Business & Finance

Solectron Corp., the world's No. 1 electronics contract maker, is acquiring competitor C-Mac Industries of Canada for $2.7 billion in a deal that aims to enhance its technology, manufacturing capacity, and access to the automotive market. C-Mac, based in Montreal, is a designer and manufacturer of integrated electronic manufacturing solutions. Milipitas, Calif.-based Solectron provides manufacturing and supply-chain management services to high-tech electronics companies.

Germany's Bayer AG said it will cut 1,800 jobs globally and rethink its business strategy, a day after it withdrew an anticholesterol drug linked to deaths in the US. The Leverkusen-based company also said problems at its drug unit caused a 45 percent decline in its second-quarter operating profit.

China has decided to buy 36 Boeing 737 jetliners, an airline official said. The deal, which reportedly could be worth up to $2 billion, would be a welcome boost for the Seattle-based Boeing. It has been losing orders due to the slowing economy. Details for the deal were still being negotiated.