Sao Paulo-based investment bank and asset wealth manager Grupo BTG Pactual said Brazil's presidential elections scheduled in October 2014 will curtail the mergers and acquisitions activity this year, Bloomberg reported.
Deals
Pinterest picks up San Francisco's image-recognition startup VisualGraph
Photo pinning social site Pinterest bought San Francisco-based image recognition startup VisualGraph for an undisclosed amount to automatically detect items pinned on the site and to tailor future ads.
Vietnam ups foreign bank ownership caps to 20%
Vietnam has increased the foreign ownership caps in banks from the previous 15% to 20% in a bid to boost the country's ailing banking system, according to a government statement.
"Cable cowboy" John Malone goes on empire-building spree again- report
Billionaire John Malone is building a cable empire once more as the firms he is backing have announced or are cooking up acquisitions amounting to more than $80 billion, Bloomberg reported.
Investcorp buys minority stake in Turkish food producer Namet for undisclosed sum
Bahrain private equity firm Investcorp has bought a significant minority stake in Turkish fresh cut and packaged processed red meat producer Namet for an undisclosed sum. Early this year, Investcorp acquired a 25% stake in Saudi Arabia's Leejam Sports Co.
Latest News
Japan-based trading house Marubeni Corp sold its 30% interest in Australia-based Milmerran Power Station to a buyer in South Korea for under A$200 million ($179 million), according to a source familiar with the deal.
Some of LightSquared's lenders, including US Bank and MAST Capital Management,are against its decision to seek a new financing arrangement with Fortress Investment Group as part of its bankruptcy exit plan.
US-based private equity group Blackstone bought a further 2.79% stake in Mumbai, India-based commodity bourse Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) from foreign fund house Merrill Lynch, bringing its total holding to 4.99%.
News website Mashable takes on funding from outside investors for the first time, raising 13.3 million in its Series A funding round led by growth equity firm Updata Partners.
Petroleum companies Royal Dutch Shell and BP are reportedly looking to sell its oil refineries and petrol stations in Australia to generate cash for their energy production business segments. Chevron Corp. reportedly may follow suit and exit its service stations in the country.
Tennessee-based coated papers maker Verso Paper is acquiring it private competitor, Ohio-based printing and specialty papers manufacturer NewPage Holdings Inc in a deal valued at $1.4 billion.
Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co. Ltd. expects a decision from the Australian Competition Tribunal on its bid for Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Holdings Co. by the end of February. Murray Goulburn raised its offer to A$530 million as it faces strong competition with Canada's Saputo Inc.
Northern Virginia-based private equity investment manager has invested an undisclosed amount in Nexercise, a Maryland-based free motivational health and fitness app for iPhone and Android.
Nearly 30 funds run by Boston-based Fidelity Investments have bought a total of 2.4 million shares of Twitter in the days after its public debut. Fidelity's Contrafund led the way, holding 1.1 million Twitter shares at the end of November.
