Acquisition, Billion | featured news

Hewlett-Packard Co. said that a British company it bought for $9.7 billion last year lied about its finances, resulting in a massive write-down of the value of the business. CEO Meg Whitman avoided calling it a fraud, but said Tuesday that there were "serious accounting improprieties, disclosure failures and outright misrepresentations at Autonomy Corporation PLC."

Jefferies will continue to operate as a full-service global investment banking firm in its current form, the companies said.

Priceline is buying Kayak in a $1.8 billion cash-and-stock deal, adding a travel search site that went public earlier this year.

Well, this is unexpected: In a deal worth a reported $4 billion in stocks and cash, George Lucas has handed the keys to his Star Wars kingdom over to Disney. Saying that "Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas," the understandably enthused Disney CEO, Bob Iger, heralded an acquisition that "combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney's unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value."

The Walt Disney Company, in a move that gives it a commanding position in the fantasy world of film, said Tuesday it had agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. from its founder, George Lucas, for $4.05 billion in stock and cash.

Clean Harbors is buying Safety-Kleen for $1.25 billion in cash as it looks to enter smaller markets and expand its waste treatment capabilities.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, the parent company of HarperCollins, is exploring a cash bid for Pearson PLC’s Penguin book division, a step that could ignite a bidding war for Penguin as the publishing industry begins to move toward consolidation.

The world's leading chip gear maker ASML is buying U.S. group Cymer for 1.95 billion euros ($2.5 billion) to get control of a light-based technology crucial to making the smaller, smarter chips of the future.

The M&T Bank Corporation has agreed to buy Hudson City Bancorp for $3.7 billion in cash and stock, expanding M&T's reach on the East Coast.

European private-equity firm Permira said it would buy Japanese sushi chain Akindo Sushiro for around $1 billion, making a bet that the popular restaurant brand can expand beyond Japan.