Sydney, July 17, 2007 (ABN Newswire) - Cement maker Cemex has completed the largest-ever acquisition by a Mexican company yesterday after it held 95.62 percent of Rinker at the expiration of the $14 billion nine-month hostile bid. Under Australian law, Rinker's remaining shareholders must sell their stock to Cemex, a process which could take up to six weeks. Including all of Rinker's shares and debt, the takeover bid is worth $15.3 billion. The acquisition consolidates Cemex's position as the world's largest building materials company, taking annual sales to $23.58 billion. It also beefs up Cemex's presence in the United States, which accounts for 80 percent of Rinker's revenue, while giving it a foothold in China and Australia. U.S. authorities have said that Cemex will have to sell off 39 plants there if its bid for Rinker succeeded because the company would be too dominant in some markets. Rinker has turned in increasing earnings since 2004 with a record result achieved in 2007.

Cameco Corporation, the world's No. 1 uranium supplier, may be considering a takeover of Paladin Resources to boost its sources of supply. Speculation after an overhaul of a Cameco's Canadian Cigar Lake uranium mine delayed production by up to 4 years. The mine sits on one of the world's richest uranium deposits and flooded last year putting pressure on global uranium supply as demand has soared. The recent drop in Paladin's share price has made it a possible takeover target and the Australian miner cut the production forecast for its main Namibian mine last month. Paladin acquired fellow Australian uranium miner Summit Resources Ltd. in April. Paladin has a mainly negative record of earnings, the highlight a modest profit in 2004.

Upmarket department store chain David Jones has short listed Citigroup and American Express as possible partners for a general-purpose credit card. The retailer sees significant long-term growth opportunities in its financial services business and culled the two candidates from 11 international and local Australian providers. CEO Mark McInnes believes the international banks show strength in managing store branded credit cards globally. David Jones expects to finalise a deal with Citigroup or Amex by November 2007, and hopes to launch the card by the end of 2008. David Jones already offers a store card and is also considering either Visa or Mastercard as a marketing partner should Citigroup prove successful. David Jones has posted strong profit results since an net loss in 2003

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>>> DAVID JONES LIMITED
>>> Paladin Energy Limited
>>> RINKER GROUP LIMITED