UK mobile phone giant Vodafone has announced that group net profits almost trebled to £8.6 billion in the 12 months to March 31.

JapanÔÇÖs Astellas Pharma has agreed to buy OSI Pharmaceuticals for $4 billion in cash, having raised its bid by 11 percent.  As a result of the deal, Tokyo-based Astellas will gain the worldÔÇÖs fourth best-selling lung cancer medicine and a US sales team for oncology drugs. Melville, New York-based OSI, which was founded in 1983, will give Astellas the Tarceva drug for cancer, a disease area the Japanese company has identified for growth.

Alliance Boots, the UKÔÇÖs biggest pharmacy and beauty products company, has posted annual profits of ┬ú1 billionÔÇöonly the third UK retailer to do so.

China Investment Corp. (CIC) and Penn West Energy Trust have entered into an oil sands partnership worth $817 million, and an equity investment worth $435 million.  Under the joint venture, Penn West, which is CanadaÔÇÖs number two energy trust, will put up $1.8 billion worth of oil sands assets in exchange for a 55 per cent stake in the joint venture. CIC will then pay $817 million for a 45 per cent stake.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has launched a new mobile phone service in partnership with Qtel Telecom in Qatar.

Virgin Mobile Qatar, launched in a brand licensing agreement with state-owned Qtel, will offer a prepaid mobile phone service within Qtel's network.

In a statement, Virgin said the service would be “open, fun and simple to use”, as well as being supported by a range of retail stores and a new, dedicated contact centre in Doha.

Calgary-based Crescent Point Energy Corp. has announced it is buying back its spinout Shelter Bay Energy for $1.1 billion, in order to boost its dominant status in two promising Saskatchewan oil plays.  Crescent Point holds the largest position in the Bakken, Canada's second-largest oil field. Together with Shelter Bay, it also holds nearly 90 percent of Lower Shaunavon production, a deep oil play in south-west Saskatchewan.

SwitzerlandÔÇÖs federal railways company SBB has awarded a CHF 1.9 billion (Ôé¼1.3 billion) contract for high-tech, energy efficient trains to the Swiss arm of CanadaÔÇÖs Bombardier Transportation.

The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and the Ontario TeachersÔÇÖ Pension Plan have joined forces with Australian fund manager CP2 to make a sweetened bid for Melbourne-based Transurban.  The $6.4 billion offer came six months after the Australian company rejected a previous bid from the consortium.

Plans have been unveiled for the construction of more offshore wind farms that will double the UKÔÇÖs current wind energy capacity and power 1.4 million homes.

Chevron Canada has begun drilling the countryÔÇÖs deepest offshore oil well in the North Atlantic offshore Newfoundland.  The exploratory well, known as Lona 0-55, is expected to establish a new record in Canada with a water depth of 2,600 meters. Located in the largely unexplored Orphan Basin, an area spanning 100,000 square kilometers, it lies around 430 kilometers north-east of Newfoundland's capital St. John's. Chevron Canada has a 50 percent stake in Lona 0-55.