London, Sept 19 (ANI): Fascinating letters written by Lawrence of Arabia have been found years after they were thought to have been burned on a fire.
In the letters, the hero of the Arab revolt in the First World War talks about his love of motorcycles, which led to his death in a road accident in 1935, reports The Telegraph.
Speaking about one of his machines, he wrote: “It’s a heavenly bike, goes like smoke and is as smooth as milk to ride.”
The correspondence – found when an envelope fell out of an old book – will be auctioned on October 1 in Dorchester, Dorset, and could fetch more than 10,000 pounds.
Dorset historian Rodney Legg, who has written numerous books on Lawrence, said: “It’s mysterious how Lawrence managed to balance his finances. He sometimes spent lavishly and at other times wrote letters to friends proclaiming poverty.
“So anything that throws light on the relationship with his banker is quite revealing.” (ANI)
Sanofi, Piramal proposed merger deal falls through – report
A proposed deal by France’s Sanofi-Aventis to buy a majority stake in Indian drug maker Piramal Healthcare Ltd has fallen through due to differences over valuation, a newspaper reported on Monday.
In Februray, a source familiar with the situation had told Reuters that GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Sanofi-Aventis were bidding for the Indian drug maker, with the sale price perhaps going as high as $1.5 billion.
Mumbai-based Piramal has repeatedly denied acquisition reports, calling them ‘unfounded’, and has said the founder has no intention of diluting current ownership levels.
“Sanofi Aventis had put a valuation of over 300 rupees per share for Piramal Healthcare. But, this price was not acceptable to the promoters,” The Economic Times newspaper quoted a merchant banker familiar with the development as saying.
Talks between the two companies had reached an advanced stage before it collapsed, the paper said, citing another senior pharma industry official briefed about the proposed deal.
A Piramal spokesman declined comment while Sanofi-Aventis officials could not be reached for comments immediately.