Cadbury Schweppes has agreed the sale of its South African soft drinks business to Coca-Cola for GBP 153m. ... [more]

Bett Brothers has sold its precast concrete division to the Hillhead Quarry Company for GBP 1.1m. ... [more]

Domestic & General, the insurance company, has acquired Teega Agencies, the customer promotions company, for GBP 0.9m. ... [more]

Select Appointments is to be acquired by Vedior of the Netherlands for GBP 1.14bn, creating the third largest staffing agency in the world.... [more]

Henlys is to acquire Blue Bird Corporation, the US school bus manufacturer, for GBP 267m, prompting speculation that Volvo is about to bid for Henlys. ... [more]

Britannia Building Society has sold its life assurance business and 75% of its asset management division to Britannic, in a GBP 346m deal.... [more]

Cadbury Schweppes is linking up with Carlyle Group to acquire Dr Pepper Bottling Company of Texas for GBP 432m, in order to create the largest independent bottler in the US. ... [more]

Vodafone Distribution is to acquire UniqueAir, the mobile phone service provider, from Unipart for about GBP 50m. ... [more]

Aortech is to acquire the Yorkshire-based heart valve business of Tissuemed for up to GBP 1m. ... [more]

Reed Print & Design has acquired carton producer Kelly Packaging of Gateshead, and the company hopes to create up to 250 jobs by expanding its business in domestic and international markets. ... [more]

BCB International, the Cardiff-based manufacturer of outdoor pursuit products, has sold its camping division to Simpson Lawrence, in order to focus on its core military and commercial marine markets. ... [more]

AM Paper, the Lancashire-based tissue company, is to be acquired by SCA of Sweden for GBP 192m. ... [more]

De La Rue is to sell its smart cards business to Francois-Charles Oberthur of France for GBP 200m. ... [more]

Hanson is to acquire the European brick operations of Boral for GBP 59m, in order to strengthen its business in Poland, Germany and the Netherlands. ... [more]

Television Corporation is to buy Mentorn, the independent production company, and is now seeking additional UK acquisitions. ... [more]

WH Smith is to acquire Wayland, the publisher of books for school libraries, through its Hodder Headline subsidiary. ... [more]