takeover news stories on Newser

FDA Takes Over 3 Tylenol Plants

Matt Cantor — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 06:31:49 CST

After multiple drug recalls and an FDA safety probe, federal authorities are taking control of three Tylenol plants, CNNMoney reports. The plants, run by Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil division, are in trouble for dodging federal manufacturing rules; now, the company has agreed to let the FDA supervise the three—two...

Don't Blame Fannie for Mess

Victoria Floethe — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:11:02 CST

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the "toxic twin" housing financing behemoths blamed for setting the world on fire, were not operating any differently than the entire financial sector, Bethany McLean writes in Vanity Fair . McLean documents Fannie Mae's history starting from conception in FDR's New Deal, when it was chartered...

Putin Pounces on Private Companies

Jason Farago — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:42:52 CST

Vladimir Putin has insisted for years that Russia made a colossal mistake by privatizing the nation's giant reserves of oil, gas, and other natural resources after the fall of the Soviet Union. The president-turned-prime minister has made muscular efforts to renationalize those industries—most notoriously the Yukos oil company, whose...

Wells, Citigroup Call Truce in Wachovia Battle

Rob Quinn — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:47:26 CDT

Citigroup and Wells Fargo have agreed to back off from their legal tug-of-war over Wachovia until tomorrow, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . The Fed-brokered agreement comes after days of furious legal wrangling and a $60 billion lawsuit filed by Citigroup against both Wells and Wachovia yesterday. Insiders say Citigroup and...

Feds Work to Cement Wachovia Deal

Jim O'Neill — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:52:51 CDT

Federal Reserve officials are pushing Citigroup and Wells Fargo to agree to a compromise giving each a piece of struggling Wachovia, with the Charlotte-based bank's 3,346 branches divided along geographic lines and Wells Fargo acquiring its investment units, reports the Wall Street Journal. The new deal, still being negotiated...

Citi Demands Wells Fargo Give Wachovia Back

Nick McMaster — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:43:17 CDT

Citigroup is seeking to nullify the Wells Fargo takeover of Wachovia announced this morning, Bloomberg reports. Citi claims the $15.4 billion deal violates an exclusivity agreement it had worked out with Wachovia early this week. "Citi has substantial legal rights regarding Wachovia and this transaction,'' the bank said...

WaMu Looks to Private Equity as Bank Teeters

Jason Farago — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:52:01 CDT

Washington Mutual is hoping private equity will save the bank after its efforts to broker a sale to another financial institution came to nothing. Both the Carlyle Group and Blackstone are considering a takeover of WaMu, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal , although a deal is not yet assured. Many...

Lehman Employees Feeling the Pain

Jim O'Neill — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 08:03:00 CDT

Lehman Brothers employees who watched their colleagues at Bear Stearns lose their jobs earlier this year are preparing for a similar fate in an already clogged field, reports the New York Times . “Everyone is walking around like they have just been Tasered,” said one Lehman employee. Making matters worse, many...

Bailout Likely to Sink Some Small Banks

Jim O'Neill — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:15:10 CDT

The government’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the resulting crash of the value of the companies’ shares, has started a domino effect that likely will push some smaller banks into failure, the Washington Post reports. Some institutions heavily invested in the seemingly safe stocks will find it...