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The French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis and the U.S. Merck in a statement announcing the creation of a joint venture in animal health. Owned equally between the two groups, it is destined to become the world's number one industry with a combined turnover of approximately $ 5.3 billion, or 29% of the market.

Since July 29, 2009 and redeemed for $ 4 billion of Merck's participation in their previous joint venture Merial, Sanofi-Aventis had an option to meet with Merial, Intervet Schering-Plow Animal Health Division in the born merger between Merck and Schering Plow.

The deal values Merial to 8 billion dollars and Intervet Schering-Plow 8.5 billion.It already cost at Sanofi-Aventis 250 million dollars to establish an equal joint venture with Merck, and 750 million under the agreement of July 2009 the statement said.

The formation of this joint venture is subject to completion of definitive agreements, review by competition authorities in the United States, Europe and other countries . The completion of the transaction is expected during the next 12 months. Pending completion of the transaction, Merial and Intervet Schering-Plow continue to work independently.

The market for animal health has reached 19 billion dollars in 2008. Products for pets represent 40% of the market and 60% for animal production.The growth of this market should be about 5% per year during the next 5 years, supported by a growing demand for animal protein, and by the substantial need for care for pets.

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The time of discord between Cadbury and Kraft Foods U.S. suitor would be gone. The BBC and The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that even the banns could be published on Tuesday. An agreement had indeed been found between the two groups on the basis of an offer revalorized Kraft Foods.

The amount of this new proposal to be about 19 billion dollars, according to the U.S. economic daily, citing sources familiar with the matter. The British radio advance estimates of the same order.It expects an offer increased to 850 pence per share, at most, on the recovery of Cadbury at 11.7 billion pounds, or 13.3 billion euros, equivalent to 19.148 billion dollars at current exchange rates of one euro to 1.4397 dollars.

Based on closing prices Friday, the previous offer of Kraft, open until February 2, Cadbury valued at 10.5 billion pounds, about 12 billion euros or 17.2 billion dollars. Kraft Foods has finally decided to upgrade its offer in response to rumors of interest from the U.S. confectioner Hershey. British law gave him until Tuesday, January 19 to change the amount of its proposal.

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Abrupt return to earth to investors who started the session on Wall Street in the red. The unemployment figures in December were worse than expected. The U.S. has destroyed 85,000 jobs in December as the monthly report of the U.S. Department of Labor. The euphoria was not to go because the unemployment rate remains at 10%. Half an hour before the release of U.S. unemployment figures in December, all future pointing upward. Markets expect that job losses have continued into December. Some also not ruled the possibility of new posts.

Now, the Dow Jones fell by 0.4% to 10,563 points, the S & P lost 0.40% to 1137 points while the Nasdaq lost nearly 6% to 2295 points. The day before, the Exchange had ended in the balance.

Values follow

As for values, General Mills lost 1.02% to 70.57 dollars.The group is expected to announce some numerical predictions.

Barclays (1.18% to U.S. $ 20.63) receives a statement of recommendation from UBS from "neutral" from "buy."

Delta Airlines (-0.55% to $ 12.61 million). Information published by the Wall Street Journal announced that the U.S. airline American Airlines, together with the company TPG Capital, now propose to invest 300 million dollars more in Japan Airlines, for a total of 1.4 billion dollars.

The Supreme Court has sentenced in mid-November the ISP Free, a subsidiary of Iliad, to pay 2,500 euros to one of his subscribers who had complained in 2004 unable to receive television has yet endorsed a bid Triple Play (offers TV / Telephone / Internet) in the latter.

The customer had initially attacked Free before a judge near Orleans, demanding repayment of sums paid as damages. The verdict delivered on 1 July 2008 had gone in the direction of the operator who spoke of the technical problems he had informed his client at the outset of his subscription.The judge had chosen and the "obligation of means" and not "result" to make its ruling.

"The obligation of result" reached by the Court of Cassation

The Court of Cassation found instead that Free was indeed subject to an obligation of result vis-à-vis his client to provide the service for which he had paid, and only one case of "force majeure" would could relieve the operator and justify the breach of his contractual obligation that the technical incidents are not mentioned.

