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Deals
BlueScope rejects bid from SGH, Steel Dynamics
BlueScope Steel has rejected a A$13.2 billion (US$8.92 billion) takeover bid from SGH (ASX: SGH) and Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) and accused them of trying to buy the steelmaker "on the cheap". BlueScope said the proposal would be effectively worth less than the A$30.00 cash per share offered given the time it would take to implement a takeover, leaving “all upside value for the sole benefit of the consortium”. The Board unanimously rejected the proposal on the basis it significantly undervalued BlueScope. “Let me be clear – this proposal was an attempt to take BlueScope from its shareholders on the cheap. It drastically undervalued our world-class assets, our growth momentum, and our future – and the Board will not let that happen,” BlueScope Chair Jane McAloon said an ASX announcement. "This is the fourth time we've said no, and the answer remained the same – BlueScope is worth considerably more than what was on the table.” The BlueScope team was recognised for driving and delivering value to shareholders and customers, investing more than $3.7 billion in growth projects, delivering more than $3.8 billion of shareholder returns and achieving an 18% average return on invested capital since its restructure was com
Deals
KFC, Pizza Hut India operators merge
The Indian operators of KFC and Pizza Hut have announced they will be merging in a deal worth US$934 million. The two fast food operators, Sapphire Foods India and Devyani International, made the announcement on Thursday, at a time when they are facing heavy competition from the operators of McDonald's and Dominoes Pizza, higher costs of operation and same store sales slowing. The merger will set them up as a strong force in the fast food market of the most populous country in the world. Expected to take 15 to 18 months to fully integrate, the deal is being backed by U.S. Yum! Brands Inc, which owns KFC and Pizza Hut branding respectively. “This combination will allow us to realise meaningful economies of scale, leverage a unified technology platform, and strengthen our supply-chain,” Ravi Jaipuria, non-executive chairman of Devyani International, said in a statement. “Together, these advantages will help unlock sustained value creation and long-term growth for all stakeholders.”
Deals
Nine US pharma giants ink deal to slash drug prices
A who's who of Big Pharma have struck a bargain with the Trump administration to cut script costs while dodging tariffs, ramping up the President’s "Most Favoured Nation" (MFN) pricing push that was previously sidelined during his first term. Unveiled at the White House on Friday, the deal includes nine American pharmaceutical companies, including Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi. The cohort has agreed to peg their price tags for Medicaid and direct-to-consumer sales to the rock-bottom rates paid by other wealthy nations. As a sweetener, the administration has greenlit a three-year freeze on potential import tariffs - a bargaining chip President Trump has often wielded during talks. The agreement also ring-fences these firms from the 10-15% duties the President had threatened to slap on foreign-made meds. On top of the price cuts, the nine outfits have pledged to funnel at least US$150 billion into United States manufacturing and R&D spend. GSK and Bristol Myers Squibb also agreed to gift six months' worth of active pharmaceutical ingredients to a national stockpile, aiming to shore up supply lines. This fresh round of signatories l
Deals
GE Vernova to supply US govt with rare earth yttrium
Energy heavyweight GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV) has confirmed a strategic arrangement with the United States government to secure and boost stockpiles of yttrium, a collaboration explicitly aimed at safeguarding access to this critical input for the outfit's gas turbine manufacturing operations. CEO Scott Strazik detailed the initiative during the company’s 2025 Investor Update yesterday, explaining that the partnership addresses recent export curbs implemented by China, which remains the dominant global producer of yttrium. Supply chain constraints The move comes after China restricted shipments of yttrium and six other elements back in April following the imposition of U.S. tariffs, a retaliation that saw prices for these materials outside China surge by around 4,400% between January and November. Yttrium is utilised in thermal barrier coatings that allow turbines to function at the high temperatures necessary for power generation, prompting Strazik to note the firm is "focused on it every day" regarding material availability. While current inventories are sufficient to cover production requirements through the remainder of 2025 and into 2026, the federal cooperation is designed to extend coverage beyond this timeframe
Deals
Airbus says Europe’s AI battlefield a decade away
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said Europe’s AI-driven battlefield will take a decade to build. Faury has urged the continents to be more collaborative on defence since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and told CNBNC the protocols to exchange data between countries and teams on the battlefield were still “quite limited”. Airbus has become part of efforts to improve information sharing between European countries through what Faury called a “combat cloud” to better share data between “satellites, tankers, fighter jets, helicopters, and also objects on the ground” for security purposes. The project is also part of the Future Combat System. “That’s a key enabler of the future digital battlefield that is going to take place when there is confrontation in the future,” Faury told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed in a fireside chat at the Adopt AI conference in Paris this week. However, Faury also added that the cloud system could take a while to be built. “It will take a decade, maybe a decade and a half, before we are at the level we want to be,” Faury said. “But there are incremental ways of connecting objects that are being applied already.” Faury has been vocal about his frustrations regarding defence efforts since the start of

