Company Briefs: Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has raised $500 million via a private placement of 10-year bonds.

The offer size of $300 million was raised to $500 million after strong appetite was apparent from a select group of private investors, the airline said yesterday.

The 10-year bonds will carry a 3.5 per cent coupon.

The proceeds will be used for general purposes, including refinancing of existing borrowings, said SIA, which has raised about $12.7 billion in additional liquidity since the start of this financial year.

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Novartis

Swiss drugmaker Novartis plans to buy back US$2.5 billion (S$3.4 billion) worth of shares as it expects its pipeline of new drug candidates to fuel sales growth.

The pharma giant expects key data and advances on five experimental cancer medicines that are in mid-to late-stage clinical trials next year, Novartis said yesterday. They include canakinumab, a potential treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.

Novartis said it is on track to deliver US$2 billion in cost savings by the year end and another US$2 billion in the mid-term. The stock rose 1.4 per cent in early Zurich trading.

BLOOMBERG

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Broadway Industrial Group

Precision manufacturer Broadway Industrial Group has received a binding letter of intent (LOI) from Seksun Technology (Suzhou), which is offering US$50 million (S$67 million) to buy the former's hard disk drive business.

Incorporated in China, Seksun Technology (Suzhou)'s core competencies are in precision metal stamping.

Under the LOI, the buyer will acquire substantially all assets used in Broadway Industrial's actuator arm and related parts manufacturing operations.

THE BUSINESS TIMES