Makati, Philippines-based holding firm Berjaya Philippines Inc will buy a 50% stake in London, UK-based property firm RBW Holdings Ltd in a cash deal valued at PHP3.7 million.

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.

Sean Parker, the first president of Facebok, broke off from California, US-based venture capital firm Founders Fund as a partner to devote more his time to his new projects.

Austin, Texas-based solar microinverter provider SolarBridge Technologies closed $42 million in a funding round led by Constellation Technology Ventures to drive its expansion efforts across North America and Australia.

San Francisco, US-based startup SeeSpace launched a $100,000 crowdfunding campaign via Kickstarter for InAIR, its new product that combines Internet and second screen functions.

A team of researchers from Daejeon, South Korea-based public research university Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) led by Professor Yoo Hoi-Jun have developed a head-mounted display (HMD) which is 30 times faster than Google Glass.

Oregon, US-based electric motorcycle manufacturer Brammo Inc landed $9.5 million in an on-going Series D funding round from Terracap Ventures and Aviva Investors amid efforts to cut cost and increase profitability.

Basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal launched a $450,000 crowdfunding campaign via Indiegogo to redeem himself in the gaming arena and create a follow-up of the Shaq Fu video game which was released in 1994 and was heavily criticized for being a big flop.

New York, US-based matchmaking startup The Dating Ring has launched a $10,000 crowdfunding campaign on Crowdtilt to fly single women to San Francisco and single men to New York for a cross-country date.

The Alfred Mann Foundation (AMF) launched Minnesota-based medical device startup Medallion Therapeutics to develop implantable infusion pumps that will administer drugs to patients with diabetes and neurodegenerative disease.

River Grove, Illinois-based educational firm Follett Corp invested an undisclosed amount in Santa Clara, California-based software startup ShowEvidence through its venture fund Follett Knowledge Fund.

Dublin, Ireland-based social media analytics startup Eagle Alpha bagged $1.5 million (€1.1 million) in angel funding from former investment banker Emmett Kilduff to develop its product offering and beef up its salesforce.

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) honcho Jack Tretton is stepping down as the head of the US PlayStation division as part of an agreement with SCEA not to renew his contract.

Sydney, Australia-based music streaming firm Spotify snapped up Somerville, US-based music discovery engine The Echo Nest for an undisclosed amount to create an improved music discovery service for its clients.

We are talking blue skies on a cloudless day for sound- it is whistleblowing clear. We are talking blue skies on a cloudless day for sound- it is whistleblowing clear.

San Francisco, US-based business social network Townsquared bagged $5.26 million in its first funding round from undisclosed investors to allow business owners and employees connect and engage with each other.

San Diego, US-based facial expression recognition startup nabbed $6 million in a Series B funding round led by Seth Neiman and launched an app for Google Glass to track people's sentiments.

New York, US-based news website Business Insider raised $12 million in a funding round led by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos for the expansion of its workforce and subscription service.

San Francisco, US-based ad-tech startup TripleLift scored $4 million in a Series A funding round led by True Ventures to expand its workforce and automate native advertising.

New York, US-based business workshop Javelin Inc landed $1.5 million in a funding round led by Mark Suster and Upfron Ventures to teach big companies to innovate like a startup.

Massachusetts, US-based office supply retail chain Staples will shut down 225 stores across North America by 2015 to push its online business and cut costs amid huge revenue losses.

Sunnyvale, California-based Internet giant Yahoo snapped up Portland, Oregon-based automated graphic design startup Vizify for an undisclosed amount as part of its on-going acquisition spree of design-focused startups.

San Francisco, US-based venture capital firm Founders Fund gathered $1 billion for its fifth investment fund called Founder Fund V which will back startups from various sectors.

Indian entrepreneur and angel investor Sashi Reddi is backing Hyderabad-based fast food restaurant chain Hello Curry with INR3 crore from his seed-stage venture fund Sri Capital.

Moscow, Russia-based affiliate marketing and advertisement firm CityAds Media nabbed a $5-million investment from private equity investor Klever Internet Investments in exchange of a minority stake in the ad company.

Winnipeg, Canada-based non-profit agricultural organization Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) receoved a $1-million investment boost from Regina-based grain-handling firm Viterra Inc to promote Canadian field crops locally and internationally.

Former Apple chief John Sculley is teaming up with former HTC India head Ajay Sharma and Singaporean investment firm Inflexionpoint to launch a yet-unnamed smartphone brand in India, which will release its first units in April.

North Shields Tyne and Wear, UK-based independent wholesale firm Kitwave Wholesale Group acquired Durham-based frozen food and ice cream seller Eden Farm for an undisclosed amount.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based cables manufacturer Ducab purchased Durham, UK-based cable maker AEI Cables for an undisclosed amount to expand its product offering and international market reach.

Toronto, Canada-based accelerator Bitcoin Decentral launched Bitcoin Decentral Accerate, the first Bitcoin startup accelerator in the world, which is now accepting online applications from startups.