VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Celesio's supervisory and management board on Wednesday recommended shareholders to approve the $8.3 billion buyout offer from US drug distributor McKesson Corp. Elliott Management Corp, one of Celesio's shareholders, earlier refused McKesson's offer.

Vale SA, the world's largest iron-ore producer is considering to sell its holdings in its coal and fertilizer divisions. The Brazilian mining giant is also looking to sell its stake in a steel-slab plant constructed with Germany's ThyssenKrupp AG.

German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA will acquire AZ Electronic Materials for GBP1.6 billion. Merck will pay AZ's existing stockholders GBP403.5 in cash for each share.

Top executives of shipping companies Compania Sud Americana de Vapores and Hapag-Lloyd were reportedly negotiating a merger deal. Vapores has suffered losses and is seeking for ways to become more competitive.

Germany-based second screen TV startup Wywy announced that it has secured USD7 million in Series B funding for its expansion to Europe and the United States.

Switzerland's Credit Suisse is selling its private customers business to German Bethmann Bank. Under the deal, Bethmann will take over Credit Suisse's 9,000 clients with EUR10 billion assets in Germany.

German medical supplies manufacturer Gerresheimer on Wednesday confirmed that it is no longer vying for UK-based Rexam's healthcare packaging unit. The company said the healthcare business did not fulfill its acquisition requirements.

Ireland's Ryanair on Tuesday announced that it won't participate in Italian airline Alitalia's EUR300 million emergency cash call. Other carriers including Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, Aeroflot and Alitalia shareholder Air France-KLM have also turned down the deal.

Japan's Toshiba Corp. and German real estate major Gagfah SAS entered a joint venture to sell energy directly to residents in Germany. The deal could bring in a revenue of USD184 million to USD233 million to the Japanese conglomerate.

Germany's Douglas Holding AG has began the process of divesting Hussel, the biggest confectionery chain in the country. After being taken private, Douglas committed to actively managing its portfolio through acquisitions and divestments.

German industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG reportedly plans to put up for sale its 51.5 million new shares in a capital increase. The deal could bring in EUR907 million (USD1.23 billion) to the company.

Gaelectric has received a funding of over EUR90 million from Irish and German sources for its third operating wind farm project in Dunbeg. Earlier this year, the wind farm company nabbed EUR65 million in debt financing.

German bank Deutsche Bank AG is reportedly negotiating the sale of Tilney Investment Management to British private equity firm Permira. Permira has beaten other rival bidders for Tilney, including Brown Shipley & Co.

According to a research study by Dow Jones & Company, Ireland attracted the most venture capital funding per capita in the European region. The data showed that most Irish tech startups have fared well even during the economic recession.

Namibia Power Corp (NamPower) plans to raise NAD5 billion (USD496 million) to fund the expansion of its transmission networks and power generation over the next five years, according to the firm's managing director.