Spain's Cosmen family has teamed up with private equity group CVC to make a joint takeover bid for UK transport group National Express, in a deal that could be worth over £500 million.

Spain's Cosmen family has teamed up with private equity group CVC to make a joint takeover bid for UK transport group National Express, in a deal that could be worth over £500 million.

Online retailing giant Amazon has agreed to buy online shoe retailer Zappos for around $928 million, the biggest acquisition in its fourteen-year history.

The UK government has announced a £1.1 billion rail electrification programme for two of its major lines.

UKÔÇÖs ┬ú1.1 billion rail electrification The UK government has announced a ┬ú1.1 billion rail electrification programme for two of its major lines.The London to Swansea route will be electrified over the next eight years at a cost of ┬ú1 billion, as will lines between Liverpool and Manchester at a cost of ┬ú100 million.The upgrade is in line with the governmentÔÇÖs commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from transport by 14 per cent by 2020.Only around one third of the UKÔÇÖs 20,000-mile rail network is currently electrified, compared with 100 per cent in Switzer

The UK government has announced a ┬ú1.1 billion rail electrification programme for two of its major lines.  The London to Swansea route will be electrified over the next eight years at a cost of ┬ú1 billion, as will lines between Liverpool and Manchester at a cost of ┬ú100 million. Only around one third of the UKÔÇÖs rail network is currently electrified, compared with 100 per cent in Switzerland, 77 per cent in Sweden and 69 per cent in Italy.  Electric trains are lighter and more energy-efficient, making them around 35 per cent cheaper to operate.

The UK government has announced a £1.1 billion rail electrification programme for two of its major lines.

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US-based automotive firm General Motors (GM) has confirmed it has received three final offers for majority stakes in its European Opel unit. The bidders are Canadian car parts maker Magna, Belgian-based investment firm RHJ International and China's state-owned Beijing Automotive Industries Holding Co (BAIC). ┬á Canadian Magna remains the favourite to buy a majority stake in Opel, having made last-minute alterations to its bid by diluting its Russian backer Sberbank's stake to 27.5 per cent and upping its original 20 per cent stake to the same amount.