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A survey conducted by international recruitment group, Hoggart Bowers, suggests that clients are at best indifferent to and at worst hostile to the proposed mergers between the big six accounting firms.

On November 12 1997, the UK Inland Revenue published draft legislation bringing controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) into the corporation tax self-assessment regime. Under the current system, a direction must be made by the Inland Revenue Board before a CFC tax charge can be imposed. Once self-assessment is underway, UK companies will be responsible for self-assessing and reporting their CFC liabilities.

British Aerospace and Daimler-Benz Aerospace have made a joint purchase of the Siemens Defence Electronics Group. British Aerospace will acquire Siemens Plessey Systems in the UK, and Siemens Plessey Electronic Sytems in Australia. Daimler-Benz Aerospace will acquire Siemens Bereich Sicherungs-technik in Germany. The total value of the deal has not been announced, but British Aerospace is to pay Dm930 million ($530 million) for the two businesses. The deal represents British Aerospace's third acquisition in Germany this year.

UK energy group BG plans to return up to £1.3 billion ($2.1 billion) of its share capital to shareholders. On October 27 1997, shareholders voted in favour of the company's proposed capital reorganization. The number of ordinary shares in the issue will be reduced by 11.8% to reflect how much of the company's current market capitalization is being returned to shareholders. In this way the cost of capital to the company will be reduced with the greater use of debt rather than equity finance.

Federal-Mogul has made an agreed cash offer of $2.43 billion to acquire the UK group T&N. The combined group will be a leading global supplier of automotive parts with 42% of its revenue in North America, 44% in Europe and 14% in the rest of the world.

The India Public Sector Fund Limited, a company incorporated in Mauritius, has been set up. The fund will invest in shares through a dedicated unit trust scheme in India, and global depository receipts of partially privatized Indian companies. The fund will automatically become open-ended after a six-month initial closed period.

The Bank of Ireland has made a IR £274 million ($465 million) bid for life assurance company New Ireland Holdings. Linklaters in London acted for Sun Life and Provincial Holdings, which owns an 83% shareholding in New Ireland. Tax advice on the deal came from tax partner Mike Hardwick and tax associate Liz Conway.

US telecommunications group MCI Communications has agreed to merge with WorldCom, the US long-distance telephone operator. The deal is valued at $37 billion.

Tomkins has made a £70.5 million ($114.2 million) successful bid to acquire Golden West Foods.

Publishing groups Reed Elsevier of the UK and Wolters Kluwer of the Netherlands have reached agreement to merge, in a £20 billion ($33 billion) deal. The combined market capitalization of the merged group will be £17.5 billion.