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STATOIL BUYS A SHARE OF BP GAS PROJECTS

Norway's Statoil will pay $740 million to pick

up a stake in a pair of natural gas projects in Algeria from BP. Oslo-based Statoil will acquire a 49% stake in BP's interests in the In Salah gas project and a 50% stake in the company's interest in the In Amenas gas project. Under the terms of the deal, Statoil and London-based BP will work with Algeria's state oil and gas company, Sonatrach, to develop both projects.

BIOTECH COMPANIES INK MERGER DEAL

In another move in the consolidating biotechnology industry, two firms, Biogen and IDEC Pharmaceuticals, will merge in a stock swap. The new company, headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., will be called Biogen IDEC Inc. and will have more than 1,000 researchers, the companies said. The companies had $1.55 billion in pro forma 2002 revenue, they said.

GE FANUC PACKS AWAY MES PROVIDER

In a move to further expand its product base, GE Fanuc Automation will purchase Green Bay, Wis.-based Mountain Systems, Inc., a manufacturing execution systems provider. Mountain Systems' main product, called "Proficy for Manufacturing," complements data collection technology for tracking time-based information with an event historian, allowing users to track relational information and manufacturing events.

INVENSYS SELLS OFF BAAN

Embattled Invensys will get $135 million for selling its Baan subsidiary to an investment group of Cerberus Capital Management, LP and General Atlantic Partners, LLC. Invensys will use the proceeds from the sale to pay down its debt. Baan is a supplier of enterprise application solutions and services to manufacturers.

SIEMENS DEALS FOR ALSTOM SMALL, MEDIUM TURBINE UNITS

Germany's Siemens AG is now looking to integrate a unit of French rival Alstom SA after it agreed to spend $1.22 billion to purchase small gas turbine and medium turbine units. The purchase will give the company access to smaller turbines, helping in its competition with GE.

GM RELYING MORE ON SUZUKI, HOLDS FIRM WITH FIAT

In an effort to work more strongly with its alliance partners, General Motors will cut its work force in Japan by half to about 130 people, officials said. The job reductions will occur through early retirement packages over the next five months, a company spokesman said. Meanwhile, GM said it will not participate in a $5 billion recapitalization of Fiat Auto. GM holds a 20% stake in the beleaguered Italian automaker.

OPC FOUNDATION RELEASES OPC DX SPEC, CODE

The OPC Foundation released the OPC Data exchange (DX) specification and sample code. OPC DX allows data to transfer between different controller platforms and architectures over Ethernet, which allows end users interoperability. OPC DX acts as a bridge between distributed control systems, programmable logic controllers, and other control devices.

DRUG COMPANY WANTS TO BUY BACK FIRM IT SPUN OFF

It was once part of the company and then spun off; now ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. will pay $168 million to reacquire the 20% of Ribapharm Inc. it shed last year. The move by ICN comes after Ribapharm attempted to assert its independence. However, in January ICN ousted management.

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JAPANESE STEELMAKER TO BUILD U.S. PLANT

Japanese steelmaker Kobe Steel will build a $32.7 million plant in the U.S. to produce an aluminum material used in making parts for car suspensions. Production of aluminum forgings at the new plant in Bowling Green, Ky. will start in June 2005, a company spokesman said.

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WI-FI ALLIANCE UNVEILS 802. 11G CERTIFICATION PLANS

The Wi-Fi Alliance will begin the certification process for IEEE 802.11g-based products as soon as IEEE approves the final standard, officials said late last month. This will be the fourth Wi-Fi certification test developed for 802.11 standards since the program began in March 2000. The 802.11g standard offers wireless transmission over relatively short distances at up to 54 Mbps. 802.11g operates in the 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) range.