Johannesburg, South Africa-based independent retirement fund administrator Alexander Forbes Ltd sold its 60% holding in Lane Clark & Peacock's Swiss unit for an undisclosed sum last year, ahead of a 2014 initial public offering (IPO).

Canada's Waterloo region posted a substantial rise in venture capital funds, with the creation of Open Text Applications Venture Fund and the Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund, TheRecord.com reported.

Research from Mercom Capital Group showed that venture capital funding for companies in the smart grid technology sector was pegged at $405 million in 2013, a dip from the $434 million in 2012.

San Francisco, US-based mail startup Outbox is shutting down its mail digitizing service because of low count of paying customers signing up for it, and will instead focus on a new yet-undisclosed product.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has unveiled a new public-private venture capital fund known as Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund for the province's tech sector, CBCNews reported.

Bangalore, India-based rural education services provider Hippocampus Learning Centres (HLC) raised $600,000 (INR3.5 crore) from existing institutional investors to expand its network in the next financial year.

While venture capital funding for healthcare influenced by information technology or HIT is more pronounced in the US, venture capitalists are also showing interest in the niche in India, The Hindu Business Line reported.

Sears Holdings Corp will be halting the operations of its flagship store in Chicago in April in a bid to bring down the number of its outlets and rely more on online retail, Reuters reported.

The users of Twitter in the US are more racially diverse compared to those of other Internet sites and Twitter is capitalizing on its demographics to get revenues, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Internet giant Yahoo acquired Seattle, Washington-based mobile marketing startup Sparq for an undisclosed amount to start monetizing its mobile user base and drive revenue growth.