News In Brief

With Ford Motor Co. pulling its $6.9 billion offer for deeply indebted South Korean automaker Daewoo off the table, creditors reopened the bidding process and said they expected to choose a winner next month. Ford said the purchase of Daewoo would not be in the best interest of either company. Its move leaves two consortia, General Motors/Fiat and DaimlerChrysler/Hyundai, as the remaining bidders. But neither was indicating any interest in raising its offers. Daewoo's collapse last year under $70 billion in unpaid bills ranks as one of history's largest business failures.

In a flurry of sizable transactions:

*New York-based - and privately held - investment bank Wasserstein Perella agreed to be acquired by Germany's Dresdner Bank AG. The all-stock deal was valued at $1.36 billion.

* The Snapple brand of teas, fruit drinks, and juices was sold to Britain's Cadbury Schweppes PLC for an estimated $1.45 billion in cash and debt-assumption. The move strengthens Cadbury Schweppes's presence in the US, where it ranks third in soft-beverage sales behind PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Inc., neither of which is a leader in noncarbonated drinks.

*Merger plans were announced by three of Japan's larger insurance carriers, creating an alliance with assets of $177 billion. Tokio Fire & Marine, Asahi Mutual Life, and Nichido Fire & Marine, however, still will be dwarfed by Japan's largest insurer, Nippon Life, whose assets are almost 2-1/2 times as great.

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society

You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to News In Brief
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/2000/0919/p24s4.html
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us