16 Nov 12. FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) has acquired 3 million shares of its common stock in a privately negotiated transaction at $18.55 per share. The transaction was completed pursuant to the company’s existing share repurchase authorization, which permits the repurchase of shares in open market or privately negotiated transactions through February 9, 2013. After giving effect to the above referenced transaction, approximately 3.4 million shares remain under this authorization.
19 Nov 12. Cisco buys cloud network company for $1.2bn. Cisco is paying $1.2bn to boost its internet-cloud networking capabilities with the acquisition of Meraki, a six-year-old San Francisco-based company backed by Google. The Silicon Valley-based network equipment provider said it expected the all-cash deal to close in its current quarter ending in January. Cisco said Meraki would become a new division within the company known as the Cloud Networking Group. Meraki offers cloud networking management, meaning companies and their IT departments can manage their installed software, networks and devices through a dashboard in a web browser. (Source: FT.com)
20 Nov 12. Honeywell defence chief backs sector cuts. The head of the defence business of Honeywell, one of the US’s biggest industrial conglomerates, has broken ranks with his peers and called deep defence cuts inevitable and “the right thing”. Mike Madsen told listeners to the company’s defence and space investor day conference call on Monday that Honeywell took an unusual position on the looming cuts. (Source: FT.com)
19 Nov 12. Russia is considering creating a single firearms manufacturer named after the legendary rifle designer Mikhail Kalashnikov by merging two struggling firms, President Vladimir Putin said Nov. 19. Izhmash, the legendary factory in the central city of Izhevsk where Kalashnikov designed the iconic AK-47 assault rifle, has fallen on hard times since the collapse of the Soviet Union, owing to a fall of orders. Putin gave his initial support to an idea of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin for Izhmash to merge with another Izhveshk arms manufacturer, Izhmekh, under the brand name Kalashnikov. (Source: Defense News)
19 Nov 12. On November 13, 2012, LIST Innovative Solutions, Inc. announced the sale of the company to Salient Federal Solutions, Inc. LIST is a leading provider of high-end, complex, enterprise-scale application design and development, systems integration and modernization, and data management solutions primarily to Federal civilian agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Agency for International Development, and Environmental Protection Agency. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Bluestone Capital partners was an advisor to LIST.
20 Nov 12. EADS pact faces shake up. The French and German governments are looking at forming a new shareholder pact at EADS, under which each would hold a stake of 12 per cent in the European aerospace and defence company. The new pact could also involve the Spanish government, which has a 5.5 per cent stake in EADS, according to people familiar with the discussions over the pact. At present, Berlin and Paris effectively control EADS through a series of direct and indirect shareholdings. Germany’s Daimler owns 22.5 per cent of EADS, while the French state holds 15 per cent and conglomerate Lagardère has 7.5 per cent. Under the current pact between these shareholders, they have special rights to nominate directors and approve strategic investments. But Daimler and Lagardère are keen to sell their EADS stakes, and this has been the trigger for discussions between the French and German governments about the case for a new shareholder pact. The proposed changes may prove helpful to Tom Enders, EADS chief executive, who has expressed a wish to reduce political meddling at the company. If a new pact achieves this, it could p