Monday Papers: HSBC closes in on Nedbank stake - bid news and gossip

Financial Times

* HSBC is poised to win the auction for a controlling stake in Nedbank, South Africa’s fourth-largest bank, after fending off fierce competition from its UK-based rival Standard Chartered.

* Banco Espírito Santo has yet to follow through on its agreement to acquire a 50.1% stake in Execution Noble, raising questions over why the deal has taken more than six months to complete.

* Blackstone has agreed to back the development by Great Eagle of more than 1,000 new homes in Dalian in Liaoning, a coastal city and port in northern China.

* MF Global Holdings is to make a push into money management and investment banking, in an effort to capitalise on the derivatives brokerage’s strength in commodities markets.

* Santander is planning to step up its pursuit of a controlling stake in Poland’s fifth-largest bank, Bank Zachodni WBK.

* BHP Billiton will launch its charm offensive in Canada this week, as the mining group seeks to convince Canadian regulators and PotashCorp shareholders of the value in its $39bn bid to take over the fertiliser producer.

* ZTE, the telecoms equipment maker, has won a €200m ($254m) contract to build a mobile network for Telenor.

* Dana Petroleum will this week make a final attempt to convince South Korea’s national oil group to raise its £1.87bn takeover offer in return for the blessing of the UK oil explorer’s board.

The Daily Telegraph

* BHP Billiton, the Anglo-Australian miner pursuing a $39bn takeover of PotashCorp, received a welcome boost with news that the Australian Labor Party has failed to win the country’s general election.

* Marks & Spencer is set to pay its new chairman around 40% less than incumbent Sir Stuart Rose.