Bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies. The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.

Microsoft Corp is close to buying business software company Yammer Inc for more than $1 billion. Microsoft Corp is close to buying business software company Yammer Inc for more than $1 billion, according to a source familiar with the details.

According to a report from Federal Reserve, total corporate cash stored at the end of last year declined nearly $500 billion.

China's National Social Security Fund (NSSF) saw its annual investment return tumble to 0.8 percent last year, from 4.2 percent in 2010.

U.S. buyout firms Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group and KKR & Co are talking to banks on potential bids for about half of Australia's Pact.

Business software company Yammer Inc has agreed to sell itself to Microsoft Corp for more than $1 billion.

Cathay Financial, Taiwan's top financial holding firm, will raise up to T$40 billion ($1.33 billion) to acquire rivals or build partnerships in China.

Sovereign wealth fund Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), money manager BlackRock Inc (BLK.N), and twenty other cornerstone investors will buy around 62 percent of Malaysian firm IHH Healthcare's up-to-$2 billion IPO.

Private equity investors have found another way to get into the growing U.S. exchange traded fund (ETF) market: investing in firms that manage ETF portfolios.

Nokia has agreed terms for EQT VI, part of the leading private equity group in Northern Europe, to acquire Vertu.