Europe

Following reports that General Electric (GE) may wish to acquire Alstom, the maker of TGV high-speed trains, Siemens approach the board of the French company to signal what it called its “willingness to discuss future strategic opportunities".

It has since been reported in French newspapers that Siemens is offering Alstom half of its train-making business and some cash in return for Alstom’s business that makes turbines for the energy industry, according to the report.

Diamond and adamant are two words coming from a common Greek root meaning unalterable, an appropriate name for the hardest substance in the natural world. It's their resistance, their durability, that has made them the ultimate jewel. Rough diamonds as mined are unprepossessing, but once they have been cut and polished to refract light from a myriad facets their beauty is breathtaking. But cutting and polishing is no easy matter as the only substance hard enough to impress diamond is – more diamond.

Founded in the 10th Century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th Century and is today the country’s most populous city, with figures as of October 2013 recording it having an urban population of over 1.23 million and a metropolitan population of 1.97 million. The cultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark, the city has played host to considerable urban and cultural development in the last several decades which has been facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure.

The purchase will result in the creation of the world’s biggest cement maker with combined sales of more than €32 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Lafarge shareholders will receive one Holcim share for each Lafarge share they own.

In order to ease competition concerns surrounding the deal the two companies have agreed to sell various assets. The companies forecast total annual savings from joining forces to be around €1.4 billion. The combined firm will be based in Switzerland.

A survey commissioned by the Bank of Scotland questioned 100 companies in the industry and found that expectations of employment growth had increased since last year, with 69 percent of executives questioned proclaiming their optimism about their business’ growth prospects in 2014/2015.

The joint venture between Babcock and US firm Fluor was chosen by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The 14 year contract covers twelve nuclear power sites, including Hinkley, Sizewell and Dungeness, and is estimated to be worth as much as £7 billion.

NDA chief executive John Clarke said the joint venture was chosen for its "successful track record and extensive nuclear experience".

Born in 1998 following the merging of two Générale des Eaux subsidiaries, Compagnie Générale de Chauffe and Esys Montenay, it was in 2000 that Dalkia opened up its capital to the French electricity provider EDF, following an agreement between the provider and Vivendi Environmental. Representing the Energy Services Division of Veolia Environment, Dalkia is one of Europe’s leading energy companies, boasting operations in 35 countries and achieving managed revenues of €8.9 billion in 2012.

Beginning life in the early 1960s as a general contractor for medium to large scale projects occurring within Greek territory, AKTOR would go on to expand rapidly during the subsequent decades making it one of the leading players in the Greek construction sector by the mid-1990s.

The development, which will be located in the Outer Moray Firth, will include the construction of two neighbouring projects, one headed up by Moray Offshore Renewables Limited and the other by Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited. The combined development will involve a total of 326 turbines, making it the world’s third biggest offshore wind farm, one capable of generating electricity for more than one million homes. It is estimated that at the peak of construction of the turbines the project could provide work for up to 4,600 people.

Vodafone will pay €7.2 euros to acquire the private equity-owned business which offers cable TV and internet services to its more than 1.9 million Spanish customers.

This latest move furthers Vodafone’s expressed plan to spend up to £25 billion of the £84 billion generated from the sale of its stake in Verizon Wireless on investment in core European networks. It also comes six months after the company purchased a controlling stake in German cable operator Kabel.