ACCC rejects Woolies Karabar acquisition

The ACCC has rejected the proposed acquisition of the Karabar Supermarket in NSW by the nation's largest retailer, Woolworths Ltd, on competition concerns.

Raiders with a Viking pedigree

Baugur’s head office in Bond Street, Central London, is dominated by a 10ft-tall statue of a Viking and for much of the past decade the company has raided the high street in a manner that would have made its ancestors proud.

Baugur: the iceman cometh...

Some City analysts wrote off Woolworths as a lost cause a long time ago. But Malcolm Walker, chief executive of the frozen food specialist Iceland, and Baugur, the Icelandic retail investment group, clearly have not, and this weekend it emerged that they had made an offer to purchase Woolworths' retail division. Woolworths rejected the offer yesterday.

Market Report: Hays in the sights of Dutch recruiter Randstad

Bid speculation was evident around Hays, the FTSE 250-listed staffing group, which gained 6.59 per cent or 6p to 97p yesterday.

Canberra considers grocery pricing scheme

The Federal Government says it will introduce a mandatory national unit pricing scheme, one of the key recommendations from the ACCC inquiry into grocery prices.

The new takeover battle

This year's upsurge in corporate mergers has sparked conflicts between company boards, who want the final say, and shareholders claiming they are being shut out of decisions with billions of dollars at stake. Colin Kruger reports