A big pharmaceutical acquisition sees Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (TEVA) has annuounced an agreement to acquire Cephalon Inc. (CEPH) in a deal worth $6.8 billion. This is seen as a move to build its branded pharmaceuticals business and reach its financial targets set for 2015.

Shares of both companies rose on premarket trading with Cephalon stocks rising by 5.5% to $81.25 and Teva’s American depository shares rising by 3.4% to $47.30.

In an investor’s meeting in early 2011, Teva announced to investors it was on the hunt for new acquisitions and was considering several options.

The deal between Teva and Cephalon now means Canadian pharmaceuticals giant Valeant Pharmaceuticals cannot take over Cephalon. Valeant made a hostile $5.7 billion bid for Cephalon which was rejected. Valeant’s stocks dropped by 7.9% to $48.50 in premarket trading in New York.

Teva officials announed on Monday the deal with Cephalon will instantly add to the company’s adjusted earnings. The deal is expected to boost profits within a year of closing the deal.

In February, Teva — which is the largest manufacturers of generic drugs in the world — announced it needed to add an additional $4 billion to $5 billion in revenue per anum in order to meet its 2015 target of $31 billion. In March this year, Teva and Procter $ Gamble announced a venture deal which expands Teva’s over-the-counter medication business beyond the shores of the North America.

The last big acquisition by Teva was in 2008 when the company bought Barr Pharmaceuticals for $7.46 billion.

Sony S1 and S2 tablet launch and release date

Sony Corporation has announced two touchscreen tablets based on Google’s Adroid OS and having a release date in the fall of this year. This is viewed as an attempt by Sony to compete with the iPad from Apple.

Sony calles the tablets S1 and S2. The unveiling took place Tuesday at a media lanch in Japan. According to Reuters, Sony plans to use its success in the game console industry to boost sales of the S1 and S2 tablets.

The Sony S1 tablet comes with a 9.4 inch screen and wedge-like design. It comes with a Tegra 2 processor and uses both Wi-Fi and 3G/4G cellular data. The S1 will also spot an infra red (IR) port. This will enable the device fro AV controls with Sony’s range of Bravia televisions and also support for the Digital Living Network Alliance standards.

The Sony S2 will come with two 5.5 inch screens which fold onto each other when not in use. It will have an oval shape when folded. Not much detail of the S2 was revealed by Sony.

Both the S1 and S2 tablets will be compatible with some Sony PlayStation games. A sony executive said both Sony tablets will operate the Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS which is designed specifically for tablets.

The Japanese company however declined to give further details and specifications about the two tablets, stating that design and specifications could change at any time.

The wedge-like design of the S1 and the folding screens of the S2 are seen as an attempt by Sony to distant itself from the likes of Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Sony earlier this year announced at CES it intended to become the No.2 seller of tablets within a year. This is despite the fact the company has not released a single tablet yet.

Sony also announced the next version of PlayStation portable which it will call NGP. This is seen also as an attempt to halt Apples incursions into the portable gaming market with its iOS based devices.

Sony also announced the production of “The PlayStation Suite.” This will be a partnership with Google and the various Android tablet and handset makers to develop and Android-compatible content platform for new and classic PlayStation games on Android OS mobile devices.

Sony has got its work cut out in their attempt to compete with Apple’s iPad. Apple is expected to dominate the tablet market through to 2015 with the company projected to sell some 40 million units of the iPad in 2011.

The release of the Sony S1 and S2 tablets will be the first step for the Japanese company.

Sony S1 and S2 Android 3.0 tablets photos/pictures

Sony S1 tablet front/side view

Sony S1 tablet back view

Sony S2 tablet closed view

Sony S2 tablet shown in hand

Apple Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Samsung for violating its patents and copying the look of Apple’ iPhone and iPad for the design of the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and Galaxy Tab. This was revealed in a report by the Wall Street Journal.

According to the suit, Samsung has infringed on patents of Apple with regards to the Samsung Galaxy phones and tablet operates as well as copying the color and rectangular shape of the iPhone and iPad.

The news has led to a some technology blogs suggesting Apple is declaring war on Google’s Android devices. The Galaxy phones and tablets run Google’s Android OS. This is a strange suit as Samsung manufactures chips for Apple devices.

According to an Apple Spokesman, Steve Dowling, the new latest devices from Samsung looked very much like the iPhone and iPad. He said the new Samsung devices had their shape, user interface and also the packaging appearing very similar to the Apple devices. He is calling this remarkable look alike as no coincidence. He said it was a cear case of copying Apple’s ideas and must be stopped.

