SYDNEY, Jan. 4--AsiaNet/InfoQuest MERRILL ACQUIRES... ST. PAUL: Merrill Corporation, a leading global provider of technology-enabled services for the legal, financial, real estate and other corporate markets, announced that it has completed the acquisition of WordWave, Inc., a leading provider of litigation support, court reporting, captioning and transcription services for law firms, courts, governmental agencies and corporations worldwide. http://www.legalink.com http://www.wordwave.com http://www.merrillcorp.com QUARTERLY DIVIDEND... HAMILTON: W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. has announced that it has declared a regular quarterly dividend of US$0.30 per common share. The dividend is payable on 27th January 2006 to shareholders of record as of 13th January 2006. http://www.wpstewart.com GLOBAL CONGRESS... NEWTOWN SQUARE: Project Management Institute, the world's leading not-for-profit professional association for the project management profession, announces its second annual Asia Pacific global congress, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, 27 February-1 March at the Shangri-La Hotel. http://www.pmi.org http://congresses.pmi.org/AsiaPacific2006 MOTOROLA UNVEILS... LAS VEGAS: Motorola, Inc. has unveiled the Motorola H5 Miniblue Bluetooth Headset, a ground-breaking product that sets a new standard in miniaturization for Bluetooth headset form and function. http://www.motorola.com http://www.hellomoto.com http://cesweb.org/default_flash.asp 'O ROKR' EYEWEAR... LAS VEGAS: Motorola, Inc. and Oakley, Inc. have announced the unveiling of O ROKR, the latest eyewear product to result from the companies' focus on designing cutting-edge wireless products for the active consumer. http://www.motorola.com http://www.oakley.com MOTOROLA'S ROKR... LAS VEGAS: Motorola, Inc. has unveiled the Motorola ROKR E2 - the newest member of the company's ROKR family of music-optimized mobile handsets. Designed for the music enthusiast who wants to carry one device, ROKR E2 lets you take hundreds of your must-have music selections with you -- and delivers a world-class wireless communications experience. http://www.motorola.com http://www.hellomoto.com http://cesweb.org/default_flash.asp BASF PROPOSAL... LUDWIGSHAFEN: BASF Aktiengesellschaft, the world's leading chemical company, has made an all-cash proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Engelhard Corporation, Iselin, New Jersey, USA, a Fortune 500 company and leading supplier of goods for catalysis and surface finishing, for US$37.00 per share or an aggregate of US$4.9 billion. http://www.basf.com FIRST PAYMENT... WILTON: Startech Environmental Corporation, a fully reporting company, announced that Plastech Solutions, Ltd. has paid Startech $703,000 to commence manufacturing for Plastech's purchase of a 10 ton-per-day Plasma Converter System. http://www.startech.net CVRD ANNOUNCES... RIO DE JANEIRO: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Vale Overseas Limited (Vale Overseas) has launched a cash tender offer for its $300 million of notes due 2013. http://www.cvrd.com.br CVRD ANNOUNCES... RIO DE JANEIRO: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) has announced that it plans to offer ten-year notes in the international capital markets through its wholly-ownedsubsidiary Vale Overseas Limited (Vale Overseas). http://www.cvrd.com.br NEW TECHNOLOGY... TOKYO: Vehicle makers plan to introduce "breakthrough" technology from GKN Driveline that provides lighter driveshaft components, improved fuel economy and better overall vehicle performance. http://www.gkndriveline.com ASTRAZENECA SUBMITS... ALDERLEY PARK: AstraZeneca has announced the submission of a supplemental New Drug Application to the US Food and Drug Administration to seek approval for a new indication for SEROQUEL (quetiapine fumarate) for the treatment of patients with depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder. http://www.astrazenecapressoffice.com FINALIST CANDIDATES... ZURICH: The Chairman of a panel of leading architectural experts has announced the 21 world's landmark sites which will take part in the final stage of the race to become one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. http://www.n7w.com/download http://www.new7wonders.com (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.)