Icahn Enterprises lands Pep Boys

Carl Icahn is acquiring Pep Boys for $1 billion, ending his weekslong bidding war with the Japanese tire company Bridgestone.

The deal announced Wednesday is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

Icahn Enterprises offered $18.50 in cash for each share of Pep Boys, $1.50 more per share than the most-recent offer from Bridgestone. With the contest becoming too rich, Bridgestone bowed out Tuesday.

Because Pep Boys had already agreed to a deal with Bridgestone Corp., Icahn Enterprises will pay it a $39.5 million breakup fee.

Apple will pay taxes to Italy

Apple has agreed to pay Italy 318 million euros (about $350 million) in taxes for several past years, prosecutors said Wednesday, part of a broader European effort to make multinationals pay what they owe in each country where they do business.

Italy has already brought several cases against global technology companies that have headquarters in low-tax nations like Ireland to avoid paying higher taxes in other countries, like Italy. The practice, called profit-shifting, has come under attack from the European Union, which wants multinationals to pay tax where they earn their revenue and not where they have their regional base.

The EU’s 28 states agreed in October to share details of tax deals they reach with big companies to make sure they are fair to other countries. The EU has already ordered Starbucks and Fiat to pay millions in back taxes to Luxembourg and the Netherlands, respectively.

— From wire reports