VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The government of Ireland has chosen a consortium led by British energy supplier Centrica PLC to acquire the retail unit of its gas utility Bord Gais Energy. Centrica's group will buy the asset for €1.12 billion.

The Irish Times reported that the National Pension Reserve Fund of Ireland or NPRF is believed to be mulling a sale for its private equity investments.

Ireland-based construction and engineering company Kentz has taken over US-based Valerus Field Solutions for USD435 million (EUR316 million) in a deal that will also expose Kentz to Latin American markets.

Venn Life Sciences has purchased Belfast, Ireland-based clinical research organization Medevol Limited in a deal valued at USD0.67 million, to strengthen Venn's operations in the UK.

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.

US-based aviation investment firm Cloud Investment Partners is mulling over a possible takeover of Lufthansa Technik's aircraft maintenance facility in Ireland. Lufthansa Technik Airmotive Ireland is a target of a possible shutdown.

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.

Just months after pulling out of a planned multi-billion dollar sale of his grocery chain, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing has started the process for Waston's initial public offering. The global retail business is set to float next year.

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.

Ireland's largest stockbroker Davy Group bought rival Prescient Asset Management Holdings Ltd. for EUR2 billion. This is Davy's second raid against competitors after it acquired a stake in Bloxham Stockbrokers last year.

Social media giant Twitter Inc announced it will introduce self-service advertisements for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom starting this week.

The Irish NAFA had prepared the way to sell off shares.

Eivind Kolding's reign as Danske Bank CEO ended when the bank fired him.

Cairn Energy said its planned explorations in Northwest Africa and Ireland yielded up to 25% chance of success compared to its exploratory project in Greenland.

According to Experian, Irish mergers and acquisitions declined 50%.