PRESS DIGEST-Financial Times - April 29

The following are the top stories in the ​Financial Times. Reuters has not verified ​these stories and does not vouch ‌for ​their accuracy. Headlines

* Lift maker Kone close to finalising 29 billion euro deal to buy TK Elevator * Pernod Ricard ends pursuit ‌of Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman

* Bill Ackman hits lowest end of target in second IPO push * Germany to accelerate defence spending well ahead of NATO deadline

* RAC pumps the brakes on ‌5 billion pound London IPO * CVC weighs 9 billion euro bid for Italian ‌payments group Nexi

* UAE to leave OPEC in blow to oil cartel Overview

* Lift maker Kone is nearing a cash-and-stock deal to buy German rival TK Elevator, valuing the company at about 29 billion euros ($33.97 billion), including ⁠debt. * ​Pernod Ricard and Brown-Forman ⁠have ended merger talks after the French spirits company and the Kentucky-based owner of Jack Daniel's whiskey failed to ⁠reach mutually acceptable terms.

* Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has raised $5 billion for its new closed-end fund that ​is part of a combined U.S. initial public offering of the alternative asset management ⁠company. * The German government is working on a draft budget, and total defence spending is planned to reach ⁠144.9 ​billion euros ($169.74 billion) in 2027, as it seeks to meet Nato's new target at least six years ahead of schedule.

* British driving services group RAC has pushed ⁠back its timeline for an initial public offering in London to the final months of this ⁠year. * Private equity ⁠firm CVC Capital is weighing a 9 billion euro deal for Italian payments group Nexi.

* The United Arab Emirates said it was ‌quitting oil producers' ‌group OPEC after almost 60 years. ($1 = 0.8537 ​euros) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)