Mergers and Acquisitions

Seed company Monsanto Co, which rejected Bayer AG's buyout offer in May, is exploring various transactions, including the acquisition of BASF's agriculture-solutions unit, Bloomberg reported.

Struggling Japanese electronics maker Sharp approved a downgraded buyout proposal from Foxconn Technology Group on Wednesday, pushing months of negotiations closer to a conclusion.

Yahoo Inc. has given potential suitors two weeks to submit preliminary bids for its core Web business and Asian assets, according to people familiar with the matter.

NTT Data, a subsidiary of Japan's largest telecommunications group Nippon Telegraph & Telephone, said Monday it had agreed to purchase Dell's information-technology-services division for $3.05 billion.

Yum Brands Inc. is considering selling a stake in its Chinese operation as part of a plan by the restaurant giant to spin off the once-fast-growing business.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide said it had agreed to a sweetened $13.6 billion deal with Marriott International on Monday, trumping last week's boosted bid from Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has received a takeover offer from a group led by China's Anbang Insurance Group Co., threatening to upend Starwood's $12.2 billion tie-up with Marriott International Inc.

Rovi said it would acquire TiVo Inc. for about $1.1 billion, a tie-up that comes as consumers are increasingly changing how they watch videos.

Comcast is in talks to buy DreamWorks Animation for more than $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that could make the cable giant a rival to Walt Disney in the lucrative family-entertainment business.

Verizon Communications' pursuit of Yahoo received a boost as several prominent suitors opted not to make offers for the beleaguered Internet company.

The parent company of the Daily Mail, the British newspaper and global tabloid website, is in talks with several private-equity firms about a possible bid for Yahoo Inc., people familiar with the matter said.

A day after the Obama administration limited the ability of U.S. companies to do international deals to lighten their tax burdens, Pfizer and Allergan terminated their planned $150 billion merger and other companies around the globe raced to assess the impact of the new rules.

Alaska Air said Monday morning that it had reached a deal to buy Virgin America, winning a frenzied bidding war with rival JetBlue Airways.

Monsanto Co. rejected Bayer AG's $62 billion takeover offer, saying the biotech seed giant's business merited a higher price, though Monsanto said it remains open to further talks on a deal.

DuPont and Dow Chemical Co. provided more details about plans for the leadership team following the planned merger of the chemical giants, including leadership for the three businesses that eventually would be split off.

German pharmaceutical and chemicals giant Bayer AG on Monday said it made an all-cash offer to acquire Monsanto Co. for $62 billion, valuing the U.S. company at a substantial premium in a deal that would create the world's largest agrochemicals company.

Verizon Communications and others are expected to bid around $2 billion to $3 billion in the auction for Yahoo's core business, less than what the troubled Internet pioneer was expected to fetch, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bayer has approached Monsanto about a takeover that would fuse two of the world's largest suppliers of crop seeds and pesticides, according to people familiar with the matter.

Nissan Motor said Thursday it would spend Yen237.4 billion ($2.18 billion) to take a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors, becoming the controlling shareholder after a scandal at Mitsubishi involving falsified fuel-economy data.

A U.S. district court judge ruled on Tuesday that the No. 1 office supply store may not merge with its smaller rival.