Reckitt buys US baby food firm for $16.6bn LONDON: British consumer health giant ReckittBenckiser on Friday gobbled US infant and child nutrition specialist Mead Johnson for $16.6 billion in a takeover which targets rapid expansion in Asia.

The friendly deal, worth the equivalent of 15.5bn euros, was pitched at $90 per share and will `significantly strengthen` its presence in developing markets like China, Reckitt said in a statement.-AFPFacebook to provide ad data for audit MENLO PARK: Facebook Inc said it wouldprovide information about ads displayed on its platform for an audit, months after the social network admitted to overstating key ad metrics.

The audit by media regulator Media Rating Council (MRC) will likely provide more clarity to advertisers.

Facebook said in September that a metric for average user time on videos was artificially inflated as it only counted videos viewed for over three seconds.

The company will provide data including exact time in milliseconds that an ad was displayed on Facebook and its photo-sharing app Instagram to the regulator.-ReutersArcelorMittal back in the black in 2016 PARIS: Global steel giant ArcelorMittal said onFriday that it returned to profit in 2016 on the back of a better operating performance and improved market conditions.

ArcelorMittal said in a statement it booked net profit of $1.8 billion in 2016, compared with a net loss of $7.9bn a year earlier.

Revenues, on the other hand, declined by 10.7 per cent to $56.8bn, weighed down by lower steel prices.

At an underlying or operating level, the group swung to a profit of $4.2 million last year from a year-earlier loss of the same amount.-AFPRenault posts record year despite diesel probe BOULOGNE BILLANCOURT: French carmakerRenault said Friday it booked a record year in 2016 and that it would not set aside any provisions for potential financial fallout from a diesel emissions probe.

Renault, which has now become France`s biggest carmaker in terms of sales, said profits leapt almost 20 per cent in 2016, driven by strong sales.

Net profit jumped by 19.7pc to 3.54 billion euros ($3.77bn) last year on a 13.1pc increase in revenues to 51.2bn euros, a statement said.

The company attributed the strong performance to a 13.3pc increase in registrations of the group`s Renault, Dacia and Samsung Motors brands to 3.18 million vehicles worldwide.

`In 2016, Renault reached a new sales record and became the number one French automotive group worldwide. -AFP