Done Deals

• Australian software company Objective has acquired UK-based rival Limehouse Software for some AU$6.7 million (£3.2 million).
• Staffordshire-based Cornwell’s Chemists has acquired rival Cowern & Hartsthorn Chemists for an undisclosed sum
• Staffordshire-based equipment hire company Northbridge Industrial Services Plc has acquired a 66.7 per cent stake in Tyne Technical Equipment Rental Services LLC, a Dubai-based company that focuses on renting generators, for £170,000.
• US-based food and drink company PepsiCo has acquired Peruvian snack business Karinto for an undisclosed sum.
• Deeside-based housebuilder David McLean has been sold for £51.3 million in a management buy-out led by McLean’s finance director, John Kendrick.
• San Diego-based ChemDiv, a chemistry-driven contract research organisation, has acquired Prudentas through its ChemRar High Tech Centre in Moscow. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
• Food producer Cranswick has sold its subsidiaries, Cranswick Pet Products (CPP) and Tropical Marine Centre (TMC), as part of a management buy-out backed by Lloyds TSB Development Capital for £17 million.
• Despite strong 2008 output and increases in both turnover and earnings, Peter Hambro Mining’s pre-tax profits slid 27 per cent to £28 million.