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Having withdrawn from the stock market five years ago, Toys 'R' Us has filed for an initial public offering in the hope of raising $800 million. The toy store chain's performance will be a barometer to how well its owner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is proving itself to potential investors as the investment company prepares its own IPO for this summer.

CenturyTel Inc. will buy Qwest Communications International Inc. for $10.6 billion in an all-stock deal. CenturyTel, which will be renamed CenturyLink, is offering 0.1664 share of its stock for every Qwest share. CenturyTel will also assume $11.8 billion of Qwest's debt.

After failing to turn its business around, hand-held device maker Palm Inc. has hired investment bankers to explore strategic options for the company - including its possible sale. Palm's shares, which have lost 35% of their value in the past year, rose 88 cents on Monday to close at $6.04, giving the company a market capitalization of about $1 billion.

Dow Jones & Co. is expected to announce the sale of its stock-indexing business to exchange operator CME Group Inc. for a price greater than $600 million. CME would continue to use the Down Jones name in its investment-information products.

Byline: BETSY MCKAY, DENNIS K. BERMAN AND VALERIE BAUERLEIN BEVERAGES PepsiCo's move on bottlers signals major shift in strategy PepsiCo Inc. PEP-N launched a $6-billion (U.S.) takeover bid for its [...]

Byline: DENNIS K. BERMAN, SHIRA OVIDE AND MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG; Jeffrey McCracken contributed to this article. Tribune Co. is preparing for a possible filing for bankruptcy court protection as soon as [...]

After weeks of resistance, Anheuser-Busch Cos. has agreed to be acquired by Belgian-Brazilian beverage giant InBev N.V. for $52 billion, $70 per share. Article discusses terms of the sale, executive changes at Anheuser, and Anheuser's management as a unit of InBev.

In a decision expected to affect all departments and ranks, Citigroup Inc. announces it will layoff 10% of its investment banking division's estimated 65,000 employees. Article discusses Citigroup's efforts to reorganize its labor force and international divisions to compensate for losses stemming from the international credit market crisis.

Byline: DAVID ENRICH AND DENNIS K. BERMAN Citigroup Inc., in the latest sign of bloodletting on Wall Street, is set this week to embark on an aggressive round of layoffs [...]

Aerospace company Finmeccanica SpA is negotiating the acquisition of New Jersey-based defense company DRS Technologies Inc. Article discusses European aerospace and defense companies' acquisitions and investments in the U.S., and DRS Technologies' stock value and financial standing.

Faced with either bankruptcy or a forced sale, investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. agrees to be sold to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. at the price of $2 a share in a deal worth around $236 million. Article discusses the ailing mortgage-backed securities sector and capital markets, and the Federal Reserve Board's efforts to lessen their impact on securities firms and investment banks.

Byline: ROBIN SIDEL, DENNIS K. BERMAN AND KATE KELLY; WALL STREET JOURNAL STAFF JPMorgan Chase & Co., urged on by the U.S. federal government, agreed to buy Bear Stearns & [...]

Byline: DENNIS K. BERMAN Private-equity buyers of Acxiom Corp. are in negotiations about breaking off their proposed $2.25-billion (U.S.) purchase of the data-management company, people familiar with the situation said [...]

Byline: DENNIS K. BERMAN AND JULIE JARGON Campbell Soup Co., owner of the famous Godiva Chocolatier brand, is putting the company on the auction block, according to people familiar with [...]

Byline: DENNIS K. BERMAN, RANDALL SMITH, KATE KELLY Alan Schwartz of Wall Street firm Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. has long been counted on by chief executive officers as an investment [...]

Byline: KATE KELLY AND DENNIS K. BERMAN; With a report from Dow Jones Bear Stearns Cos. co-president and co-chief operating officer Warren Spector resigned yesterday at a meeting of the [...]

Byline: KAREN RICHARDSON, DENNIS K. BERMAN AND JULIE JARGON Berkshire Hathaway Inc., run by billionaire Warren Buffett, has acquired a small stake in Kraft Foods Inc., joining veteran Wall Street [...]

Byline: JANET ADAMY AND DENNIS K. BERMAN; Justin Lahart contributed to this article IHOP Corp. chief executive officer Julia Stewart said she plans to revive Applebee's International Inc. by better [...]

Byline: SUSAN WARREN, SARAH ELLISON AND DENNIS K. BERMAN As Dow Jones & Co. continues to evaluate a bid from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., a key member of the controlling [...]

Australia's Rio Tinto Ltd. is in the final stages of negotiating an agreement to buy Canada's aluminum company Alcan Inc. Alcan is currently staving off a hostile takeover bid from US-based Alcoa Inc. The agreement is expected to be an all-cash deal valued at approximately $37 bil, or nearly $100 per share. The deal would top Alcoa's bid of $27.94 bil.

