The US company will acquire a 42 percent interest in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited, with the signing expected during Iraq Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s visit to Washington.

BP ECKL holds a contract to develop the currently producing Baba and Avanah domes at Kirkuk and three adjacent fields, ConocoPhillips said in a statement.

ConocoPhillips did not disclose financial terms.

The company said it does not anticipate “significant” capital contributions, but remuneration will be “linked to a proportionate share of incremental production and costs.”

“We see an opportunity to create value through a capital-efficient redevelopment program that leverages a large existing production base, while also offering meaningful exploration upside,” said ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance.

“We look forward to working with BP and the Government of Iraq to support the continued redevelopment of these historically significant fields in an important energy-producing region.”

BP and Iraq finalized the Kirkuk agreement in February 2025 as part of a strategy to boost production from Iraq.

The announcement comes a few days after President Donald Trump welcomed Zaidi to the White House, where the US president hinted at likely oil deals with Iraq.

The White House meeting came against the backdrop of renewed military escalation between the United States and Iran.

Washington and Tehran are Iraq’s main allies but have long fought a proxy war over the country.

Like other oil producers, Iraq — a founding member of OPEC — was greatly affected by the Middle East war.

It is hugely dependent on oil exports, which make up about 90 percent of its budget revenues, and the vast majority of its crude travels via the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently at the heart of US-Iran tensions.

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South Korea’s Samsung Biologics will launch a 1.46 billion Swiss francs ($1.81 ​billion) all-cash bid for Swiss contract drugmaker PolyPeptide, ‌the companies said in separate statements.

The offer at 44.31 Swiss francs per share represents a premium of about 6.1% to PolyPeptide’s last ​closing price of 41.75 Swiss francs on Friday, ​according to a Reuters calculation.

The tender offer is ⁠expected to launch by the end of August and ​close by year-end, Samsung Biologics said.

The takeover would expand the ​South Korean firm’s capabilities in peptide-based therapeutics, including fast-growing obesity and diabetes treatments such as GLP-1 drugs, the company said.

PolyPeptide said its ​board had unanimously recommended shareholders accept the offer.

Samsung Biologics ​said after the deal was completed it aimed to pursue a ‌squeeze-out ⁠of any remaining minority shares and would delist PolyPeptide from the SIX Swiss Exchange, making it a wholly owned unit of the company.

PolyPeptide said its largest individual shareholder, Draupnir ​Holding, which ​owns about ⁠55.65% of the company, supported the deal and would tender all of its shares into ​the offer.

The Swiss company said in April ​that ⁠Draupnir was conducting a review of strategic options with regard to its majority stake in PolyPeptide.

Draupnir’s parent entity is the ⁠Cryosphere ​Foundation, which has links to Swedish ​billionaire Frederik Paulsen, PolyPeptide has said previously.

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Telecom Italia’s (TIM) board on ​Saturday unanimously approved Poste Italiane’s voluntary public tender ‌and exchange offer for all of the company’s shares.

Poste became TIM’s largest single shareholder last year with a 20% stake ​in the company. It launched a bid ​in March for the shares it does ⁠not already own.

“The board unanimously deemed the consideration ​offered fair from a financial point of view and ​positively assessed the rationale and business prospects of the operation and its consistency with the path undertaken by TIM,” the ​company said in a statement.

Poste, whose 12,600 post ​offices distribute pensions, is betting that its bid of more ‌than €13 ⁠billion ($14.9 billion) for TIM will accelerate its expansion into digital, telecoms and cloud services.

Two-thirds owned by the Italian state, Poste began its digital transformation in ​the early 2000s ​by moving ⁠into electronic payments. Over the past decade, it has enrolled 30 million users, ​roughly 70% of the total, in ​Italy’s ⁠digital identity system, which allows access to public services online.

Poste argues the tie-up will create a larger state-backed ⁠group ​that can build distributed computing ​infrastructure across the country.

