VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Blackstone Group LP-backed hotel chain La Quinta Holdings Inc confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act.

New York, US-based multinational private equity firm Blackstone Group LP acquired a minority stake in Edens shopping center in a deal valued at $718 million.

Private equity firm Blackstone Group has put up for sale its 13.09% stake in Indian drug company Emcure Pharmaceuticals. The stake will be sold to rival private equity firm Bain Capital for INR650 crore.

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.

Food services provider Aramark Holdings Corp raised $725 million from its initial public offering after its shares were priced at the low end of its planned $20 to $23 price range, an underwriter told Reuters.

Hilton Worldwide Inc, the world's largest hotel operator, raised roughly $2.34 billion in its IPO on Wednesday after pricing shares toward the high end of the range.

Blackstone Group, the largest real estate private equity firm, recently said that it targets more real estate acquisitions in Asia. It has invested USD3 billion in the region since making its first deal in 2007.

Hotel major Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. seeks to raise up to USD2.4 billion in its US listing. Hilton Worldwide will offer 112.8 million shares, giving it a market value of about USD19.2 billion.

The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported on Wednesday including Sinopec, Apache, AMR, US Airways, Deutsche Bank, EDF, Oxford, Andor, Bank Zachodni WBK, Shuanghui, Campofrio, OCZ, Toshiba and CVS Caremark.

Teck Resources, Newmont Mining, Magris Resources and private equity firm Blackstone Group are reportedly bidding for Glencore Xtrata's Las Bambas copper mine in Peru. Las Bambas' estimated end-2014 valuation is at USD6.9 billion.

Investment firms Carlyle Group, Blackstone Group, Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, Ares Management and a consortium of Onex Corp and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are reportedly bidding for Illinois Tool Works' industrial packaging unit in a deal that could bring in USD3 billion.

Blackstone Group LP's decision to sell its La Quinta Inns & Suites hotel chain was reportedly done in order to obtain higher returns as oppose to conducting a private sale, sources said to Bloomberg.

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.

A Reuters report cited two sources who said that hotel operator Hilton Worldwide Inc would be launching its IPO sometime the first week of December.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust declared its first quarterly dividend of USD0.27 payable to shareholders of record after the trading closes by the end of this month.