Byline: DENNIS K. BERMAN, DANA CIMILLUCA, RHONDA L. RUNDLE Advanced Medical Optics Inc. has proposed a $4.1-billion (U.S.) takeover for Bausch & Lomb Inc., potentially upsetting an existing $3.7-billion deal [...]

Byline: DENNIS K. BERMAN In moving to trump an existing deal for Utah chemical maker Huntsman Corp., private equity firm Apollo Management LP showed how buyout shops are increasingly blurring [...]

Industry analysts say that French food company Group Danone S.A. could become a takeover target once it sells its cookie division to US-based Kraft Foods Inc., a deal valued at over $5 bil. However, the French government has identified Danone as a national champion, which could complicate bids from foreign companies.

Canada telecommunications firm BCE Inc. will be acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners Inc., and the investment unit of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in the largest private equity buyout ever. The deal, valued at $48.5 bil, includes the acquisition price of $32.6 bil plus $15.9 bil in minority interests, debt, and preferred equity.

TPG Capital LLC and Silver Lake have agreed to buy telecommunications equipment firm Avaya Inc. in a deal totaling approximately $8.2 bil. Shares will be sold for $17.50, representing a 28% premium.

U.S. telecommunications equipment company Avaya Inc. is currently talking with strategic bidders and private equity firms regarding the sale of all or part of the company, a sign that the industry may undergo another round of acquisitions and mergers. Avaya's market capitalization is valued at $6.18 bil.

General Electric Co. is close to reaching a deal to sell its plastics unit to Saudi Basic Industries Corp., a deal valued at $11 bil. Sales for the plastics unit reached $6.6 bil last year; Sabic revenue for 2006 reached $23.06 bil.

DaimlerChrysler AG is expected to sell to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management L.P. a controlling stake in its U.S.-based Chrysler Group unit. The deal would enable Daimler to eliminate $18 bil in health care and retirement liabilities; implications for automobile industry union labor is discussed.

British defense contractor BAE Systems PLC has agreed to acquire US firm Armor Holdings Inc. for approximately $88 per share, a deal totaling $4.1 bil. The agreement strengthens BAE's presence in the US and bolsters its military ground vehicles segment.

Germany's Deutsche Borse AG has bid $67.50 per share for International Securities Exchange Holdings Inc. in a deal totaling $2.8 bil. The offer constitutes one of the first bids by a Europe-based exchange operator to obtain a major American operator.

Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. have made a $5 bil bid for newspaper publisher Dow Jones and Company Inc., at $60 a share in cash or a mix of cash and stock. Indications as to whether the Bancroft family, who holds the majority voting power for Down Jones, would accept or reject the offer.

Essar Global Ltd. will acquire Minnesota Steel Industries LLC and Canadian steelmaker Algoma Steel Inc., in deals totaling $1.65 bil and $1.6 bil respectively. The acquisitions will bolster the Indian steel company's access to iron ore.

Executive vice president Romeo Kreinberg and senior advisor J. Pedro Reinhard were fired from their positions at Dow Chemical Co. after it was discovered that the two, without the authorization of the company's board of directors, had been in talks with Oman investors regarding a leveraged buyout. The discovery came from information provided by a source at J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.

Although Barclays PLC is in talks to acquire Dutch bank ABN AMRO Holding N.V., Citigroup Inc. is c onsidering a hostile takeover. The Barclays acquisition would be the largest bank deal in history, with ABN AMRO valued at $80 billion.

Investment firm Dubai Aerospace Enterprise is interested in acquiring aircraft maintenance companies Landmark Aviation and Standard Aero Holdings Inc. from U.S. firm Carlyle Group. The Dubai company plans to take measures to address U.S. security concerns.

The mystique of the life and times of Lazard Freres & Company L.L.C. of the United States has been revealed in 'The Last Tycoons' by William D. Cohan a former executive banker. The inside revelations are due in bookstores by April 17th. Reactions to preliminary galleys have jolted the banking firm and Wall Street.

In an effort to combat financial losses by its Chrysler division , DaimlerChrysler is exploring various possibilities including partnerships. The large automobile manufacturer has announced major restructuring involving a plant closure, production cuts, and layoffs in North America.

Siemens AG of Germany is to acquire UGS Corp. of the United States for $3.5 billion. The acquisition is part of a restructuring for the German electronics company. Siemens AG posted $1.2 billion in revenue and $241 million in operating profit for 2005.

Consolidation talks are underway in the airline industry, with the proposed merger of UAL Corp. with Continental Airlines Inc., and the proposed acquisition of Midwest Air Group Inc. by AirTran Holdings Inc.