VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Kifisia, Greece-based petroleum and petrochemical gas products transporter StealthGas Inc raised $47 million through the sale of 4.47 million common shares at $10.50 apiece for its vessels purchases and other corporate purposes.

American and Canadian Bitcoin traders and investors have agreed to settle the class-action lawsuits they have filed against the bankrupt Tokyo, Japan-based Bitcoin exchange Mt Gox in return for a 16.5% stake in the firm.

The territorial dispute between China and Japan has caused the latter to pull out its investments from the country and redirecting its focus to other South East Asian countries where it has already funded companies with USD22.8 billion last year.

Tokyo, Japan-based Bitcoin exchange Mt Gox will file for liquidation in Tokyo instead of its initial plan of rebuilding the firm under bankruptcy protection after a bug reportedly brought the site down.

Osaka, Japan-based video game developer and publisher Capcom Co Ltd poured $78 million into the construction of two new research and development (R&D) facilities near its headquarters in a bid to gain more traction in the industry.

Venture capital firms in the US have raised a record-breaking total funding amounting to $8.9 billion in the first quarter of 2014, according to Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association.

Online video platform Viddsee launched its new site Viddsee BUZZ to promote independent films from Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines on social media and help them go viral.

Takamatsu-shi, Japan-based cranes and aerial work platforms manufacturer Tadano Ltd completed its acquisition of its Yorkshire, UK-based distributor Cranes UK for an undisclosed amount to continue its market expansion.

Bangkok, Thailand-based digital publication platform Ookbee landed $7 million in a Series B funding led by Japanese outsourcing firm Transcosmos to fuel its Southeast Asian expansion.

Family Mart Co Ltd has planned to leave the South Korean market through an initial public offering, said a report from Reuters.

US smartphone giant Apple Inc. had been in discussion with Renesas Electronics to buy a controlling stake in the company, according to a source familiar with the matter said a Reuters report.

San Jose, Costa Rica-based healthy food startup Natural Sins sells baked snacks made of real fruits and vegetables in a bid to help fight obesity.

Developers have modified the open source Bitcoin software and released a new version to resolve the transaction flaws and to prevent a Mt Gox-like incident from happening again.

US-based investment firms Benchmark Capital, Fortress Investment Group, and Ribbit Capital are buying a stake in Pantera Capital's Bitcoin fund called Pantera Bitcoin and committed to conduct virtual currency transactions through Pantera.

After the collapse of Bitcoin exchange, the government of Japan decided not to regulate Bitcoin transactions because they do not consider it a currency, but a commodity that will be subject to sales tax.