's profits rose 10 percent last year, just below analysts' forecasts, as strong gains in Asia helped Europe's biggest bank absorb a $17.2 billion hit for bad debts largely due to U.S. housing problems. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Read More Add a comment A lawyer for Jerome Kerviel, the former trader whom Societe Generale says cost it 4.9 billion euros in losses, on Friday accused the bank of not looking deeply enough at dozens of people in its management hierarchy during a recent internal investigation into the trading scandal. Go to Article from The International Herald Tribune» Read More Add a comment Lehman Brothers was enjoying a rare moment at the top of the investment bank merger-advisory league tables last week, according to Dealogic. Go to Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment Back to Top PRIVATE EQUITY The Carlyle Group said Monday that it has hired Oliver Sarkozy, one of UBS's top investment bankers for financial services deals, to work as co-head of a similar practice at the giant private equity firm. Go to Article from Reuters» Go to Article from Bloomberg News» Read More Add a comment Candover, the private equity firm, has made an approach to acquire Expro International in a deal that could value the oilfield services company at 1.3 billion pounds ($2.6 billion), The Financial Times reported. Go to Article from Article from The Financial Times» Read More Add a comment None of the private equity deals announced this year allow for specific performance, or forcing completion of the buyout, a development that The Deal Professor says is a sea change for the industry. Go to Item from The Deal Professor» Read More Add a comment KKR Private Equity Investors, the publicly traded buyout fund of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, wrote down stakes in seven investments as a slowing economy hurt earnings and declining bond prices eroded the value of holdings. Go to Article from Bloomberg News via The International Herald Tribune» Read More Add a comment Back to Top HEDGE FUNDS Peloton Partners, the hedge fund manager that is liquidating a $1.8 billion asset-backed fund, says that it is a victim of Wall Street's reduced lending. Go to Article from Bloomberg News via The International Herald Tribune» Read More Add a comment Phillip Goldstein, who two years ago successfully sued the Securities and Exchange Commission to overturn a rule requiring hedge fund managers to register as investment advisers, is planning to sue the regulator to lift its ban on hedge fund marketing and advertising. Go to Article from The Financial Times» Go to Article from InvestmentNews» Read More Add a comment The prospect of a tough proxy fight for seats on the board of the New York Times intensified Friday when a dissident shareholder group officially proposed its own set of directors for the four vacant seats. Go to Article from The New York Post» Go to Article from The Associated Press via Google News» Read More Add a comment A shareholder group has proposed the ouster of the entire corporate board at Circuit City Stores, the electronics retailer that has struggled to maintain market share. Go to Article from The Associated Press via CNN Money» Go to Article from BusinessWeek» Go to Article from The Fianncial Times» Read More Add a comment A partnership led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn exercised an option to buy 50.1 million shares of Federal-Mogul, boosting ownership of the auto supplier to 75 percent, according to a federal filing this week. Go to Article from The Associated Press via The Chicago Tribune» Read More Add a comment Back to Top I.P.O. / OFFERING The global credit crisis has forced companies to shelve initial public offerings totaling $21.4 billion so far this year, almost double the value of new equity issuance, Thomson Financial data showed. Go to Article from Reuters» Read More Add a comment China Merchants Bank that country's largest credit card issuer, said that it is interested in buying into Visa's initial public offering, but needs Chinese regulatory approvals first, according to Reuters. Go to Article from Reuters» Read More Add a comment Seven Bank rose 24 percent on its market listing on Friday in the biggest initial public offering in Japan since October. Go to Article from The Financial Times» Read More Add a comment Back to Top VENTURE CAPITAL Michael D. Eisner, who left the Walt Disney Company in 2005 and set about remaking himself in new media, is one of the very few who can claim early success in creating original Internet programs. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment The William Morris Agency, the Hollywood talent shop, will announce Monday that it is teaming up with the Silicon Valley venture capital firms Accel Partners and Venrock to invest in digital media start-up companies based in Southern California, The New York Times reported. What makes the combination unusual, though, is the addition of AT&T as a limited partner. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment Y Combinator has seeded about 80 start-ups since 2005 through a series of remarkably small investments -- "just barely enough to cover living expenses for three months," the San Jose Mercury News writes. Go to Article from The San Jose Mercury News» Read More Add a comment Yelp, whose Web site lets users review local services, isn't likely to hold an initial public offering anytime soon, its chief executive, Jeremy Stoppelman, told The Deal's VC Ratings blog. Go to Item from VC Ratings Blog» Read More Add a comment Back to Top LEGAL The billionaire investor Warren E. Buffett disclosed Friday that he had earned profits for shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway by speculating in the Brazilian currency, the real, and by buying a large stake in a French pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventis. He also complained that many other companies were overstating earnings, and he expressed puzzlement that their auditors let them get away with it. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment E*Trade Financial plans to give Donald Layton, currently the chairman of the online brokerage, the additional role of chief executive, The Wall Street Journal reported. Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times» Go to Article from Bloomberg News» Read More Add a comment Countrywide Home Loans, the troubled mortgage lender that has agreed to be sold to Bank of America, engaged in questionable conduct in a bankruptcy case involving two borrowers in Atlanta, the United States Trustee contended in a lawsuit filed late Thursday. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment A growing number of states and cities say that Wall Street ratings firms are setting prices for municipal bonds that makes borrowing needlessly expensive for many localities. Go to Article from The New York Times» Read More Add a comment With both Wilbur L. Ross and Warren E. Buffett in the bond insurance game, can you tell who seems willing to lend a hand to beleaguered players like MBIA and Ambac Financial -- and who seems willing to try and bury them? Go to Item from DealBook» Read More Add a comment With credit markets in turmoil and the clock ticking to save a $6.1 billion financing package needed for Delphi to exit from Chapter 11 protection by its target, the end of March, General Motors has stepped forward as a lender of last resort. Go to Article from Reuters via The International Herald Tribune» Read More Add a comment Dechert confirmed a Legal Intelligencer report that it will lay off 13 associates in its finance and real estate practice. Dechert's chairman, Barton J. Winokur, said in a statement that the associates will be offered positions in other practice groups. Go to The Legal Intelligencer via Law.com» Read More Add a comment Get home delivery of The New York Times for as low as $3.15 a week.

