USA and Canada

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and subsidiaries of Soitec Solar Development LLC have announced the signing of two additional 25-year contracts for a total of 125 MW of solar energy to be generated in SDG&E’s service territory.

The additional energy will be produced using Soitec's concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology, with solar modules manufactured in a new Soitec factory to be built in the San Diego area.

Both of the projects will be located in San Diego County and will be situated near SDG&E electric substations.

Amec, the UK-based engineering and project management company, has agreed to buy the US engineering and environmental services company Mactec for $280 million.

Mactec provides a similar range of services to Amec's Earth & Environmental (E&E) unit, including environmental planning, assessment and remediation, infrastructure engineering, water resources and construction support services. Its clients are those operating in the energy, commercial/industrial, transportation/infrastructure and federal sectors.

Force Fuels, Inc. has completed the refurbishment of 10 existing oil wells that have been shut down for several years on a property in Montgomery County, Kansas.

The company said that with oil production numbers as anticipated, it expects to open a further 10 wells within the next 15 days.

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. has been awarded two term drilling contracts with Texas-based oil and gas producer Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

The contracts are expected to generate a maximum total revenue of approximately $1.8 billion, and represent 10 years of contract drilling backlog.

The deal will utilize two new-build drillships that Diamond Offshore currently has on order with South Korea-based Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Bombardier Inc. has been awarded the contract to design, build, operate and maintain a monorail system for King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The contract, for a Bombardier INNOVIA APM 300 system, is worth $96 million.

Saudi Binladin Group is the contractor responsible for the design and construction of the KAIA Development Project, which will see existing passenger facilities expanded and an additional passenger terminal building constructed to cater to rising passenger numbers.

The chief executives of AT&T and T-Mobile USA appeared before a Senate antitrust subcommittee this week to defend their proposed $39 billion merger.

AT&T (the second largest wireless provider in the United States) announced in March its intention to acquire T-Mobile USA (the fourth largest) from Deutsche Telekom to overtake the current market leader Verizon Wireless.

Google announced at its Google I/O conference yesterday that its new computer, Chromebook, will go on sale in June in the United States and six European countries.

The first models will be made by manufacturers Samsung and Acer and will be available online from Amazon and Best Buy from June 15 in the US. Chromebooks will be available from leading retailers in the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain, with more countries to follow.

Software giant Microsoft has agreed to acquire internet phone service Skype for $8.5 billion, it has been announced.

In a joint statement, the two companies said the acquisition would increase accessibility of real-time video and voice communications, generate significant new business and revenue opportunities, and further extend Skype’s reach.

The move will also enhance Microsoft’s existing portfolio of real-time communications products and services, which currently include Lync, Outlook, Messenger, Hotmail and Xbox LIVE.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced $2 billion of investment in high-speed rail projects across America.

Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia and Amtrak submitted nearly 100 applications competing for what the Department of Transportation has called an “historic investment”.

The Federal Railroad Administration selected 15 states and Amtrak to receive $2.02 billion for 22 high-speed intercity passenger rail projects as part of a network that will connect 80 percent of citizens to high-speed rail in 25 years.

California-based business technology specialist Trimble Navigation Limited has announced a public tender offer for Tekla Corporation, a leader in building information modeling technology (BIM) for the construction industry.

Headquartered in Finland, with a US office in Atlanta, Georgia, Tekla has approximately 500 employees and operations in 15 countries worldwide.

Trimble’s offer of €15.00 per share in cash is being handled by its subsidiary Trimble Finland Oy, and values Tekla at approximately €311 million ($451 million).