VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Australian state-owned health insurer Medibank Private said it is planning an IPO that is seeking to raise between A$4.3 billion to A$5.5 billion ($3.7 billion to $4.8 billion).

Loss-making budget airline Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (VAH.AX) will buy full control of its ailing 60 percent-owned Tiger Australia Airways business for just A$1, signaling plans to cut a bloated fleet that has hobbled turnaround efforts.

China, the world's top coal importer, will levy import tariffs on the commodity after nearly a decade, in its latest bid to prop up ailing domestic miners who have been buffeted by rising costs and tumbling prices.

Australia's antitrust regulator on Thursday cleared online travel giant Expedia Inc to buy local rival Wotif.com Holdings Ltd, saying it did not expect the A$699 million ($610 million) deal to substantially lessen competition.

Australian inbound M&A deals declined the most in a quarter of a century as plummeting commodity prices and a faltering local stock market challenged the appetite of overseas investors for the country's assets.

Indophil Resources NL said on Tuesday Philippine-based conglomerate Alsons Group has offered to fully acquire the Australian company for $0.30 a share in an all-cash deal.

National Australia Bank (NAB.AX) is considering the sale of its life insurance unit worth an estimated $800 million, seeking to boost earnings and returns on capital, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The U.S. dollar held near a six-year peak against the yen early on Thursday and powered to a seven-month high on its New Zealand peer, which fell after the country's central bank said its current level is "unjustified and unsustainable".

Global Cash Access Holdings Inc (GCA.N), which provides cash services to casinos, said it would buy slot machine maker Multimedia Games Holding Co Inc (MGAM.O) for about $1.2 billion to strengthen its gaming business.

Australia said on Friday it will sell health insurer Medibank Private in an initial public offering in December, in a sale expected to fetch about A$4 billion ($3.74 billion) and make 2014 the country's biggest year of new listings.

Commodities trader and miner Glencore (GLEN.L) and Chinese nickel producer Jinchuan Group are the frontrunners to buy BHP Billiton's (BHP.AX)(BLT.L) Australian Nickel West division, two sources close to the situation said.

Alison Hardacre, co-founder and managing director of HealthKit, a Melbourne-based startup and owner of both the HealthKit Twitter handle and the healthkit.com website expressed disappointment over Twitter on Apple's use of its company name in its new product.

Finding new smartphone and tablet apps is getting easier, thanks to new apps designed to help people discover still more apps.

Perth, Australia-based publicly listed firm Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Ltd secured $49.5 million in a placement of 90 million shares to its Australian and new US investors at $0.55 apiece for development of its Magnolia LNG facility.

Mining tycoon Andrew Forrest acquired Perth, Western Australia-based beef processor and exporter Harvey Beef for an undisclosed amount through his company Minderoo, and announced expansion plans for the newly-acquired firm.