SEARCH DEALBOOK SITE DealBook | E-mail Preferences Help | Advertising Opportunities Schwarzman's School Ties A buyout boss turns up in a Bronx classroom to support a nonprofit fund and discuss the business of education. (29 comments) More» Live From Super Return 2008 Some of the biggest names in private equity gathered in Munich to share strategies for weathering the industry's recent downturn. More» Mergers in a Time of Bears A new study found that deals are most likely to succeed in rough markets -- like the one we are in now. More» Revolving Door The latest hires, promotions and departures at Goldman Sachs, Vanguard, Morgan Stanley and more. More» DealBook Talks Yahoo DealBook's Andrew Ross Sorkin discussed Microsoft's offer for the Internet giant on "Charlie Rose." Watch here. More» Microsoft's Yahoo Bid Full coverage of Microsoft's unsolicited $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo, what it means and how it might play out. More» DealBook for BlackBerry For readers who are BlackBerry addicts, we now offer DealBook for BlackBerry. With one-click access to DealBook -- formatted for your device -- it's easy to check the latest deal news throughout the day. You can install the DealBook shortcut by visiting mobile.nytimes.com/bbinstall directly from your BlackBerry or by sending the text message "bb install" to 698698. More information on DealBook for BlackBerry. The Deal Professor A blog-within-a-blog that looks at mergers, private equity and corporate governance through a legal lens, written by Steven M. Davidoff, a professor at Wayne State University Law School and a former lawyer at Shearman & Sterling. More» News By Industry Airlines / Autos Basic Industries Consumer Goods Energy / Utilities Financial Services Food & Beverage Healthcare Media Real Estate Retail / Leisure Technology Telecom Tools & Resources GET QUOTES Look Up Symbol RESEARCH SUITE Portfolio Company Research U.S. Markets International Markets Mutual Funds SEND A TIP OR FEEDBACK E-mail us at dealbook@nytimes.com Dealboard

About This E-mail DealBook is a joint production of The New York Times and NYTimes.com, published daily, Monday-Friday, except on U.S. Market holidays and during the last week of the year. Editorial staff: Andrew Ross Sorkin, Peter Edmonston, Michael de la Merced and Liza Klaussmann. You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's DealBook newsletter. As a member of the BBBOnline Privacy Program and the TRUSTe privacy program, we are committed to protecting your privacy. Manage Subscriptions | Unsubscribe| Change Your E-Mail | Privacy Policy | Contact | Advertise | nytimes.com/dealbook

Copyright 2008 | The New York Times Company | Privacy Policy | 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018