RIYADH: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Alwaleed bin Talal Foundation, has donated $500,000 to the “South African-Mali Project: Timbuktu Manuscripts” to help build the Ahmad Baba Institute in order to conserve and preserve rare Arabic, Islamic, and African manuscripts.
Merck to buy Schering
TRENTON, New Jersey: Merck & Co. is buying Schering-Plough Corp. for $41.1 billion in stock and cash in a deal that gives the companies more firepower to compete in a drug industry facing slumping sales, tough generic competition and intense cost pressures. The deal announced Yesterday would unite the maker of asthma drug Singulair with the maker of allergy medicine Nasonex.
Global names new CEO
KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Global Investment House shares rose as much as 3.8 percent yesterday after the firm said it had appointed a new chief executive as part of its restructuring plan. Global’s stock ended 2.53 percent up, having fell 2.47 percent on Sunday, after the firm said its board of directors approved a new organization structure, which includes appointing executive vice-president Bader Al-Sumait as the CEO of Global Kuwait, the main headquarters of the firm.
Satyam starts bidding process
MUMBAI: Fraud-hit Indian outsourcing giant Satyam Computer Services said yesterday it had started the bidding process to sell off a 51 percent stake. Each interested bidder will have to show proof of availability of at least Rs.15 billion ($288 million) in funds and submit a detailed “expression of interest” to acquire the stake, a company statement said.
McClatchy to cut 1,600 jobs
SACRAMENTO, California: McClatchy says it plans to eliminate 1,600 jobs, or 15 percent of its work force, as it contends with declining revenue and a deepening recession. Sacramento, California-based McClatchy Co. says the job cuts, which will start by the end of the first quarter, will come through attrition, consolidating and outsourcing some functions and will include about $30 million in severance costs.
BMW sales plummet 24%
FRANKFURT: The German luxury carmaker BMW said yesterday that February sales plunged by an annualized 24 percent but vowed to remain the world’s top high-end brand. The BMW group, which owns the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, sold a total of 80,453 vehicles, a statement said.
Rio Tinto sells US coal mine
MELBOURNE: Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto said yesterday it had agreed to sell a US coal mine to St Louis-based Arch Coal for $761 million.
