Bud, seriously

The increasingly hostile Inbev bid for Anheuser-Busch starts the week on the front burner with news InBev has filed SEC documents aimed at tossing Bud’s board. Analysts have warned InBev that a great patriotic (think Bud Light, apple pie and Chevrolet) defense could emerge if InBev ratchets up the pressure too quickly. But hostile bids are nasty by definition, so it’s hard to see why InBev should wait to take off the gloves. The Dutch brewer says it filed suit last month in Delaware to confirm that shareholders can remove all 13 members of the board. The proposed board would include Adolphus Busch IV, an uncle of the current chief executive of Anheuser-Busch and a supporter of the InBev bid. A spokeswoman said InBev had sought board members who would exercise independent judgment and act in the best interest of Anheuser-Busch shareholders, presumably so long as they support the InBev bid.

NBC Universal and private equity firms Bain Capital and Blackstone Group agreed to buy The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications. Terms of the widely expected deal were not disclosed, but sources familiar with the transaction said the price tag was just under $3.5 billion. Privately held Landmark, which put The Weather Channel up for sale along with other businesses, originally had sought $5 billion for the unit. The $3.5 billion price tag on Weather Channel marked one of the biggest private equity deals in the past year. In May, Carlyle Group agreed to buy a majority stake in a unit of consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton for $2.5 billion, and Blackstone Group last month said it would buy Apria Healthcare Group for $1.6 billion.

German dialysis-to-hospitals group Fresenius unveiled a $3.7 billion deal to buy U.S. firm APP Pharmaceuticals to enter the world’s biggest drug market, but its investors balked at the plan. The agreed takeover, one of the biggest in the healthcare group’s history, sent Fresenius shares tumbling as traders cited investor concern over possible capital-raising measures and the price. APP shareholders will receive $23 a share in cash, a 29 percent premium to the stock’s last closing price and could get a further $6 a share in the second quarter of 2011 if APP beats a core profit target. Fresenius stock dropped as much as 11 percent. APP focuses on injectable generic drugs for hospital use and distributes its products in the United States and Canada. It has about 1,400 staff.

China’s largest offshore oil services group agreed to buy Norwegian peer Awilco Offshore for around $2.5 billion to increase its drilling capacity and tap overseas markets. China Oilfield Services, an arm of China’s top offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC, will pay 85 crowns per share for the Oslo-based company in what will be the fourth-largest cross-border acquisition by a Chinese company in the oil and gas sector, according to Thomson Reuters. The price is an 18.7 percent premium over Awilco Offshore’s July 4 closing price and 42 percent above where it traded before May 30, when Awilco said a third party had expressed an interest.

Other deals of the day:

* Norway’s Norske Skog agreed to sell its Steti mill in the Czech Republic to paper producer Mondi at book value to cut costs.

* Oman kicked off its planned sale of 25 percent in Oman Telecommunications, inviting investor interest in a deal it hopes will boost the state-controlled firm’s competitive position.

* Norwegian driller Awilco Offshore said it agreed to be taken over by China Oilfield Services, an arm of the CNOOC group, for 85 crowns per share and a total of about $2.5 billion.

* Abu Dhabi National Energy said it had bought northern North Sea equity interests from Shell and ExxonMobil.

* German media group Bertelsmann is drawing up plans for the sale of its DirectGroup France division for an amount that could exceed 300 million euros ($470.9 million), French newspaper Le Figaro said on Monday.

* Inmet Mining said it would make an all-cash offer to acquire Petaquilla Copper, its partner in the Petaquilla copper project in Panama, for $2 per share.

* Chinese metals trader Sinosteel’s stake in Australian takeover target Midwest Corp has risen to 45 percent, according to a regulatory filing, as it battles for control of the iron ore prospector. Sinosteel held 45.58 percent of Midwest as of July 4, up from 43.62 percent at the time of its last filing on June 13.

* Murchison Metals has dropped its plans to merge with fellow Australian iron ore explorer Midwest, saying it did not have the support of Midwest’s major shareholder, Sinosteel.

* Challenger Financial Group said it would buy back up to 10 percent of its share capital.