AttentiV Systems, the software provider to financial services firms, last night withdrew its backing for a £53 million bid from Microgen, the British IT group, after a rival bidder trumped the offer. AttentiV will now back a £56 million approach from TietoEnator, of Finland, which returned to the table after its earlier £47 million approach was bettered by Microgen.

Fresenius deal

Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s biggest provider of kidney dialysis products, unveiled a $3.5 billion (£1.9 billion) deal to buy Renal Care Group, of the US. The move will boost the German group in the US and widen its lead over Gambro, of Sweden, and DaVita, of the US.

Lafarge growth

Lafarge, the French building materials group, reported a 2.2 per cent rise in first-quarter sales to €3 billion (£2 billion), but said that poor weather in Europe had offset gains. The company reiterated its forecast for 6 to 8 per cent growth in like-for-like operating profits this year.

Impax filing delay

Impax, the US generic drugs maker, has requested a meeting with regulators from the US Securities and Exchange Commission about the filing of its 2004 annual report. The company said that it would delay filing its first-quarter trading update until it completes the report.

US Airways charge

US Airways took a $91 million (£48 million) charge for terminating employee pension plans, as the troubled carrier outlined plans to cut its fleet by another ten aircraft. In April the airline’s load factor, a measure of capacity utilisation, fell 3.9 percentage points to 75.9 per cent.