VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) said on Tuesday it pulled out of and forfeited fees in the Alibaba (BABA.N) initial public offering, after an employee commented on the deal during the quiet period before the world's largest IPO.

Growthpoint Properties Ltd. has agreed to acquire stake in two real estate firms in South Africa following a share-swap deal, reported Bloomberg.

The CRM giant Salesforce would invest in a new building tower in San Francisco valued USD560 million, reported TechCrunch.

Billionaire and shopping mall mogul Henry Sy would expand his foothold in China with new shopping malls in Yangzhou and Changzhou, reported Bloomberg.

Wayfair, an online home-furnishings site, saw its company valuation hiked past the billion - dollar mark when it recently raised $150 million in a T. Rowe Price - led fundraising round, said a source who told Reuters.

Singapore-based shipbuilder ASL Marine Holdings agreed to acquire Miclyn Express Offshore's shipyard in Batam, Indonesia for $20 million through it subsidiary PT Sukses Shipyard Indonesia.

Blue Ash, Ohio-based private equity real estate firm Viking Partners sold Indiana-based shopping center Fishers Crossing to a California-based investor in a deal valued at $4.1 million.

New York, US-based real estate services and investment firm Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc purchased Victory Plaza retail center and its neighboring 2.4-acre land in Los Angeles, California for a total of $30 million in debt.

Private equity companies are among the rising number of investors looking to invest in the commercial real estate market in Germany where cash-strapped owners are forced to make deals, Bloomberg reported.

Toronto, Canada-based commercial real estate services firm Avison Young bought Columbus, US-based firm PSB Realty Advisors for an undisclosed amount and opened a new office there.

BlackRock Inc said Asian institutions have sparked a renewed interest in real estate investments in the region as they search for higher returns at a time of low interest rates, Bloomberg reported.

Singapore-Malay asset manager and property investor Aquaint Capital is looking to raise fresh capital to acquire distressed property assets across Australia, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the third largest investment sovereign wealth fund in the world, will be investing in the Time Warner Center together with Singapore's state fund GIC Ptd, according to a source interviewed by Bloomberg.

Rose Rock Group, an alternative investment manager supported by the Rockefeller family, will be developing a residential and hotel project in Vietnam together with Vung Ro Petroleum Co, Bloomberg reported.

Ian Brady, chief investment officer of California-based firm Oak Tree Wealth Management Ltd, cautioned about taking risk in credit and property, saying performance in 2014 will be hard to come by.