This Apple lawsuit comes after Apple filed a patent infringement lawsuit against HTC that claimed HTC infringed on 20 pattents on the iPhones user interface, architecture and the look of the hardware. A lot of HTC’s products operate the Android OS as well.

During last month’s launch of the iPad 2, Steve Jobs called out Samsung as one of the tablet manufacturers competing to make thi year the “year of the copycats.”

The suit is accusing Samsung of violating seven patents related to the iPhone and iPad. Apple claims Samsung copied the user interface of the iPhone and iPad including how the devices react to user gestures like zooming, pinching and scrolling. Samsung is also accused of copying the flat black design of the face of the iPhone and iPad.

The suit also says Samsung copied the shape of the iPhone and iPad incuding the rectangular shape and rounded corners of the Apple devices. Apple is also claiming Samsung copied certain icons used on the iPhone and iPad that are trademarked icons. Apple is also acusing Samsung of Copying its packaging.

The lawsuit seeks to put a stop to any future usage of its patents and trademarks. It also seeks to get cash compensation from Samsung for infringing on Apple’s interlectual property rights.

Apple is not the only one seeking to take on Google’s Android. Both Apple and  Microsoft have also filled lawsuits against Motorola over patent infringements.

If you are an online poker player, you surely would have come across these companies, pokerstars.com, fulltilt.com and absolutepoker.com. They are three of the biggest online poker sites in the world. If you visit any of these sites today, you might be wondering, what is happening to them?

A visit to pokerstars.com, fulltiltpoker.com and absolutepoker.com reveals a message from the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice. The message says the domain has been seized for various offenses by the site.

Federal prosecutors have issued indictments against the owners of the three online poker sites. Isai SCheinberg, founder of Pokerstars, and Raymond Bitar, founder of fulltiltpoker, and nine other people are being charged with the operation of illegal gambling businesses.

The goverment is also seeking to reclaim $3 billion that it says the gambling companies amassed illegally by finding loopholes in a 2006 law passed by U.S. lawmakers making online gambling illegal in the United States.

According to prosecutors, Fulltilpoker, Pokerstars and Absolutepoker disguised poker payments it received from U.S. players as money for the purchase of flowers, golf balls and jewelry among other disguises. A judge has also ordered a restraining against 76 bank accounts used by the companies in 14 different countries.

Federal agents have arrested a number of people in connection with financial transactions involiving the poker companies. This indictment will roll into a legal battle between the U.S. prosecutors and pokerstars, fulltilt poker and absolute poker, who are all not incorporated in the United States. The companies have argued in the past that poker is a game of skill and therefore can not be classified as gambling.

According to prosecutors, the three companies bribed payment processors who lied to U.S. banks about the nature of the transactions. The payment proecessors reported funds received from U.S. players to these companies as payments for the purchase of golf balls, flowers and jewelry.

What is going to happen to players with money deposited with fulltilt, pokerstars and absolutepoker? We don’t know exactly but our guess is they will get their money back. Also are these poker sites going to operate again? We can’t answer that as well because the legal process involved will be complicated. But for now, fulltilt poker, pokerstars.com and absolute poker has been shut down by the FBI.

Mark Zuckerberg vs Winklevoss twins

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’s attempt to stop a $56 million settlement with Facebook has been turned down in Court.
The Winklevoss twins claim that their $65 million cash and stocks settlement with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook was insufficient as Facebook hid the true value of their stock from them. Their claim is that Facebook never showed them an internal valuation that claimed the company was worth much more than they were told and therefore wanted more shares.
But a judge from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court, Alex Kozinski, dismissed the claim stating that, the Winkevoss’s had enough knowledge and resources available to them at the time of making the settlement deal with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook to make their own fair valuation of the firm.
The judge said there was a point when litigation should come to stop and that the time was now.
The Winklevoss twins’ lawyer said his clients will seek a rehearing before a larger 9th Circuit panel of judges. And if that hearing fails to overturn the decision, which the odds favor, they will take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court as a last result.
In a related issue, Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook are also facing a lawsuit by a man who claims he owns half of Facebook. Paul Ceglia sued Zuckerberg in July last year after claiming hat signed a contract with Mark Zuckerberg that gave him 50% of the social networking site.
He claims the contract was for work done with Zuckerberg on “StreetFax” and “the face book.”
Mark Zuckerberg’s lawyers said the although the “StreetFax” part was true, any mention of “the face book” was a fabrication. They cited that Paul Ceglia has already been convicted for fraud. That seemed to end the case.
Ceglia however, filed a fresh suit with citing new evidence which if true could be very damning for the social networking site. Ceglia has made available a series of emails he claims were communications between him and Mark Zuckerberg in 2003 and 2004 whiles they were working on “the face book’ project.
The email messages talked about a $1,000 funding, with payment proof, and also there were discussions about the Winklevoss twins and how Mark Zuckerberg is delaying their simillar project. The emails aslo mentioned delays of “the face book” project.
In an interview with The Business Insider, representatives from Facebook dismissed the emails, calling them fake. Lawyers for Ceglia though said they went through weeks of checking the authenticity of the emails and contract and conclude that they were genuine.
What do you think of all these claims? Let us know by commenting below.

