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A bevy of European companies disclosed acquisitions, divestment and mergers on Monday, a bout of activity that comes after an otherwise slow start to the year for deal making. Global mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter fell 48% compared with the year-earlier period in value terms, while the number of deals dropped 27%, according to Dealogic data released in April.

-- Swiss mining and trading heavyweight Glencore confirmed it has approached Canadian mining company Teck Resources over buying its coal assets as an alternative to a previous bid of around $23 billion for the whole company. The Wall Street Journal previously reported the approach, and indicated that Glencore originally valued Teck's coal business at $8 billion.

-- Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis agreed to acquire Chinook Therapeutics, a Seattle, Washington-based clinical biopharmaceutical firm, for up to $3.5 billion. The deal would give Novartis access to Chinook's pipeline for kidney disease treatments.

-- Swiss industrial supplier Georg Fischer offered to buy Finnish peer Uponor for $2.3 billion. The deal would boost Georg Fischer's water- and flow-solutions business.

-- French private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners offered to buy Spanish energy company Opdenergy Holding for $930.9 million. The deal, which requires an acceptance threshold of 75% of outstanding shares, would expand Antin's renewable energy portfolio.

-- Spanish infrastructure company Sacyr said it will sell its environmental-services business, Valoriza Servicios Medioambientales, to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, the New York-based investment firm, for $456.9 million excluding stakes held by minority shareholders. Sacyr said the deal will help it shed debt and focus on public-private partnerships.

-- French civil-engineering firm Eiffage has paid $254.2 million to become the sole shareholder of the Millau Viaduct concession company, formerly held by Caisse des Depots Group, a French public financing group. Eiffage, which has operated the bridge since it built the structure in 2004, said the deal strengthens its concession portfolio.

-- Swiss technology company ABB has acquired Eve Systems, a German maker of smart-home products, for an undisclosed sum. Eve, a private company, has operations in Europe and the U.S.

-- Swiss investment firm Partners Group has agreed to acquire 35 bio-gas and 10 bio-methane plants from private German company Energiedenker Group for an undisclosed amount. Bio-gas and bio-methane production will play a crucial role in Europe's energy transition, Partners Group said.

-- German medical-diagnostic company Epigenomics is in talks with an undisclosed U.S. company to sell nearly all its assets for around $11.5 million. The talks, which are not binding, center on Epigenomic's blood tests to screen for colon cancer. The unidentified company would also pay royalties and other costs associated with the commercialization of a diagnostic product in development.

-- On top of the new merger-and-acquisition news, Swiss banking giant UBS said it has concluded its takeover of Credit Suisse following the near-collapse of its smaller Swiss rival earlier this year. Spanish energy company Iberdrola said it has entered into an agreement for its previously disclosed sale of power-generation plants in Mexico for $6 billion, including debt.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 12, 2023 07:54 ET (11:54 GMT)

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