New York-based money manager BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Telecom Italia to 10%, becoming its second-largest shareholder. This could potentially tip the balance at a shareholder meeting set to vote on the proposed ouster of Telecom Italia's board, according to a Reuters report.
Institutional investors
Gold loses its shine as funds predict 31% drop this year
Dara compiled by Bloomberg indicated that investors are exiting from their gold-backed exchange-traded products this year. $69.5 billion in value was removed in the ETPs and analysts expect an additional 311 tons will be removed from the ETPs next year.
Indian companies strike 393 private equity deals totaling $9.67B in January to November
A report by Grant Thornton, an American accounting and advisory firm, said that Indian corporations closed as many as 393 private equity deals totaling $9.67 billion in the past 11 months of the year.
UK virtual fitting room startup Metail raises additional £2.6M
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.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia to divest stake in New Zealand's Kiwi Income Property Trust
Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd plans to sell down its 8.6% stake in Kiwi Income Property Trust, which is worth NZ$95.7 million based on its last trading price.
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RAG Foundation chief Werner Mueller said the state-owned trust looks to reduce its stake in German chemicals and plastics manufacturer Evonik Industries to about 25%. RAG currently owns two thirds of Evonik.
Indian airport developer GMR Infrastructure has put up for sale its stake in Istanbul airport Sabiha Gokcen International Airport. Malaysia Airports Holdings, which already owns a 20% stake in the Turkish airport, is looking to buy GMR's 40% holding.
Hospitality Staffing Solutions said it had obtained approval from the court to sell its assets to HS Solutions Corporation. Financial details about the deal were not disclosed.
Bidders William Morris Endeavor, ICM Partners and a consortium led by former News Corporation executive Peter Chernin are expected to submit their takeover offers for IMG Worldwide on Friday. New York Times said that William Morris will likely emerge as top bidder for the sports agency.
According to the South China Morning Post, the growing popularity of the Bitcoin has also led to a boom of sorts in bitcoin software for smartphones, the South China Morning Post reported.
Pharmaceutical company Ikaria Inc. is seeking an exit reportedly worth $2 billion. Private equity firms American Securities LLC, GTCR LLC and Madison Dearborn Partners LLC have tendered their bids to acquire the American specialty drug manufacturer.
Italy's state backed Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI) and private equity firm CCMP Capital are leading the race to secure a minority stake in Italian luxury goods group Versace.
A US Bankruptcy Court gave its approval to Savient Pharmaceuticals to sell all substantially all its assets to Crealta Pharmaceuticals, a firm backed by private equity company GTCR.
San Francisco-based advertising technology company Delivery Agent Inc has picked Credit Suisse Group AG and Deutsche Bank AG to lead its planned initial public offering (IPO) in 2014.
