BRIEFCASE.

Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

Shareholders OK HCA buyout

HCA Inc. shareholders on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a $21.3 billion leveraged buyout -- the second largest ever in the U.S. -- that will take the nation's No. 1 for-profit hospital chain private.

Company officials announced in a meeting at its Nashville headquarters that 283.2 million shares, or 72.9 percent, were voted for the deal while 32 million, or 8.2 percent, were opposed. There are about 388 million shares outstanding, but only 82 percent of them were present for the vote, HCA officials said.

Oil price down by $2 a barrel

The price of oil sank by more than $2 a barrel Thursday, settling at its lowest level in a year as traders focused on the bearish aspects of conflicting market trends. OPEC is cutting output, but the U.S. economy is slowing; winter is near, but the country has an abundance of home-heating fuels.

These mixed signals help explain why crude futures have settled in a range roughly between $57 and $61 since the beginning of October.

The retail price of gasoline, which fell sharply at the end of summer, has also stabilized in recent weeks. Nationwide, pump prices average $2.23 a gallon, or six cents below year-ago levels.

Shares of KBR IPO up sharply

To understand KBR Inc.'s successful debut Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, look no further than its prospects for building more energy and petrochemical facilities around the world, analysts say.

Shares of the former Halliburton Corp. unit rose sharply in their market premiere, climbing $3.75, or 22 percent, to close at $20.75 in afternoon trading from the $17 price set Wednesday night for the initial public offering. The shares rose as high as $21.50 in earlier trading.

Citigroup in deal for China bank

Citigroup Inc., America's largest banking institution, confirmed on Thursday that a Citigroup-led consortium has been selected to acquire a majority stake in one of China's biggest regional financial institutions, Guangdong Development Bank.

The consortium will acquire an 85.6 percent stake in GDB for 24.267 billion yuan, or $3.06 billion, Citigroup said.

New York-based Citigroup itself will hold a 20 percent stake -- under the 25 percent maximum allowed by Chinese government regulations.

Reader's Digest to be purchased

Reader's Digest Association Inc., an iconic publishing and direct marketing company, has agreed to be purchased by an investor group led by Ripplewood Holdings LLC, a private equity firm, for $1.6 billion.

The deal, announced Thursday, brings to an end a 16-year run for Reader's Digest as a publicly traded company. Reader's Digest went public in 1990 but had been controlled by a charitable foundation set up by the company's founders until 2002.