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Type of deal Valuer Acquirer Target Adviser to acquirer (tax) Adviser to target (tax) M&A £170 million ($312 million) DS Smith LINPAC Group Holdings has agreed to sell LINPAC Containers Allen & Overy, London, David Lewis, Gareth Banfield Linklaters, London, Guy Dingley, Graham Francis M&A $1.3 billion Amgen Tularik Latham & Watkins, Los Angeles, Karen Bryan, James Barrall Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, Washington DC, Joseph Poerio M&A Undisclosed Kabel Deutschland Apollo, Blackstone, Bank of America and CDP Capital have agreed to sell Kabel Baden-Württemberg and iesy Hengeler Mueller, Frankfurt, Ernst-Thomas Kraft Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Cologne, Stephan Eilers M&A £1.3 billion ($2.5 billion) Albertson's J Sainsbury agreed to sell Shaw's Supermarkets Jones Day, Dallas, Dennis Drapkin J Sainsbury was advised by Linklaters, London, Charles Hellier, Conor Brindley; Shaw's Supermarkets was advised by Sullivan & Cromwell, New York, Ronald Creamer, Ansgar Simon M&A $350 million ADC Telecommunications GenTek Dorsey & Whitney, Minneapolis, Bruce Shnider Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom, New York, Regina Olshan, Stuart Finkelstein M&A $1.7 billion Manitoba Telecom Services Allstream Torys, Toronto, James Welkoff Stikeman Elliott, Toronto, Dean Kraus M&A $3.7 billion Fisher Scientific International Apogent Technologies Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New York, Regina Olshan, Stuart Finkelstein Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, New York, Robert Holo; Quarles & Brady, Milwaukee, David Wilmoth, Thomas Philips M&A $3.1 billion Marathon Oil Corporation has agreed to acquire the remaining 38% interest of its joint venture company, Marathon Ashland Petroleum, from Ashland Ashland Miller & Chevalier Chtd, Washington DC, Daniel Luchsinger, David Zimmerman Cravath, Swaine & Moore, New York, Stephen Gordon, Michael Schler, Lauren Angelilli, Darren Heil M&A $3.4 billion Ker-McGee and Westport Resources have agreed to merge Under the terms of the agreement, Kerr-McGee will pay 0.71 of its stock for each Westport Resources share Kerr-McGee was advised by Covington & Burling, New York, Elizabeth Kessenides Westport Resources was advised by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Dallas, Daniel Micciche; New York, Adrienne Scerbak M&A Undisclosed Vorwerk & Co Jafra Cosmetics Business Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, New York, Gary Mandel; Palo Alto, Katharine Moir Debevoise & Plimpton, New York, Gary Freedman M&A $4.5 billion The Jean Coutu Group and CVS Corporation JC Penney Company agreed to sell its Eckerd drugstore operations The Jean Coutou Group was advised by McDermott, Will & Emery, Chicago, Dan Zucker; CVS Corporation was advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York, Dana Trier, Laura Barzilai JC Penney Company was advised by Jones Day, Dallas, Dennis Drapkin M&A £500 million ($893 million) Prestbury Spirit Group KPMG, London, Ian Latter, Gautam Mistry, Simon Yeo, Paul Seviour, Richard Ross, Caroline Kemp; Taylor Wessing, London, Alex Thomas Deloitte, London, Andy Newsome, Mike Thorne Type of deal Value Issuer Lead managers Adviser to Issuer Adviser to lead managers Securities issue $190 million BSCH Lehman Brothers Dorsey & Whitney, New York, Robert Franklin, Brian Davis Uría & Menéndez, Madrid, Jesús López Tello, Víctor Martín IPO $304 million Catlin Group Goldman Sachs International, JPMorgan and UBS Investment Bank Sullivan & Cromwell, New York, David Spitzer, Joseph Septimus Slaughter and May, London, Sara Luder, Simon Letherman Notes issue $230 million Saks Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Global Markets, Banc of America Securities, Banc One Capital Markets and Wachovia Securities Alston & Bird, Washington DC, Charles Wheeler; New York, Edward Tanenbaum Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, New York, Edward Kleinbard

Aparliamentary vote on the Czech Republic's controversial value added tax (VAT) bill went ahead on April 22 2004 despite one of the key proponents of the bill being involved in a car crash.

The Brazilian Senate is considering changes to the tax treatment of foreign imports, due to come into force this year, that could benefit companies in the automotive and pharmaceutical industries. Provisional Measure 164 which levies Program for Social Integration contributions (PIS) and Contribution for the Financing of Social Security (COFINS) on imports of goods and services, will take effect on May 1 2004.

The Australian Government has proposed its latest reforms of the country's international tax system with the introduction of the New International Tax Arrangements (Participation Exemption and Other Measures) Bill 2004 into parliament on April 1.

Richard Stamm will be the new head of PricewaterhouseCoopers' US tax practice from July 1 2004. Stamm joined Pricewaterhouse-Coopers in 1976, is a member of both the US and global tax leadership teams and oversees each of PricewaterhouseCoopers' specialized practice units. He will replace Rick Berry who will retire at the end of the firm's fiscal year.

Tax specialists and corporate taxpayers have reacted with dismay to the unclear measures to introduce intra-UK transfer pricing regulations and a crackdown on tax avoidance schemes in the UK Finance Bill. The UK Treasury released the 584-page Finance Bill for its first parliamentary reading on April 8 2004.

A survey of business confidence among middle market companies in the UK has found real concerns within the sector over taxation and the administrative burden.

Jesus Barrios, director of taxes, Latin America for Oracle, says US and Japanese taxpayers need to be aware of two court decisions which could affect their businesses in Mexico

John Hobster, the former global CEO of Ernst & Young's transfer pricing practice who moved to Analysis Group in February 2003, has returned to the big four firm. Hobster rejoined Ernst & Young's London office as global head of accounts for transfer pricing and tax-effective supply chain management on April 6 2004. The move spells the end of Analysis Group's UK transfer pricing activities, which have been centralized, in the its Denver office.

Kenneth Bezozo, a corporate tax partner at US law firm Haynes and Boone, was appointed co-head of the firm's newly-opened New York office on April 21 2004. Bezozo specializes in corporate, business planning and taxation matters including structuring, formations, mergers and acquisitions, dispositions and restructurings.