Deals
Fifth Third Bancorp acquires Comerica in all-stock deal
Diversified financial services company Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to acquire fellow regional bank Comerica for US$10.9 billion (A$16.5 billion) in an all-stock deal that will create the ninth-largest United States bank with assets of $288 billion. Under the terms of the deal – which is expected to finalise in the first quarter of 2026 - Comerica stockholders will receive 1.8663 Fifth Third shares for each Comerica share they own. The transaction’s value stems from Fifth Third’s closing price from Friday of $82.88, which is a 20% premium to Comerica’s 10-day volume-weighted average stock price. When the deal closes, Fifth Third shareholders will own around 73% of the combined company, while Comerica investors will hold 27%. “Joining with Fifth Third – with its strengths in retail, payments and digital – allows us to build on our leading commercial franchise and further serve our customers with enhanced capabilities across more markets,” noted Comerica CEO Curt Farmer. Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence described the tie-up as a pivotal moment that accelerated the bank’s plans to build density in high-growth markets and deepen its commercial capabilities. “The things that have defined Fifth Third over the course of t
Deals
USA Rare Earth closes in on deal with White House
Shares in USA Rare Earth (USAR.O) were up 18% to a record high on Friday following revelations the mining company's recently appointed CEO Barbara Humpton was interested in doing a deal with the Trump administration. The stock’s share price rally - which has helped its market capitalisation double in the last 12 months to US$2.59 billion - follows the Trump administration’s decision to enter recent deals to help support the industry and break United States dependence on China. The administration has taken a 5% stake in Lithium Americas (LAC.TO) and a separate 5% stake in the company's Thacker Pass joint venture with General Motors (GM.N) in the last week. Its decision to invoke emergency powers to boost critical-minerals production earlier this year follows China's decision to halt exports. China had halted exports of rare earths, a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion, in March as part of a trade spat with Trump. While that showed some signs of easing in June, broader tensions underscored the need for greater U.S. output. MP Materials had also unveiled a multibillion-dollar deal with the U.S. government in July to boost output of rare earth magnets, with the Pentagon becoming the
Deals
Berkshire Hathaway, Occidental confirm OxyChem deal
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway will buy Occidental Petroleum’s chemicals arm OxyChem for US$9.7 billion (A$14.7 billion) cash. Their announcement on Thursday confirmed a report in the Wall Street Journal about the sale of OxyChem, a global manufacturer of commodity chemicals used in water treatment, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and commercial and residential development. Occidental said it expected to use $6.5 billion of the proceeds to reduce debt below $15 billion as planned following its acquisition of CrownRock. “This transaction strengthens our financial position and catalyses a significant resource opportunity we’ve been building in our oil and gas business for the last decade,” Occidental President and Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub said in a news release. She said the sale would unlock more than 20 years of low-cost resource “runway” and deliver meaningful near and long-term value. “Berkshire is acquiring a robust portfolio of operating assets, supported by an accomplished team,” Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman of Non-Insurance Operations Greg Abel said in the release. An Occidental subsidiary will retain OxyChem’s legacy environmental liabilities, and Glenn Springs Holdings Inc. will continue
Deals
US govt locks in Thacker Pass domestic lithium supply
The Trump administration just added another chip to its growing sovereign wealth fund stack - and this time it's lithium. America is betting that direct equity stakes and price floors can level the playing field against Chinese market manipulation - and reshape America's critical minerals supply chain in the process. Locking in a 5% equity stake in Lithium Americas and a stake in the lithium mine itself, the U.S. Department of Energy now has exposure to the treasures contained within Thacker Pass in Nevada. A good deal? Probably. The government let Lithium Americas defer US$182 million-worth of debt payments over five years on their hefty $2.2 billion DOE loan. In return, Uncle Sam gets a seat at the table of what's set to become one of North America's largest sources of the battery metal.Why lithium matters (again)Thacker Pass is expected to pump out 40,000 tonnes (t) of battery-quality lithium carbonate annually when it opens in late 2027 - enough to power some 800,000 electric vehicles. Having already bet big on securing upstream materials for batteries, carmaker General Motors holds a sizeable 38% stake after dropping a cool $625 million on the project last year. The investment also gives it the rights to pur