Chubb, the US insurer, has outlined a possible exit strategy from Hiscox, a week after the specialist UK insurance underwriter rejected a £311m takeover approach. ... [more]

Littlewoods, once Britain's biggest privately owned company, is thought to have approached Great Universal Stores with the aim of being taken over.... [more]

Allied Domecq has launched a £369m bid for Montana, the New Zealand producer of wines such as Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, in an effort to expand its wine interests. However, Lion Nathan, the Australa... [more]

Vodafone Pacific ended months of speculation over its interest in Cable and Wireless Optus by announcing that it had lodged an indicative offer for Australia's second largest carrier. To ease competi... [more]

Pizza Express has announced that it would "categorically" not be making a further bid for City Centre Restaurants.... [more]

The leaders of the city chapters of First Tuesday, the UK-based internet provider networking group that rose to prominence amid the bubble in web stocks, look set to buy the company back from Yazam, a... [more]

Friends Provident, the mutual life insurer, is preparing to abandon its planned £4bn stockmarket flotation in favour of a sale to a rival insurer. Insurance industry insiders say that Satchel, the CE... [more]

The owner of the new economy magazine Business 2.0 confirmed that he had retained Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co to explore strategic options including the sale or joint venture. Future Network plc,... [more]

Hamleys, the toy retailer has ended discussions about a possible sale of the business and decided to remain independent. ... [more]

Gearhouse Group, whose shares were suspended in December because it was unable to report its full year results called in the receivers Ernst and Young. The company hires out equipment for conferences... [more]

EuroTelecom, the communications and internet group chaired by the serial entrepeneur Chris Akers, has appointed administrators just ten months after raising £16m in a London listing. PWC, the adminis... [more]

Stanley Leisure, the gaming group, that owns Crockfords Casino in Mayfair, has made an approach to buy the 860 strong chain of Coral betting shops owned by Deutsche Bank's Morgan Grenfell Private equi... [more]

Elementis, the speciality chemicals group that put itself up for sale in December, reported a strong rise in full year profits, but warned that energy costs would affect performance in 2001. Pre-tax ... [more]