PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times =3

ANTISOMA DIVERSIFIES THROUGH XANTHUS

The UK-based cancer drug developer Antisoma (ASM.L: Quote, Profile, Research) announced on Friday that it would pay 27 million pounds for Xanthus Pharmaceuticals of Boston. The deal will involve an all-share offer funded largely by a rights issue. Glyn Edwards, the chief executive, said: "This is a transforming deal. Combining Antisoma and Xanthus produces a company with the critical mass and mature pipeline needed to become a major player in oncology." Shares in Antisoma closed up 1.5 pence at 29 pence.

VODAFONE BUYS MOBILE SOCIAL NETWORK

Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) has paid 31.5 million euros (25 million pounds) in cash for Zyb, a private Dutch company offering contacts management and social networking technology. It is Vodafone's first mobile internet acquisition. Zyb's technology allows mobile phone users to share calendars and instant messages with friends online, as well as enabling them to back up their contacts to a web portal. "We are reinventing the address book," said Tommy Ahlers, Zyb's chief executive.

Prepared for Reuters by Durrants