Adidas, the global number two in the sporting goods industry after Nike, is buying all outstanding shares of Reebok, the number three, for $59 per share in cash, Adidas said in a statement.

The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2006, is pending the approval of Reebok shareholders and anti-trust authorities.

Adidas also said its net income in the second quarter rose by 33 percent to 94 million euros, when adjusted for the sale of its ailing winter sports brand Salomon to Finland's Amer Sports . The figure was above analysts' average estimate of 86 million euros.

Sales rose by 8.2 percent to 1.52 billion euros, which was also slightly above the average estimate of 1.49 billion euros, driven by growth in all regions except Europe.

For 2005, the Bavarian firm predicted that net income attributable to shareholders from continuing and discontinued operations would rise by 20 percent.

News of the Reebok deal came one week after Adidas's smaller rival Puma unveiled plans to close the gap on Adidas and Nike by making acquisitions and entering new markets.

Adidas is trying to build its U.S. market share, the company's U.S. head Erich Stamminger told a German newspaper in an interview in June.

He said the company's U.S. business had turned around in the second quarter and profit was growing faster than sales.

"If we continue to grow like this in the next three years, a market share of 20 percent is already automatically a realistic target," Stamminger was quoted as saying in the Handelsblatt newspaper.

In May, Adidas sold its ailing winter sport brand Salomon to Finland's Amer Sports in a deal worth about 485 million euros.

Its German rival Puma announced ambitious expansion plans last week.

Adidas shares have gained 24 percent in the past three months, outperforming Puma's mid-cap stock, which has risen 16 percent, and Nike's 9 percent share price gain.

CNN

The chairman of one of China's largest providers of management and accounting software, Wang Wenjing from UFIDA Software, has his eyes set far beyond his office in the capital's "Silicon Alley."

UFIDA plans to become Asia's leading software vendor by 2006.

It already has offices in Hong Kong and Japan, and later this year it will launch branches and joint ventures in other Asian countries.

"This is a global market full of international competition. We need to build up our ability to compete internationally. And we need to be able to further expand both our business and markets," Wang told CNN.

To do this Wang is calling on American know-how to help take his UFIDA software global.

He hired Richard Stewart, who used to work for Germany's Siemens -- he knows China, its markets and is fluent in Mandarin.

"There are some things that we will have to overcome, in terms of reputation and in terms of acceptance of a product from a Chinese company. But I think it is slowly changing," says Stewart.

China's oil firm CNOOC and its bid for the U.S. firm Unocal highlights the fact that Chinese firms are not just interested in exporting, they are also interested in buying overseas assets, growing brands and competing at an international level.

And the Chinese government is encouraging them to do so, but even major players often lack international experience -- this is where international firms come in.

UFIDA sent Stewart to a seminar in Beijing by U.S. law firm White and Case to find out about getting government approval for overseas expansion and how to pay taxes in other countries.

"Chinese companies are learning that having a good team of advisors, not just lawyers, but accountants, bankers and public relations people, can be invaluable," says John Leary from White and Case.

"That is because it is not simply a matter of contracts, but there is also a lot of strategy."

CNOOC found out that its overseas aspirations had as much to do with politics as business. (Full Story)

Wang hopes that when UFIDA is ready to make a bid for a U.S. company, it will be in a less politically charged atmosphere.

"I like to say business is business. It is a benefit for both of us," says Wang.

It is not just about having the "made in China" label on the shelf, it is also about having a global headquarters based in China.

"There is literally no point to pursue this any further. The dirty Washington politics has basically killed the deal," the South China Morning Post quoted a source "who is familiar with the deal" as saying.

CNOOC did not immediately return the AP's calls before business hours early Friday morning.

Unocal -- based in El Segundo, California -- first agreed to be acquired by Chevron in April for $16.6 billion in cash and stock.

But two months later, Hong Kong-based CNOOC -- 70 percent owned by the Chinese government's China National Offshore Oil Corp -- offered $18.5 billion in cash, or $67 a share, for Unocal.

The bid sparked fears in Congress that the proposed deal presented risks to America's economic and national security.

A flurry of legislation intended to derail CNOOC has been introduced in both houses of Congress.

Last week, Chevron sweetened its offer for Unocal to $17 billion, and Unocal's board recommended shareholders, scheduled to meet on Aug. 19, approve the deal.

From CNN