Company news

Published January 13, 2008

LONDON: Citigroup is putting the final touches to a second big fundraising, seeking up to $14 billion from Chinese, Kuwaiti and public market investors, according to Saturday's Financial Times.

The FT cited people familiar with the negotiations as saying about $9 billion would probably come from investors in China.

The Kuwait Investment Authority would contribute about $1 billion and $2 billion to $4 billion would be raised through a public placement of shares, it said.—Reuters

* * * * *

FRANKFURT: Germany’s Continental, the world's fifth largest automotive parts supplier, could spend up to 4 billion euros ($5.9bn) for additional growth, Auto Motor und Sport reported on Saturday.

Chief Executive Manfred Wennemer told the German motor magazine that the 11.4 billion euros he spent in December to close the mega-acquisition of the Siemens VDO automotive electronics business would limit his ability to increase Continental’s debt.

Wennemer is looking at 30 to 40 different targets, mainly in China for his tyres business as well as in America and Asia for ContiTech -- the non-tyre rubber division that lost out to Carlyle's $1.48 billion bid for Goodyear's Engineered Products unit in March of last year.—Reuters

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