Such a ruling could set a precedent.That case, in addition to its symbolic of the victory of a "simple" client on a company such as Free, has serious consequences for the entire sector, as it will force all providers to verify that TV services are actually available before offering them to their future customers, under penalty of prosecution.

Without recourse, the operator has been convicted yet declined comment.

As the end of appointment of Pierre Gadonneix head of EDF had fed the speculative discussions for several months, the succession of Didier Lombard, head of France Telecom should not give rise to so many vicissitudes. Stéphane Richard, the current number 2 of the French incumbent operator, has already announced its intention to become the new CEO as soon as the mandate of Didier Lombard will end in 2011."If the board is willing, if the shareholders agree and if the little pigs did not eat me by then I will become CEO at that date," he said in an interview with the daily Progress on Friday.

"Organizing the systematic mixing of people didn't make sense"

Asked about the atmosphere prevailing within the group after the wave of human tragedies that rocked France Telecom in recent months, Stéphane Richard hopes that "the pressure was released (…) with the possibility for employees to express themselves . The Director General in charge of France operations has also qualified as "inept" the principle of mobility managers every three years."Organize brewing methodical individual has no meaning (…) this represents significant costs for interest difficult to collect," he said.

In early December should be made public the results of the survey on psychosocial risks launched by France Telecom with its 102,000 French employees. The firm Technologia, which was assigned to the case, expects a turnout particularly high 75% or about 76,000 responses.

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Candidates for acquisition of Areva T & D sharpen their arguments, while the final submission of bids will take place next Monday.

Toshiba, long neglected in this competition is taken more seriously. He muscled his offer by joining two funds: the Japanese INCJ (mostly state-owned nippon) and a fund of Abu Dhabi Taqa. The latter's arrival in the bidding takes on particular importance, while a French consortium (Areva, Total, GDF Suez and EDF) supported by state battle for months to try to sell EPR Abu Dhabi.

Both funds, which provide additional financial strength to Toshiba, hold 40% of the future entity. The Japanese plans, if carried in case of IPO Areva T & D in five to seven years.The prospect of a listing of Areva T & D new version in Paris would be very well received by NYSE Euronext, which suffers from a lack of major operations and would target an ally of Toshiba on this issue. Such a listing would also be the "guarantor" of a French base of activity, in keeping with the country's global headquarters.

The Japanese, who was inspired by the offer from General Electric, has not forgotten to highlight the character "industrial" in its offer. It builds on the geographic – Areva T & D is absent from Asia and Toshiba contributes nearly one billion euros in sales in China – and synergies in research and development and procurement of raw materials.Main downside: Toshiba, owner of Westinghouse, is a very serious competitor Areva in the construction of nuclear reactors.

French base

For his part, General Electric has also revised its copy. Minority shareholder alongside the investment fund CVC in its initial offer, the U.S. conglomerate will position itself in the majority partner in the new offering will be delivered Monday. A decision making more industrial project and facilitate the granting of bank guarantees to Areva T & D when signing contracts.

The project also provides for GE in France to maintain the headquarters of a subsidiary of Areva and introduce the next five years the stock market. Industrial side, GE is the map of complementarity, it would include T & D to access the North American market, albeit less buoyant than Asia for transmitting and distributing electricity.A flat, however, GE sold it eighteen months a part of its T & D, raising questions about the strategic importance of such an event for the American conglomerate.

The presidents of Alstom and Schneider are also mounted to the wall for defending their joint bid. On Thursday, before the National Assembly, they reaffirmed that there would be no site closures or socially, in case of redemption. Schneider may be a cluster "distribution" of 5 billion euros. It would then match its two main competitors in the field, ABB and Siemens. Not enough, a priori, drawing the ire of Brussels. With the "transmission", Alstom is the world leader in this sector. Problem with this offer: it implies a separation of Areva T & D, an idea which irritates its management.

"Alstom defends its bid for Areva T & D