Steinhoff International Holdings is in exclusive talks with France’s PPR to buy its Conforama furniture business for a cash sum of €1.2 billion.

PPR is selling Marne-La-Vallée, France-based Conforama to focus on its Gucci Group luxury goods and Puma sporting goods divisions. The Paris-based company is also planning to sell the Fnac music chain and the mail-order retailer Redcats.

Ten companies, agencies and universities have joined an initiative between The Gas Company (TGC), one of Hawaii's major utilities, and General Motors to make hydrogen-powered vehicles and a fueling infrastructure a reality in Hawaii by 2015.

The plan, called the Hawaii Hydrogen Initiative (H(2)I), aims to integrate hydrogen as an essential building block for Hawaii's sustainable energy ecosystem.

HSBC Holdings has said in a report that Qatar may have to lift a moratorium on further development at North Field, the world's largest natural gas reservoir, in order to generate enough electricity to stage the 2022 World Cup.

According to a report by Bloomberg, analysts from HSBC Holdings suggested that increased power needs due to the influx of labour and energy requirements for new hotels could encourage the moratorium on additional gas exploration at North Field to be lifted.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc, manufacturer of pharmaceutical packaging and delivery systems, today announced its intention to consolidate selected operations in order to improve operating efficiencies.

The company expects to close its manufacturing facility in Montgomery, Pennsylvania, USA, and to downsize operations at its facility in St. Austell, Cornwall, UK.

BP has approached a number of UK-focused energy companies about a potential sell-off of its North Sea assets, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

It is understood that the energy giant has met with utilities and oil companies to gauge their interest in the non-core fields, which are collectively worth around $1 billion.

BP is thought to have approached the organisations on a ‘pre-tender’ basis—ahead of any official auction—to gauge the level of interest.

Even the largest names in pharmaceuticals need some help from their friends from time to time, as Alan Swaby learns in discussion with Penn Pharma.

A career in pharmaceutical R&D is not for those with a short attention span. Perhaps growing bonsai needs more patience; but the painstaking search for new drugs can’t be far behind. Even when an exciting breakthrough is made in the form of a promising new molecule, the hard grind has barely begun.

With two highly productive coal mining assets and a strong pipeline of projects under development, Optimum Coal looks set to become one of South Africa’s largest coal mining companies. CEO Mike Teke talks to Gay Sutton about the company’s strategy for growth.

In the oil well drilling business, having the latest equipment helps; but it’s the human element that still makes the difference, as Alan Swaby learns.

Whatever else the Norwegian equivalent of Father Christmas brings Frank Tollefsen this year, his largest—and most anticipated—present by far will be a brand new drilling ship costing the best part of half a billion dollars.

Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, has familiar water supply and hygiene problems. Managing director George Ndongwe tells John O’Hanlon how Lusaka Water & Sewerage Company aspires to become a world-class utility.

South Africa’s automotive sector has undergone fluctuating fortunes over the past four years, reaching its peak in 2007 before the financial meltdown of 2008. Gert Harmse, plant manager for Feltex Fehrer’s Port Elizabeth facility, explains the impact of these challenging times.