Sources: reuters.com and businessinsider.com

Broadband servcie provider, Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT), announced today it will acquire Global Crossing Ltd. (GLBC) in a deal worth some $1.9 billion.
The deal will be based solely on stocks transactions. The acquisition is aimed at expanding Level 3′s network over three continents and help the company reduce expenses. The deal was announced by both companies earlier today.
The deal is valued at $23.04 a share which is the closing price of Level 3′s shares on April 8. This is 56% more than the clsoing price of Global Crossing stocks on the same day. The merged company will be headed by Level 3 CEO, Jim Crowe.
Both companies are unprofitable with a combined 2010 revenue of $6.26 billion. The deal is expected to reduce annaul capital spending by some $40 million. This was made known in the statement released on Monday. The deal is also expected to help lower pressure on stock prices, which have been in decline and has lost about 30% of its value per year.
Level 3 stocks increased by 13 cents (9%) to $1.57 per share by 12:40 p.m. EST on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Level 3 stocks had already risen over 46% this year. The stocks of Global Crossing rose to $23.10, an increase of $8.30 (56%).
The deal will enable Level 3 to have access to Global Crossing’s fiber optic lines across the Pacific Ocean and those in Latin America. It will also increase Level 3′s American and European capacities.
Level 3 CEO, Jim Crowe said though most mergers are aimed at combining revenue and decreasing expenditure, the merger of Level 3 and Global Crossing is aimed at creating “something new.”
Level 3 has failled to turn a profit since 1998 and lost $622 million last year. Global Crossing has also failed to make an annual profit since 2003, when it came out of bankruptcy, and lost $172 million last year.
According to both companies, the deal today will be valued at $3 billion. This includes $1.1 billion in debts that will be assumed by the merged company.
It was also revealed that the biggest shareholders of the combined entity will be Singapore Technologies Telemedia. They own 60% of the stocks of Global Crossing.
The deal is expected to be completed this year, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.

Texas Instruments Inc. announced it will acquire National Semiconductors for $6.5 billion.

The Texas-based Texas Instruments is looking to use the acquisition to expand its semiconductor chip business. Both TI and National Semiconductors manufacture chips for a range of consumer electronics, such as mobile phones and tables, and for some industrial machinery. However the two companies also have a wide range of products that do not overlap, according to experts.

According to an analyst at Cleacher & Co., the two companies produce chips that are similar with very minor differences, and it’s quite common to see the two chips fixed together in the same device.

Chief executive officer of Texas Instruments, Rich Templeton, in a conference call to investors said the difference in product range between the two companies makes the acquisition very attractive.

According to Templeton, there is very little products from the two firms that overlap. TI has some 30,000 products and National Semiconductors manufacture about 13,000 products. Templeton said acquiring National Semiconductors will give TI the chance to deal with consumers that they could not reach in the past.

Texas Instruments has had to focus more on developing its chip business over the last decade as it has seen many of its other technologies perform badly.

Texas Instruments announced the deal after close of trading on Monday. The deal is however subject to the approval shareholders of National Semiconductor. If approved, each shareholder of National Semiconductors will receive $25 per share. The shares of the company ended the trading day at $14.07. It then soared to $24.30 in after-hours trading after the announcement. Texas Instruments stocks also $34.11 but declined to $33.58 in after-hours trading.

Texas Instruments expects the deal to finalize within 9 months subject to approval from regulators.

TI CEO, Templeton, said there are no plans to reduce research design personnel at either firms but expects some sales staff to be cut. National Semiconductors currently employs about 5,700 people and TI employs some 28,400 workers.

New rumors surfacing amongst the tech bloggers is that Apple is planning to release the iPad 2 in the UK, Canada, Australia and some 21 other countries this Friday, March 25 2011. This is despite reports of the units being sold out in the United States.

