Sunday newspaper round-up: BT Group, Bank Levy, Shire

BT is set to become a takeover target for Deutsche Telekom as an international telecoms merger frenzy intensifies, according to senior industry executives and City analysts. Speculation of a potential tie-up comes as the German giant is reportedly in advanced talks to merge its American arm, T-Mobile US, with the satellite pay-TV operator Dish Networks. If a deal is struck, industry sources claim, the likelihood of a Teutonic takeover of BT will increase. - The Sunday TelegraphGeorge Osborne is to lay the ground for a review of the bank levy in an effort to head off the threat of two of Britain's biggest banks leaving the country. The chancellor is expected to use his annual Mansion House speech on Wednesday to say that the new Conservative government is committed to maintaining the "competitiveness" of banks. Senior industry sources said there was likely to be a review of the levy, a charge on global bank assets that was introduced by the coalition after the credit crisis. - The Sunday TimesOne of Britain's biggest drug companies is weighing a £12bn takeover of a Swiss rival as the deal frenzy gripping the global pharmaceutical industry heats up. Shire, a FTSE 100 stalwart best known for its hyperactivity treatments, made an informal approach to Actelion several weeks ago, City sources said. The Swiss company, which makes treatments for rare diseases, rebuffed the overture. The indicative approach valued Actelion at £12.4bn, a 20% premium to its stock market value. - The Sunday TimesBuy-to-let landlords face growing pressure from the government's plans to cap benefits at £23,000 a year, threatening rental income in some of Britain's priciest areas. Many households with low incomes in outer London and the south receive housing benefit, with one in four English private sector tenants needing financial aid - a rise of nearly 90% in the past six years. - Financial TimesJohn Malone, America's "cable cowboy", is secretly pushing for a full-blown merger of Liberty Global and Vodafone, after the two telecoms giants opened talks about an asset-swap deal. It is understood that the US billionaire's representatives have prepared detailed plans on how Liberty's operations, such as Britain's Virgin Media, could be combined with Vodafone's European networks to create a new continental force in the mobile, broadband and pay-television markets. - The Sunday Telegraph