"OSRAMS" on the right track. AMS successfully completed its takeover bid for Osram after obtaining more than 55% of the outstanding shares, which was the minimum floor set by the acquirer. The Austrian did not specify the exact percentage, which will be known tomorrow, December 10. Management is delighted to be able to successfully complete its project to create a European champion in photonics and sensors.

Successful purchase. Merck announced on Monday the acquisition of ArQule, an oncology treatment development laboratory, for $2.7 billion.

Towards an end to the crisis on Ilva? Italy could back-pedal in the Ilva case, and is seeking to convince ArcelorMittal not to abandon the site, by supporting it with an investment of 18% of the capital of the Puglia steel mill, according to Il Messaggero, with guarantees on environmental liabilities. In return, the steel giant would be asked to reduce its job reduction forecasts. After the threats, Rome will have to roll up its sleeves to avoid an industrial disaster for the Taranto region. The ecological disaster, on the other hand, is unfortunately already over.

A chair for two. International Flavors & Fragrances and Kerry Group are in pole position to buy the nutrition division put up for sale by Dupont, which could be worth $25 billion, according to Bloomberg. The transaction with one or the other of the contenders could even be announced before the end of the year. No one wanted to comment on the rumor, of course.

A heavy fine. The termination of anti-corruption investigations in the United States will cost Ericsson $1.06 billion. The US Department of Justice and the SEC validated the principle, after the Swede admitted corruption practices from 2000 to 2016 in several countries around the world. Ericsson was liable in the United States because of the extraterritoriality of American law for transactions carried out in dollars.

Tesco is studying its future in Asia. Tesco could sell its supermarkets in Thailand and Malaysia, the Wall Street Journal reported, for an amount of up to $9 billion. The British distributor issued a press release on Sunday in which it stated that it had indeed begun to study the issue, after receiving an unsolicited offer. It has more than 2,000 stores in both countries (mainly Thailand), where it employs more than 60,000 people. Analysts are divided, considering that the quality of the assets allows a very high price to be obtained, but also stressing that they provide additional growth compared to mature markets in Europe.

In other news. Fiat Chrysler has appealed to the European Court of Justice against the Commission's decision to claim €30 million in tax arrears from Luxembourg. Elon Musk (Tesla) was acquitted in the Twitter defamation case against a British man. The Japanese financial market regulator could impose a fine of JPY 2.4 billion (about €20 million) on Nissan, NHK learned. From this day forward, T-Mobile US and Sprint are defending their merger in court in the United States. Hong Kong Airlines in serious financial difficulties. In the absence of the necessary approvals, Roche is once again extending its takeover bid for Spark Therapeutics. Prosus increases its offer on Just Eat shares to GBp 740. The CEO and exploration manager of Tullow Oil are resigning after production performance was well below expectations.