Stock Swaps

The boards of two German banking giants agreed Wednesday to a $32-billion merger that would create one of the world's largest banks and eliminate a reported 16,000 jobs. Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest, and Dresdner Bank, its third-largest, are to officially announce the merger at a news conference today in Frankfurt, but sources confirmed the deal Wednesday. The planned merger marks the first serious move toward bank consolidation in Germany.

Irvine chip developer Broadcom Corp. said Thursday it has completed the acquisitions of BlueSteel Networks Inc. and Digital Furnace Corp. by swapping more than 1.34 million shares for the two companies. Based on Thursday's closing price for Broadcom stock, the value of both deals combined was $276.8 million. Broadcom gained 13 cents to end the day at $206.13 a share. BlueSteel Networks in Mountain View develops high-performance Internet security processors.

Online e-commerce company Tickets.com Inc. said Tuesday that it has tentatively agreed to acquire the United Kingdom's second-largest ticketing company in a stock swap valued at $104 million to $127 million, based on Tuesday's closing price. The deal with First Call International Ltd. would create a live entertainment destination with broad international reach, Tickets.com said in a release late Tuesday.

Power-One Inc. in Camarillo said it has reached an agreement to acquire HC Power Inc. of Irvine. HC Power supplies power systems for the telecommunications industry, Internet service providers and original equipment manufacturers. Its customers include Williams Communications, CEA Telecom, Qwest and Nextel, Motorola and Nortel Networks. Power-One agreed to acquire HC Power in a stock swap in which Power-One will issue approximately 2.1 million shares.

BCE Inc. said it will offer to buy the remaining 77% of Teleglobe Inc., owner of the world's third-largest international telecommunications network, in a share-swap deal it valued at $6.65 billion. Montreal-based BCE said its president and chief executive, Jean Monty, would become Teleglobe chairman immediately, replacing Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Sirois, who would remain as an advisor. Paolo Guidi, president and chief executive of Teleglobe Communications Corp.

Pfizer Inc. could wrap up a bitter, three-month takeover battle for Warner-Lambert Co. as early as the end of the week with a deal worth about $75 billion, people familiar with the situation said Sunday. The combination of Pfizer, the No. 2 U.S. drug company and maker of impotence drug Viagra, with Warner-Lambert would create a pharmaceutical giant, second only to the proposed merger of British drug firms Glaxo Plc and SmithKline Beecham.

Conexant Systems Inc., the Newport Beach computer chip maker, said Thursday that it acquired a small British networking company in a stock swap valued at $128 million. Conexant said the purchase price of Microcosm Communications could reach up to $180 million, based on possible payments tied to future performance. Microcosm, a 50-person engineering firm in Bristol, England, makes networking chips for high-speed fiber-optic equipment.

Oasis Resorts International Inc., an international gaming company, said Thursday that it has signed an agreement with an Asian investment company to swap $15 million worth of its stock for $4 million in cash and 1.1 million shares of Virtual Gaming Technology Inc. The Brinton Group Inc., an investment and asset management company, said that it was acquiring the shares of Oasis for investment and diversification purposes.

With investors booing the proposed $23-billion merger between Monsanto Co. and Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc., and the $50-billion merger between Warner-Lambert Co. and American Home Products Corp., both deals appear in jeopardy of falling apart. And whatever the outcome, pharmaceutical industry executives may now be wary of merging with a same-size rival for fear of disappointing investors with a low price, as in Monsanto's case, or opening the door to an unwanted suitor, as in Warner-Lambert's case.

Low-cost personal computer maker EMachines Inc. in Irvine said Monday that it has agreed to acquire Pasadena-based Free-PC Inc. in a stock swap, signaling a retrenchment of the much-derided practice of giving computers away in exchange for advertising. But EMachines said it could end up backing into that same business model as it implements Free-PC's technology by offering financial incentives that offset the purchase price of new computers.