Apple has planned all along to release the tablet in these countries on this date. However, there were speculations recently that Apple might delay the release of its iPad 2 touchscreen tablets internationally because of the high demand coming from the United States.

A spokesperson from Apple told the TechRadar.com that the release date posted by Apple on its U.K. Website still stands.

Speculations that Apple was going to postpone the release of the iPad 2 internationally were escalated last week when new shipments of the tablet sold out immediately. Also long lines have continued at stores throughout the week.

An analyst from Ticonderoga Securities said Apple might not be able to receive enough iPad 2 units to launch the device in more than 20 countries on March 25 but the statement from the Apple spokesperson seems to put that argument to bed.

There have also been reports of Apple postponing the launch of the tablet internationally because of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Last week, there were reports that Apple had several of the iPad 2′s components from Japanese manufacturers. And even though most of the factories that manufacture these components were not damaged by the disaster, they face possible logistics problems in delivering the parts to Apple.  And this might lead to shortage of iPad 2 parts. This was made known in a report by iSuppli.

Last week also saw Apple announced the postponement of the launch of iPad 2 in Japan. The company said this was necessary whiles Apple and Japan recover from the devastating disasters.

iPad 2 release date in 25 countries worldwide

The 25 countries that the iPad 2 is scheduled to be released in on March 25 are United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Czeck Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Greece.

Other international locations will know about pricing and launch dates at a later date.

In 2010, the launch of the iPad internationally was delayed by up to a month because of strong demands which could not be met.

A tonne of rare earth metal from China will cost you over $100,000. This is an increase of over 9 times when compared to the price at the same time last year. This is an all time high for the rare earth metal.

China enjoys a monopoly on the export of the rare earths, which are used in a variety of gadgets including precision guided weapons, the iPad and the car batteries of hybrid cars. This monopoly has been driving the prices of the metals up since July of last year.

Back in July, the price for a tonne of rare earth metal was an average of $14,405. The price has increased by an average of $10,000 per tonne per month for a few months now but made a dramatic increase in February this year. In February, the price increased by $34,000 per tonne. These figures are based on calculations made from data obtained from China’s Customs office.

In February, the cost of exporting 1 tonne of rare earth metal was $109,036. This value includes the cost of freight and insurance. This is almost a 50% increase on what it cost in January.

The hike in prices is being attributed to the decrease in export volume from China. China is the main exporter of almost all the rare earth metals in the world. The country has reduced export quotas and increased export tariffs.

This is a move that has angered some of its trading partnrts. But the move has led to share price increase of a few mining companies outside of China that in great position to capitalize on the reduced exports from china.These companies include the likes of Molycorp Inc from the U.S., Rare Elements Resources and Neo Material Technologies from Canada and Arafura from Australia.

The the share prices of these companies are under pressure because of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. The disaster is expected to reduce demand from Japan, which is the biggest purchaser of the rare earth metals from China.

In February of this year, China exported 281 tonnes of rare earth metals to Japan at an average value of $138,406 per tonne. That is a total value of $38.9 million.

The total exports by China of rare earth metals for the month of February was 750 tonnes. This is slightly higher than the 647 tonnes it exported in January. The February export volume is the second lowest volume since February 2009.

Apple Inc is suing Amazon.com Inc in an attempt to prevent Amazon.com from what it claims to be an improper usage of its App Store trademark.

This was made known in a lawsuit filed last week by Apple in a California court. According to lawsuit, the use of the term App Store (which is the name of Apple’s application marketplace for its devices) by Amazon.com to solicit software developers across the U.S. was improper.

Apple is attempting to register the App Store name as a trademark in the United States and has already made an application to that effect. But their bid to register the name has been challenged by Microsoft and the case is currently being heard by a trademark trial and appeals board.

A spokesperson for Apple said the company had asked Amazon.com not to use the App Store name because it might lead to confusion and misleading of the public.

According to the lawsuit, Amazon’s use of the App Store name is unlawful with regards to the use of the name for the “Amazon Appstore Developer Portal.” The lawsuit by Apple also mentions other instances of the use the the App Store name that is illegal.

Apple is also claiming unfair competition by Amazon.com, and wants the online retailer to desist from using the mark.

It appears Amazon is not taking notice of the lawsuit as it has today gone ahead to officially launch its App store for android. The name used for their App Store is “Appstore for android”, which will surely clash with Apple’s App Store should Apple be awarded the trademark rights.