• The Nasdaq Stock Market has rescinded its proposed $4.2 billion offer for the London Stock Exchange. The LSE had spurned Nasdaq’s bid immediately, on March 10, claiming it was too low. Nasdaq reserved the right to propose another bid again in the next six months if the LSE would recommend its offer or if a rival made a bid.
• The Department of Justice has approved the proposed merger between appliance makers Whirlpool and Maytag. Whirlpool hopes its $1.7 billion acquisition of Maytag will close as soon as April 3.
• Associated British Ports Holdings Plc., the largest U.K. operator of ports, rejected a $3.8 billion offer from a consortium led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The consortium also includes Borealis Infrastructure Management; a unit of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Fund; and a private-equity unit of GIC, an investment company owned by the government of Singapore.
• U.K. mortgage bank Alliance & Leicester rejected an informal $10.1 billion offer made during the past two weeks by France’s Credit Agricole, stating that the offer did not reflect the bank’s full value.
• India-based drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. announced that it will acquire the unbranded generic business of GlaxoSmithKline Plc.’s Italian division, Allen Spa. Terms of the deal, effective April 1, were not disclosed.
• Mercantile Bankshares announced that it has agreed to acquire James Monroe Bancorp for approximately $142.9 million in stock and cash. The deal, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, is expected to close in the third quarter.
• Greece-based Lamda Detergent, a unit of chemical group Neochimiki, announced that it will acquire Bulgarian detergent company Macro B for €10.5 million.
• Jupitermedia Corp. has sold its technology-focused research division, JupiterResearch, for $10.1 million in cash to JupiterResearch LLC. The buyer is a subsidiary of JupiterKagan Inc., a company in the MCG Capital Corp. portfolio.
• Gambino Apparel Group announced that it has agreed to be acquired by Intelligent Security Networks through an exchange of shares of common stock. The deal, which has been approved by shareholders, is expected to close on or before April 15.
• Covington, Louisiana-based Phoenix Associates Land Syndicate, a holding company that develops natural resources, announced that it has agreed to acquire three Texas-based oilfield companies: Sam’s Oil Country Inspection Services, CM Ideal Energy, and Ideal Energy Directional Drilling Services. The deal is expected to close between April 14 and May 1.