cash-hungry companies are increasingly turning to an alternative form of financing known as crowdfunding.

Czech private equity group Penta Investments and Luxembourg-based Eastbridge Group will together hold 74 percent of Polish retailer Empik Media & Fashion after a public tender.

Private equity company Blackstone Group has expanded its property presence in London, buying the 12-building Devonshire Square office and retail complex from rival Rockpoint and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), according to a source familiar with the deal.

China eyeing lowering bar for becoming QFII -sources A proposed plan by China's regulators could allow hedge funds, for the first time, to directly trade in mainland stocks and bonds, opening up one of Asia's biggest capital markets to the $2 trillion industry.

Japanese private equity firm Unison Capital on Wednesday agreed to buy a Japanese drugmaker Showa Yakuhin Kako from a domestic rival Tokio Marine Capital, its third buyout in six months.

Company to Advance its lead Drug Candidate, EBI-005, into Clinic Development for Dry Eye Disease. Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. , a biopharmaceutical company designing and engineering novel and differentiated protein-based biotherapeutics, announced today that it has secured $20 million dollars in Series A equity financing, expanding the total Series A investment to $45M.

Conference program features panels and a fireside chat with top-name executives. The international biotech and pharma community will converge upon the city of Suzhou, China, a rapidly growing base for life science industries, at ChinaBio® Partnering Forum 2012 at the Kempinski Hotel Suzhou, May 23–24.

Citrix Startup Accelerator has named the five finalists of its Startup.Synergy Challenge. Citrix Startup Accelerator, the company’s corporate incubator focused on providing seed investments to start-ups from around the world, has named the five finalists of its Startup.

Company Will Accelerate Market Share Gains and Product Development in IP Video Delivery. Elemental Technologies, the leading supplier of video solutions for multiscreen content delivery, today announced that it raised $13 million in Series C financing led by Norwest Venture Partners (NVP).

Expands to New York and Boston; Adds Jeff Jordan to Board of Directors Belly, a rapidly-growing start-up that is effectively redefining customer loyalty for small businesses, announced today that it has received a $10 million Series B round of venture capital financing from Andreessen Horowitz.