John Laing is in the process of offloading its development and property division. The group now states: "John Laing has commenced initial discussions with buyers for its subsidiary Laing Property. Th... [more]

Highbury House Communications has acquired Millennium Magazines, the publisher of the Satellite TV Europe programme guide, for up to £ 1.5m... [more]

Maclay Murray & Spens is to acquire the private client arm of legal firm McGrigor Donald, which will involve the transfer of two partners and 15 staff... [more]

Express Dairies has sold its central Scotland dairy business to Graham's Dairies of Bridge of Alan for £0.5m... [more]

Unilever is to sell its DiverseyLever commercial cleaning business to Johnson Wax Professional of the US for £1.1bn, in order to reduce debt following the acquisition of Bestfoods... [more]

P&O Princess Cruises has announced a £4.2bn merger with Royal Caribbean Cruises, which will create a combined group with 41 ships and 40,000 staff... [more]

Scoot.com is in discussions with as many as 6 potential buyers or partners as the online directory service continues to shore up its finances. Scoot was worth up to £1.9bn in March but is now worth j... [more]

Time2Learn is to acquire Intellexis International for £2.2m, in order to expand its financial and personal development e-learning business... [more]

Ebenezer Baylis, the Worcester-based catalogue and book printer, has been acquired by John Goodman & Sons of Birmingham, creating a combined group with 150 staff and turnover of £12m... [more]

TXU is to sell its West Burton coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire to Electricite de France for £366m, and has confirmed plans to sell its east of England electricity distribution network to E... [more]

WPP has acquired Penn Schoen & Berland, the US strategic research and polling consultancy with 81 staff... [more]

Podia is to acquire Event Vision Companies, the London-based organiser of corporate entertainment, for an initial £2m... [more]

BAE Systems is believed to be back in talks to sell Heckler & Koch, the small arms manufacturer that specialises in large-calibre pistols and assault rifles. Colt, the American gunmaker, is the most l... [more]

Abbey National has decided not to sell its point-of-sale finance business after approaches from possible bidders fell short of its asking price. It is believed that Abbey wanted £200m for the operatio... [more]

KPN, the troubled Dutch telecommunications group, will focus on its core mobile and fixed line networks and is considering further disposals as part of an asset-stripping strategy to reduce $2.6n by t... [more]

The Scottish Executive has announced plans to merge Scotland's three water authorities into a new group called Scottish Water next year, which will lead to the loss of about 1,000 jobs and a £2bn inve... [more]

Beldray, the Bilston-based manufacturer of ironing boards and ironmongery, has undergone a management buy-out for a nominal sum, securing the future of 300 jobs... [more]

Brambles Industries has sold its European rail wagon rental business to Hapag-Lloyd for £222m, and the proceeds will be used to fund bolt-on acquisitions for its information management and waste manag... [more]

Charles Stanley has acquired Torrie & Co, the Edinburgh-based stockbroker, for up to £7.8m... [more]

Scottish Radio Holdings has agreed to acquire the remaining 76% of Radio Ireland, the owner of the Today FM radio station, for £36m... [more]