Offer

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has approved the News Corp (ASX:NWS) for ConsMedia (ASX:CMJ).

Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (HDF) has released its target statement today rejecting the takeover offer that it has received from rival APA Group in mid-December. The company board is recommending its investors to reject the offer as it undervalues the company.

After Macarthur Coal (ASX:MCC) quashed the joint Peabody Energy and ArcelorMittal bid, Peabody is now going directly to the miner's shareholders.

Peabody had done due diligence before laying its $16 a share offer on the table, pending a signed bid implementation agreement (BIA) from Macarthur. The miner, however, declined the BIA, saying it would prevent the company from seeking higher bids.

Fairfax (ASX:FXJ) has quashed the bids for its major assets from a group of Melbourne families led by Ron Walker. Walker made an informal pitch to buy The Age newspaper and radio station 3AW but the company's board swiftly put a stop to the talks.

As part of its new fare scheme, Virgin Australia (ASX:VBA) is offering flyers the privilege to cancel their flights up to 24 hours after its scheduled departure. According to a spokesman, the move is part of the airline's plan to boost availability of all fare types to meet customer complaints that the cheaper fares sell too quickly.

The Australia based gold exploration, mining and processing company Lihir Gold Limited (LGL), has claimed that some of the major shareholders of the company expressed their support after the company turned down the all-scrip takeover bid of Newcrest Mining (NCM), which increases the possibility of an improved offer.

China Minmetals Corp., China's largest metals trading company, agreed to pay 2.6 billion Australian dollars in cash for Melbourne-based copper producer OZ Minerals (OZL). The board of the debt-laden miner decided that the offer was "in the best interest of Oz Minerals' shareholders". Coming just days after Aluminum Corp. of China said it will invest $19.5 billion in Rio Tinto Group, easing the Anglo-Australian miner's heavy debt burden, the offer underscores China's determination to clinch access to offshore mining resources.