Under new management

Fannie Mae’s executive shake-up seemed to help build a floor under the tumbling mortgage finance company, with debate still raging about whether the Treasury will take it over. Bloomberg’s report yesterday that Pimco, the manager of the world’s biggest bond fund, was building funds to buy as much as $5 billion in mortgage-backed debt is also a sign of budding investor interest. Often a change of the old guard at a listed company points to a potential merger or buyout, particularly if the incoming chiefs have merger experience. That doesn’t appear to be the case for Fannie - the new CFO is the old Controller. But if the feared nationalization does not materialize and more buyers for mortgage-related debt stick there toes in, could Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac - cheap as they are - become (gulp) - takeover candidates, barring any conflicts with their charters? You have to suspend disbelief and squint your eyes hard, but it’s not like there is nobody out there without any resource to buy a $6 billion company with an implicit (if somewhat tarnished) pledge of government support. Given their rough ride of late, $6 billion of investment into Fannie might seem to a risk-averse white knight, such as Warren Buffett, a slightly less secure investment than $6 billion in quarters in Las Vegas.

The shaky economy and sluggish jobs market have driven a big jump in applications to business schools, BusinessWeek reports. The magazine said in its online edition that the Graduate Management Admission Council said 77 percent of business schools surveyed reported an increase in application volume in 2008, up from 64% in 2007. They say it’s the second-largest surge in applications to full-time programs since 2002, and the highest level of increase in five years

Deals of the day:

* British engineer Bodycote has agreed to sell its testing business to U.S. private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier and Rice for 417 million pounds and will return 260 million pounds to shareholders.

* Nokia Siemens Networks said it has sold its 56.1 percent stake in Korean telecoms network company Dasan Networks to a group of Korean investors. Nokia Siemens sold the shares for 6,000 Korean won each, valuing the deal at $43.5 million, Reuters data showed.

* British motor insurer Highway Insurance has agreed to a takeover by mutual society Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company in a deal worth around 150 million pounds ($276 million), the companies said.

* Mitsubishi UFJ Financial will spend over $910 million to raise its stake in consumer lender Acom to more than a third, financial sources said — a move that would boost its business in the troubled but potentially lucrative sector.

* Israeli holding company Koor Industries said it had raised its stake in Credit Suisse to 1.02 percent for a total investment of 1.627 billion shekels ($455.7 million).

* Private equity firm CVC Capital and Standard Chartered’s buyout unit are seeking potential buyers for Singapore’s Amtek Engineering, according to sources familiar with the matter.

* Sawai Pharmaceutical, Japan’s largest maker of generic drugs, is looking to acquire another generic drugmaker to survive in an increasingly competitive market, its president said.

* Diversified Indian firm Aditya Birla Nuvo said its board had approved the acquisition of 56 percent in Apollo Sindhoori Capital for 1.99 billion rupees ($46 million).

* Tech Mahindra said it would acquire a minority stake in European systems integrator, Servista, for an undisclosed sum and would be the latter’s delivery arm for three years.

* Shares in LG Electronics parts making units, LG Innotek and LG Micron, rose after the companies said they were considering a merger.

* HSBC said it will raise its stake in Vietnam bank Techcombank to 20 percent from 14.4 percent in a deal worth roughly $77.1 million.

* Arcelor Mittal plans to form a joint venture with Hunan Valin Iron and Steel that will require total investment of 6.5 billion yuan ($951 million), Valin Steel Tube & Wire.

* CITIC International Financial said its major shareholder, CITIC Group, had sweetened its offer to privatize the Hong Kong-listed company, boosting the cash portion by 48 percent.

* Siemens has held talks with sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf, Russia and other regions to expand its long-term investor base, the Financial Times reported, quoting its finance chief.

* Polymetal, Russia’s largest silver miner, said it acquired a license to explore and develop the Degtyarskoye gold and silver deposit in the Urals region for $6.25 million.

* Companies from Germany, Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan have bid in a tendering to purchase a 78 percent stake in Kyrgyz fixed-line phone monopoly Kyrgyztelecom, the government said.

* Friends Provident is on the lookout for potential acquisitions in Asia that could take it beyond the Hong Kong and Singapore markets, though no specific deals are in the works, an executive with the UK insurer said.

* At least four companies have expressed interest in buying stake in the proposed commodity exchange promoted by Indiabulls Financial Services, a senior official said.