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Railpen, the largest shareholder in Britain’s IP Group, said on ​Friday it has made a sweetened takeover offer ‌for the early-stage science investor, nearly a month after IP Group rejected an earlier approach.

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Shares in Seven & i rose 3% in Tokyo on Friday as the Japanese retailer said it was ‌in talks to buy a stake in Polish convenience store operator Zabka Group as it seeks new growth drivers following investor pressure over weak earnings.

The 7-Eleven owner is considering acquiring shares in Zabka held by unnamed funds, with the investment likely to total several hundred billion yen, Nikkei ​reported, which would equate to at least a few billion dollars.

Zabka has a market value of about $8 billion.

A ​deal would extend Seven & i’s reach into Eastern Europe, beyond its strongholds in Japan and North ⁠America, as the retailer seeks to grow its business under CEO Stephen Dacus, who took the helm last year.

“Unlike its ​previous acquisitions (Zabka) doesn’t need to be banged into shape,” said Amir Anvarzadeh, a Japan equity market strategist at Asymmetric Advisors.

“Despite this ​being only a stake purchase for now, it may lead to closer ties down the road,” he added.

“Amid overall market weakness due to falling semiconductor stocks, defensive sectors centered on domestic demand are being bought,” said Naoshi ​Matsumoto, an analyst at Yamawa Securities.

In 2021, Seven & i acquired Speedway petrol stations, extending its position in the U.S. It already has outlets ‌in ⁠three Nordic countries and has positioned Europe as a “fourth pillar of growth”.

It also acquired the 7-Eleven chain in Australia two years ago, moving to cement its control over the brand.

The retailer has been ​under pressure from investors due ⁠to lacklustre returns and faced calls to focus on its core convenience store business. Last year it agreed to sell off its supermarkets business to private equity firm Bain Capital.

A partnership reflects “a history of digital defeat” and amounts to Seven & i “buying takeover defense with shareholders’ money,” Bernstein analysts wrote in a note.

“Seven is plugging its largest remaining weakness with outside ⁠capital ​and installing friendly shareholders as a takeover countermeasure,” the analysts wrote.

SMBC Nikko analyst ​Kuni Kanamori wrote in a note that Zabka appeared to be a success story. “The question now is what kind of synergies can emerge if this ​deal comes to fruition,” he said.

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Australia’s Coles Group said ​on Friday it had ended discussions with ‌U.S. private equity firm TPG Capital over a potential acquisition of Greencross Pet Wellness, sending its shares up as ​much as 5%.

The announcement came weeks after ​Australia’s No. 2 grocer confirmed talks were ⁠underway for the purchase of the pets and ​vets business, a disclosure that had sent its shares ​down more than 4%.

“We believe this is at least partly due to the negative investor feedback surrounding the deal,” ​Citi analysts said in a note.

Local media reports ​had said TPG was likely aiming for an A$4 billion ($2.80 ‌billion) ⁠deal, the valuation it had planned to seek for the business in a potential float.

Brokerage Citi had several concerns about the deal, including the potential ​funding structure ​and a ⁠weakening outlook for the pet care industry.

TPG ⁠Capital ​did not immediately respond to ​a Reuters request for comment.

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French software maker Dassault Systemes is in talks to buy drug-trial ​software maker ArisGlobal from Nordic Capital ‌for about $2 billion, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the ​matter.

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Eli Lilly will ‌buy AtaiBeckley for up to $3.8 billion, the company said on Thursday, joining a race among pharma majors to develop psychedelic treatments for depression and other mental health conditions.

The deal taps into rising interest in psychedelics following easing regulations ​under the Trump administration and reinforces Lilly’s push to use windfall weight-loss drug profits to ​diversify its product portfolio.

Lilly will gain access to AtaiBeckley’s lead candidate BPL-003, a ⁠psychedelic-based nasal spray in late-stage development for treatment-resistant depression, a severe form of the illness that ​does not improve after standard treatments.

