Northern-Irish drug maker Warner Chilcott has agreed to buy the prescription drugs unit of Proctor & Gamble (P&G) for around $3.1 billion.  Cincinnati-based P&G has been seeking a buyer for the unit for several months since it announced it was interested in exiting the prescription drugs business in favor of over-the-counter products. Drug approval processes have become increasingly complicated, making investments in pharmaceuticals less profitable.

Northern-Irish drug maker Warner Chilcott has agreed to buy the prescription drugs unit of Proctor & Gamble (P&G) for around $3.1 billion (Ôé¼2.1 billion).

Italian foundry equipment maker Danieli has won a contract worth $213 million (Ôé¼150 million) to build a steel plant in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The US Justice Department has given its approval for business software firm Oracle to take over Sun Microsystems.┬á  The $7.4 billion deal was agreed by both companies in April but needs approval from both the US Justice Department and the European Commission before it can be concluded. ┬á It is hoped that the European Commission approval will come through by early September.

India's top mobile firm Bharti Airtel has extended merger talks with South AfricaÔÇÖs MTN until the end of September, it was announced today.

Northrop Grumman, the third-largest US defense company, is selling its unit that advises military and intelligence agencies, known as TASC.┬á  It is thought the division, which sells mission analysis services and advises government military agencies on weapons systems, could fetch up to $2 billion.

Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has emerged as the winning bidder to take over Texan lender Guaranty Financial Group, according to reports.

Canadian firm Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of the Blackberry smartphone, has been named the worldÔÇÖs fastest growing firm in Fortune magazineÔÇÖs annual guide.  The firmÔÇÖs success is due in part to the release of its latest Blackberry model, the Curve, which in the three months to June this year was the top-selling smartphone in the US, claiming more than 50 percent market share. This year is the first time that Fortune has opened the list to non-US companies.

HSBC, EuropeÔÇÖs largest bank, is in advanced talks with Chinese firm Industrial Securities over a joint banking venture that could be formed as early as this year.

Satellite navigation manufacturer Garmin is in talks to buy UK marine navigation manufacturer Raymarine.  Raymarine released a statement following a weekend of press speculation, which confirmed that it is ÔÇ£in┬ápreliminary discussions┬áwith a number of parties, including Garmin,┬áwhich may or may not lead to a sale of the Company.ÔÇØ┬á Portsmouth, UK-based Raymarine is one of the world's best known marine electronics firms, supplying GPS, autopilot, chartplotting and fish-finding technology.