VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Japanese insurance firm Sompo Japan Insurance Inc will acquire private British company Canopius in a deal valued at $970 million to expand its overseas operations, according to a report.

UK-based virtual fitting room firm Metail has received £2.6 million in additional funding as it prepares to move into a new headquarters in East London.

Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG) bought the Australian and New Zealand underwriting business of Western Australia's farmers' cooperative Wesfarmers Ltd for $1.845 billion.

London-based leveraged buyout firm CVC Capital Partners Ltd told investors it plans to exit its remaining stake in North American travel chain Pilot Travel Centers LLC.

US-based professional technical services provider Jacobs Engineering Group Inc announced the completion of its merger with Australia-based firm Sinclair Knight Merz in a deal valued at AU$1.3 billion.

UK-based lender Lloyds Banking Group PLC is offloading its remaining 21% stake in the investment firm St. James's Place for GBP95 million after progressively selling its stake down.

St. Martins Group, Kuwait's property investment vehicle in the UK, has paid around GBP1.7 billion to purchase the More London complex which includes Mayor Boris Johnson's headquarters.

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.

Hong Kong-based private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners is set to purchase minority stakes in four commercial property acquisitions in the UK and the US, in a deal with a total value of USD1 billion.

UK-based investor Utilico Investments has reduced its stake in New Zealand-based energy business operator Infratil through the company's buyback program and a share sale on the market.

UK-based mobile game maker King has delayed its initial public offering (IPO) until 2014 amid fears that its flagship game, Candy Crush Saga, is just a "one hit wonder," said UK-based newspaper.

The Belfast Telegraph said in a report that Ministry of Defence Secretary Philip Hammond will be left working out other options after plans for purchasing military equipment via a private consortium had failed.

2013 Nobel Prize winner and University of Chicago Professor Eugene Fama told Reuters that the world's economy is in danger of a potential global recession next year due to the high debts incurred by governments in the US and Europe.

According to the UK-based "Global State of Enterprise Mobility for the Past, Present and Future" report, mobile apps could be the most invested-in startups in 2014.

UK asset manager Threadneedle Investments has increased its stake in AZ Electronic Materials to above 11% in a move that could block the GBP1.56 billion takeover bid from German drugmaker Merck.