VENTURE CAPITAL POST

New York's Sycamore Partners LLC is nearing a deal to acquire apparel retailer Jones Group Inc. The private equity firm is reportedly offering a price of USD16 per share, totaling the size of the deal to USD1.3 billion.

Pork producer The Maschhoffs LLC announced on Friday that it has agreed to purchase chicken company GNP Company for an undisclosed amount. GNP company is the 18th-biggest broiler producer in the US.

We've been bullish about the opportunities in Bitcoin for a while and are excited to be able to announce that, together with our partners in China at Lightspeed China Partners, we are investors in BTC China.

The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported on Friday, including Microsoft, Comcast, Green Dot, Goldman Sachs and others.

Skip Hop, founded 10 years ago by Ellen and Michael Diamant, makers of children's gears, sell its majority stake to a private equity firm, Fireman Capital Partners.

The government of Brazil divested its ownership stakes in two major airports to groups of multiple buyers as part of its strategy to improve the country's infrastructure in time for the World Cup.

Vince Holding Corp, formerly known as Apparel Holding Corp that is backed by Sun Capital Partners Inc had a successful IPO after raising USD 200 million in an initial public offering.

IK Investment Partners had sold its full ownership in Europe Snacks Group to a French private equity firm Apax Partners for an undisclosed amount and will be completed before the year ends.

Williams Partners LP has secured an approval from the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) for its USD300 million Transco pipeline expansion, which is part of Transco's USD2.2 billion expansion program.

Sources name the Carlyle Group LP and a combined group from Danaher Corp and Blackstone Group LP to have successfully advanced to the final stage of sale negotiations for J&J's diagnostics unit

THIRD POINT LLC HAS A $1 BILLION POSITION IN SOFTBANK CORP - WSJ, CITING THIRD POINT SPOKESWOMAN

BLACKSTONE GROUP'S HILTON SAID TO PLAN INCREASE IN IPO TO $2.25 BILLION - BLOOMBERG TV

Blackstone Group LP said Thursday it had hired David Calhoun, chief executive of television ratings company Nielsen Holdings NV, to work with the bosses of the private equity firm's companies in order to deliver more value.

Chinese drug retailer Asia Health Century International, backed by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners Ltd, is planning a Hong Kong IPO of up to $300 million next month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

French private equity firm PAI Partners confirmed on Thursday it has sold a 9 percent stake in IT services firm Atos for 545 million euros ($732 million).