It is seeming likely that troubled British Energy will be put into administration, which it fears may knock £650m off the value of its assets.... [more]

Ashstead the plant hire company has reportedly declared that it is open to firm offers that are in the interest of shareholders. A bid of around £900m was rejected in April.... [more]

Swiss Life has put some of its operations up for sale. US investment bank Goldman Sachs has been appointed to market its private banking subsidiary, Banca del Gottardo. Deutsche Bank is seeking a buye... [more]

Wesleyan is to acquire the financial services business of the British Medical Association, which provides financial advice and insurance to doctors, for undisclosed terms.... [more]

Horncastle Industries, the East Yorkshire-based manufacturer of modular buildings, has undergone a £13m management buy-out backed by Northern Venture Managers.... [more]

Aviva is to sell its general insurance business in Pakistan to New Jubilee Insurance, while its 63% stake in the Commercial Union Life Assurance Company of Pakistan is being sold to the Aga Khan Fund ... [more]

Prudential has acquired Good Morning Investment Trust Management of South Korea for £14m.... [more]

Bloomsbury has acquired Peter Collin Publishing, the dictionary publisher, for £0.9m.... [more]

Coats has put Jaeger and Viyella up for sale. It is thought that the company hopes to raise £70m for the loss-making divisions. Coats is also seeking a buyer for its bedwear division.... [more]

Silver Cross, which makes prams for the wealthy, is to be put up for sale. The company has been forced into administration after the discovery of accounting irregularities of more than £3m at its sist... [more]

Shire Pharmaceuticals is to acquire Atlantic Pharmaceutical Services,the US-based pharmaceuticals manufacturer with 100 staff in Maryland, from Niro for £11m.... [more]

Cendant is to acquire Galileo Danmark, the Danish distributor of its airline reservation system, from Maersk data for undisclosed terms.16/09/2002... [more]

Peterhouse is planning to acquire First Engineering Holdings, the Glasgow-based rail infrastructure provider, for £65m.... [more]

Logica has acquired eGlobal Pacific, the Australian SAP consulting firm, for £2.3m.... [more]

James Gilbert has bought cricket bat company Grays of Cambridge out of receivership.... [more]

Alldaypa has acquired GroupTrade, the London-based office supplies company, for undisclosed terms.... [more]

Eutelsat, the European satellite operator, has a number of parties interested in bidding for the company. Intelsat has made the only formal bid, reported to be $3.5-$4bn.... [more]

Paladin Resources, the North Sea oil explorer, has reportedly invited takeover bids for the company, whose production has risen 10-fold in four years.... [more]

Baltimore Technologies, the Irish software security company, has held talks with several potential bidders. It reportedly wants to wait till it breaks even next year before accepting any offer.... [more]

Insure-Shop has acquired Ilkeston-based Williams Financial Services, taking the number of its branches in the Midlands to 19.... [more]