In a bid to expand its operations in China, The Hershey Company recently bought out Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Co, maker of over 200 varieties of candy, in a deal valued at $498 million.

Australia's treasurer Joe Hockey has given a conditional approval for State Grid Corporation of China's acquisition of stakes in Australian electricity and gas distribution assets.

Jones Group on Thursday announced that it will be bought by private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $2.2 billion, including the assumption of its debt. Sycamore valued Jones Group shares at $15 apiece.

Ontario, Canada-based tech giant IBM is acquiring California, US-based bootstrapped file transfer firm Aspera to provide its clients with a file transfer tool for data from social media and various devices.

BASF SE, the largest chemicals company in Germany, is working on a bid for RWE DEA AG. DEA is the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) unit of German electric utilities company RWE AG.

Ultra-deepwater excavation specialist Marin confirmed is to acquire Aberdeen, Scotland-based trenching solutions provider AGR Seabed Intervention for an undisclosed amount after a successful alliance between the two firms this year.

Peabody Energy and Shenhua Group formed a joint venture firm, Sino-Pacific Coal Trading Corporation Pte Ltd, to provide Shenhua with coal from the platform of Peabody.

Germany-based healthcare and agricultural products company Bayer said it will be buying Norway-based Algeta, its partner in developing a prostate cancer therapy, in a deal worth $2.9 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Hedge fund Clinton Group in a regulatory filing on Wednesday said that it is exploring an acquisition of California-based teen apparel retailer Wet Seal. The activist investor seeks to buy out Wet Seal's equity in a privatization deal.

Madrid, Spain-based global travel distribution system Amadeus bought hotel IT solutions provider Newmarket International Inc for $500 million in a bid to conquer the hospitality space.