VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Citigroup Inc (C.N) has told senior staff in Europe that they would receive fixed monthly pay in addition to their salaries in an attempt to compensate for rules that limit bonuses to up to twice the level of base salaries, the Financial Times reported, citing several people.

San Francisco, US-based cloud storage giant Dropbox has raised $500 million in a debt funding reportedly led by JP Morgan for the construction of its new data centers, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Private equity group Apax Partners is considering selling its stake in London-based foreign exchange firm Travelex in the form of a probable initial public offering (IPO), according to two sources.

The leveraged buyouts in Europe are surging as US distress investors purchase existing bank loans at steep discounts and move to take over the companies by exchanging their debt for equity in "loan-to-own" deals in the wake of the financial crisis.

British media and education group Pearson has agreed to sell its Mergermarket news service for 382 million pounds ($624 million), to invest in its global education business.

Bankruptcy judge Sean Lane dismissed a private effort to block the merger between US Airways and AMR Corp and gave the clearance to allow the transaction to proceed.

Brussels had launched a full state investigation on the joint venture between Solvay and Ineos due to antitrust concerns.

According to banking sources, the Financial Times said the IPO of UK's Royal Mail was underpriced.

Blackstone Group LP agreed to sell its 50% stake in the Broadgate office complex valued GBP1.7 billion according to sources familiar with the deal.

Alibaba bought stake in online shopping firm ShopRunner for USD75 million as it prepares for its initial public offering in Hong Kong.

Texas firms took a breather and said “time out” on M&A activity.