The Wall Street Journal-20080115-In Brief
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In Brief
Reuters Deal Is Expected
To Close in 2nd Quarter
News and information companies Reuters Group PLC and Thomson Corp. said they expect the proposed acquisition of Reuters by the Canadian company to close early in the second quarter. They said the U.S. Justice Department, which had been expected to give its decision on the deal by today, would now give its ruling around the same time as the European Commission's. The European Union's executive arm is set to give its ruling by March 10. It then may take as long as six weeks to secure shareholder approval.
-- Reuters
Wal-Mart Small Grocery
To Compete With Tesco
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will open a small grocery store in the Phoenix area after a United Kingdom rival moved into the Southwest with small shops. The world's biggest retailer said it will test four stores about half the size of its existing Neighborhood Market stores, which are much smaller than Wal-Mart Supercenters. U.K. retailer Tesco PLC opened its first U.S. stores, called Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets, this past fall in the Los Angeles area, aimed at those who find big stores inconvenient.
S&N Again Rejects Bid,
Looks to Other Interests
U.K. brewer Scottish & Newcastle PLC said it performed in line with market expectations in the fourth quarter and again dismissed the GBP 7.6 billion ($14.9 billion) offer from Carlsberg A/S and Heineken NV as too low. S&N said in a trading update its expectations for the 2007 financial year remain unchanged. Meanwhile, a person familiar with the matter said S&N has had talks with private-equity groups and other companies in the sector about a bid to take control of Baltic Beverages Holding, its Russian joint venture with Carlsberg.
