National business briefs for Jan. 28

Facebook reportedly plans to raise up to $10B

When Facebook makes its long-expected debut as a public company this spring, the social-networking company will likely vault into the top ranks of the largest public companies in the world.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Facebook is preparing to file initial paperwork for an offering that could raise as much as $10 billion and value the company at $75 billion to $100 billion.

The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission could come as early as Wednesday, with an initial public offering of stock in three or four months.

The targeted amount would slot it among the world's 25 largest IPOs.

Eastman Chemical to buy Solutia for $3.38B

Specialty chemical company Eastman Chemical Co. is buying Solutia Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $3.38 billion to broaden its presence in the Asia Pacific region and other emerging markets while expanding its product offerings.

Eastman Chemical is paying a 42 percent premium over Solutia's latest closing price and said Friday that it expects the deal to immediately add to its earnings.

Solutia, based in St. Louis, makes materials and specialty chemicals used in the automotive and architectural industries.

Solutia has about 3,400 workers globally.

Eastman Chemical, based in Kingsport, Tenn., has about 10,000 employees worldwide.

In the deal announced Friday, Solutia shareholders will receive $22 in cash and 0.12 shares of Eastman Chemical stock for each share of Solutia that they own.

FDIC seizes banks in Tenn., Fla., Minn.

Regulators have closed banks in Tennessee, Florida and Minnesota, lifting to seven the number of U.S. bank failures this year following 92 closures in 2011.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday seized Tennessee Commerce Bank, based in Franklin, Tenn., with $1.2 billion in assets and $1.1 billion in deposits, plus BankEast, based in Knoxville, Tenn., with $272.6 million in assets and $268.8 million in deposits.

It also closed First Guaranty Bank and Trust Co. of Jacksonville, in Jacksonville, Fla., with $377.9 million in assets and $349.5 million in deposits.

And it seized Patriot Bank Minnesota, based in Forest Lake, Minn., with $111.3 million in assets and $108.3 million in deposits.

Calif. approves plan to cut vehicle emissions

Seeking to influence other states and Washington, California air regulators passed sweeping auto emission standards Friday that include a mandate to have 1.4 million electric and hybrid vehicles on state roads by 2025.

The California Air Resources Board unanimously approved the rules that require that one in seven of the new cars sold in the state in 2025 be an electric or other zero-emission vehicle.

The plan also mandates a 75 percent reduction in smog-forming pollutants by 2025, and a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from today's standards.

Automakers worked with the board and federal regulators on the greenhouse gas mandates in an effort to create one national standard for those pollutants.

Union membership increases by 50,000

Union membership grew slightly last year, giving labor leaders hope that a period of steep declines finally has bottomed out.

The number of unionized workers increased by about 50,000 to nearly 14.8 million members in 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The increase came after unions lost nearly 1.4 million members over the previous two years.

Still, unions' share of the overall workforce fell, from 11.9 percent to 11.8 percent, as state and local governments trimmed thousands of jobs. That's the lowest percentage of union workers since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Elsewhere

• Fitch Ratings downgraded the debt of Italy, Spain, Belgium, Cyprus and Slovenia on Friday, a possible setback as European leaders work to contain the continent's debt crisis.

• Spain's unemployment rate soared to nearly 23 percent Friday and closed in on 50 percent for those younger than 25.

• Nintendo's chief is determined to get right the launch of its next game machine, Wii U, set for this year's holiday shopping season, and acknowledged Friday some mistakes with selling its 3DS handheld. But the company's president warned earnings for the next fiscal year will be the toughest ever.

• The European Union is launching an investigation into whether three airlines belonging to the SkyTeam alliance are breaking EU antitrust rules with regard to flights between Europe and the U.S. The airlines are Delta, Air France-KLM and Alitalia.

From wire reports