IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Fundraising plan

Tata Steel Ltd plans to raise as much as 40 billion rupees ($982 million) selling non-convertible global depositary receipts to fund its acquisition of Corus, the Economic Times reported.

The steelmaker is in talks with institutional investors on the proposed sale, the newspaper said. It will make a decision after receiving feedback from prospective buyers, the paper said, citing unidentified investment bankers.

Hotel merger

A merger between Whitbread Plc's Premier Inn budget lodging chain and the UK budget chain Travelodge is likely, the London-based Times reported, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter.

Whitbread is in early-stage talks to acquire Travelodge from Dubai International Capital LLC in a deal worth between 600 million and 700 million pounds, the Times said.

Takeover backed

Italian Finance Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa told top ministers that he supported Air France-KLM Group's takeover bid for Alitalia SpA.

Padoa-Schioppa told a cabinet meeting in Rome on Monday that he was sending a letter to Alitalia management saying that he backed the Air France offer, according to an e-mailed statement from the ministry.

Pipeline use

OAO Gazprom may be forced to allow other companies to use its pipeline network to export natural gas from Russia, Vedomosti reported, citing an energy official in the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service.

The service is preparing to send amendments to the law "On Gas Export" to the government in May that would grant non-state Russian gas producers access to Gazprom's export routes, the Moscow-based newspaper said yesterday.

Agencies

(China Daily 03/19/2008 page17)