$4.4B deal creates big drug benefits firm SXC Health Solutions agreed to buy Catalyst Health Solutions for about $4.4 billion in cash and stock, creating one of the biggest independent drug benefits management companies in the country. Under the terms of the deal, SXC will pay $28 in cash and 0.6606 of a share, valuing Catalyst at about $81.02 a share. That is a 28 percent premium to Catalyst's closing price Tuesday. Both companies are benefits managers that contract with drug companies and pharmacies to dispense medicine and process claims.

Audi to buy luxury motorcycle maker Ducati Volkswagen's Audi will buy Italian motorcycle maker Ducati Motor Holding to add luxury two-wheelers to the German automaker's portfolio. The VW and Audi supervisory boards approved the purchase and aim to complete the transaction as quickly as possible following regulatory approval, Audi said. The companies did not disclose the price, but Bloomberg News reported that the VW unit will pay owner Investindustrial about 860 million ($1.1 billion), including debt of around 155 million, for the Italian company.

Delta buys used MD-90s to replace old DC-9s Delta Air Lines bought seven used Boeing MD-90 narrow-body jets as the carrier replaces some of the oldest aircraft in the U.S. industry. The secondhand planes from Japan Airlines will enter service by the end of 2013, Atlanta-based Delta said without giving financial terms. Delta is using the twin-engine planes to help retire its DC-9s, which numbered 24 at the end of December and had an average age of 34 years. That made those jets some of the oldest in service among major U.S. passenger carriers.

New Apollo bid for Great Wolf trumps rival's Apollo Global Management raised its offer for Great Wolf Resorts Inc. to $233.8 million in its third public attempt to buy the water-park operator and win a private-equity bidding contest with KSL Capital Partners. Apollo's $7-a-share bid is $2 higher than the original deal it struck with Great Wolf last month. Great Wolf, based in Madison, Wis., said that its board unanimously approved New York-based Apollo's latest offer and believes it "is in the best interest of all shareholders."

American Airlines to cut 1,200 nonunion jobs American Airlines plans to lay off 1,200 nonunion workers by the end of the summer as part of its corporate restructuring, as it closes a Tucson, Ariz., reservation center and outsources sky caps and some customer service and gate agents. On Wednesday, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier outlined plans to reduce annual employee costs by $95 million for 10,000 nonunion workers in a group covering agents, representatives and planners. These cuts, which include some pay and work rule changes, are in addition to the proposed 13,000 layoffs among pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and ground workers that American announced in February.

FROM NEWS REPORTS