Jefferies’ Andrew Tsai estimates BPL-003 could generate sales of more than $1 ​billion to $2 billion if it succeeds in late-stage trials. AtaiBeckley expects initial results from the trials in early 2029.

Lilly will pay $6.75 per AtaiBeckley share in cash, a premium of about 26% to the stock’s closing price on Wednesday. ​AtaiBeckley’s shares rose more than 30% in morning trading.

The offer consists of $2.8 billion upfront and up ​to $1 billion in milestone-based payments. The companies expect the deal to close in the third quarter.

“The acquisition aligns ‌with Eli ⁠Lilly’s expanding neuroscience portfolio and offers upside potential in large markets like depression,” said Barclays analyst Emily Field.

The psychedelics industry could reach $12 billion in revenue by 2034, rivaling the size of branded antidepressants currently ​at about $8 billion, said ​RBC Capital Markets analyst ⁠Trung Huynh.

SURGING INTEREST IN PSYCHEDELIC-BASED THERAPIES

Drugmakers have shown growing interest in psychedelic-based treatments for depression and other mental health disorders.

President Donald Trump’s executive order in ​April directed U.S. health regulators to speed up reviews of certain psychedelic ​treatments and ⁠increased federal funding for research in the field.

New York-based AtaiBeckley was formed through a merger between Germany-based Atai Life Sciences ⁠and privately ​held Beckley Psytech in 2025. Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel ​was an early backer of Atai.

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Angelini Pharma said on Thursday it had completed the acquisition ​of U.S. rare-disease drug maker Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a $4.1 billion ‌deal involving Italian state lender CDP.

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Hyundai Motor Group on ​Thursday disclosed that it would make U.S. robotics company Boston Dynamics a wholly owned subsidiary by acquiring SoftBank Group’s stake ‌of around 10%, a move it said would help it deploy advanced robotics across its operations.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Local media reported last month that the transaction would likely be worth about 500 billion won ($335 million).

The deal is expected to give Hyundai Motor Group greater strategic flexibility to manage Boston Dynamics, allowing the automaker ​to make long-term decisions on investments, business strategy and a potential initial public offering.

ROBOTICS PUSH MEETS LABOUR TENSIONS

The robot will initially handle parts-sequencing ⁠tasks, with its role likely to be expanded to a broader range of manufacturing processes, including component assembly by 2030.

The acquisition also comes as ​Hyundai Motor’s South Korean labour union has intensified industrial action over annual wage negotiations, after staging two-hour partial strikes from Monday through Wednesday and ​unveiling plans for four-hour strikes from July 20 to July 22, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The union has demanded that the company set aside 30% of its net income for bonuses and to guarantee job security, raising concerns over the growing adoption of robotics and artificial intelligence on assembly lines.

Around ​2,000 of Hyundai’s 24,676 unionised workers are expected to retire every year on average by 2032, according to the union. If the company does not hire new ‌workers, the ⁠union membership would fall by nearly 10,000, or about 40% of the current workforce by 2032, the union said.

Hyundai acquired an 80% stake in Boston Dynamics in 2021.

MARKET FOCUSES ON VALUATION

Analysts said investors had expected the purchase of SoftBank’s remaining stake to provide greater clarity on Boston Dynamics’ valuation ​and potentially act as a catalyst ​for the automaker’s shares.

Shin Yoonchul, ⁠an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said the transaction price implied a valuation of about 5 trillion won for Boston Dynamics. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Shin said the muted market reaction suggested investors ​were questioning whether the valuation previously assigned to the robotics company was justified, rather than viewing the deal ​as Hyundai Motor ⁠Group buying SoftBank’s stake at a discount.

He said Hyundai’s shares might have responded more positively had the company exercised its call option, which becomes exercisable on July 21, at a higher strike price, as that would have implied a higher valuation for Boston Dynamics. Instead, the deal removed what investors had ⁠viewed as ​a near-term catalyst for a re-rating of the robotics company’s valuation.

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