Texas, US-based oil and gas exploration and production services provider IronGate Energy Services acquired North Dakota-based firm Green Light Energy Services for an undisclosed amount.

New York, US-based institutional investor ff Venture Capital (ffVC) closed a total of $52 million for two funds, ff Rose and ff Rose Innovate, with the latter to focus on investments in New York.

Russia-based holding company AFK Sistema is considering buying a stake in Latvia-based telecommunications operator Lattelecom SIA to facilitate its expansion outside of Russia, but no decision has been made yet.

Japan-based railway and hotel group Seibu Holdings Inc and top shareholder Cerberus Capital Management LP agreed on a Tokyo listing for the Japanese firm in April, according to sources familiar with the situation.

China-based food and beverage manufacturer Bright Food (Group) Co Ltd agreed to buy Australia-based dairy firm Mundella Foods through its Australian subsidiary, Manassen Foods, for an undisclosed amount.

Social media giant Facebook acquired New York, US-based social conversations platform Branch Media in a deal reportedly worth $15 million to form a Facebook Conversations group.

Argentina-based investment group Corporacion America reached an agreement to buy the stake of entrepreneur Eike Batista in SIX Semicondutores, a Brazil-based billion-dollar semiconductor project, for an undisclosed sum.

Maersk Oil, a unit of Denmark-based oil and shipping magnate AP Moller-Maersk, received approval from the Iraqi government to purchase stakes in two exploration blocks from Spanish firm Repsol Oriente Medio for an undisclosed sum.

California, US-based call marketing company Invoca raised $20 million in a Series C funding round led by Accel Partners for its workforce expansion and product development.

Singapore-based lender Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) will spend around CNY1.8 billion ($298 million) to increase its stake in China-based firm Bank of Ningbo Co from 15.34% to 20%.

Isabel Lerer, the daughter of Huffington Post co-founder Ken Lerer, launched her new animal-focused news site The Dodo after securing $2 million in a seed funding round led by Lerer Ventures.

New York, US-based activist investor Jana Partners LLC hiked its stake in Colorado-based oil producer QEP Resources Inc from 7.6% to 9.5% on Monday, and announced its plan to nominate board candidates for the company.

Melbourne, Australia-based real estate classified service REA Group Ltd bought rental application service 1Form Online Pty Ltd in a deal valued at $15 million as part of its strategy to link its customers with property-related services.

Australia-based mining firm Rio Tinto Ltd purchased C$1.29 billion (A$1.32 billion) worth of shares in Canada-based mining company Turquoise Hill Resources out of contractual obligations but maintained its present stake.

Japan-based beverage firm Suntory Holdings Ltd announced that it would add US-based spirits company Beam Inc in a $13.6-billion cash deal to facilitate overseas growth for the Japanese firm.

Van Nuys, California-based apparel brand licensing firm Cherokee Inc acquired the Huntington Beach-based clothing brand of legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk in a deal valued at $19 million in cash.

Chicago-based daily deals firm Groupon purchased New York-based flash fashion site Ideeli in a deal valued at $43 million in cash in a bid to compete with Amazon and other retail businesses.

The value of the Bitcoin has soared in recent months, but can the technology also help make predictions? A research team from a venture capital firm lists top 10 predictions for the digital currency in 2014.

China based mobile app distribution platform Wandoujia raised $120 million in a recent funding round led by SoftBank Corp, for the acceleration of its growth and development of its mobile search technology.

Chennai, India-based billing startup ChargeBee raised around $800,000 in a Series A funding round from Accel Partners, bringing its total raised capital to $1.17 million.

Tech giants Microsoft and Samsung are in talks to acquire stakes in a France-based online music startup and a video-sharing website, according to a report by French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche.

Philippine-based tollway developer Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corporation (MPTDC) acquired France-based tollway operator Egis Project SA stake in Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) for PHP1.42 billion.

Sports Direct, the biggest sporting goods seller in the UK, picked up a 4.6% stake in London-based multinational retail chain Debenhams for an undisclosed sum.

Connecticut, USA-based venture capital firm Canaan Partners invested INR35 crore in Bangalore, India-based digital media firm SureWaves for the latter's global growth and workforce expansion.

UK-based institutional currency investment manager Millennium Global Holdings Inc acquired a 51% stake in Philippine-based seafood exports business Millennium Ocean Star Corp in a deal valued at PHP137.91 million.

London-based alternative asset management firm Resonance Asset Management LLP bought four wind farms in the UK after raising $100 million from institutional investors for its first Resonance British Wind Energy Income fund.

Canada-based suitor Saputo Inc has lifted its stake in Australia-based dairy supplier Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Ltd for the third time after United Dairy Power backed Saputo's takeover bid.

Germany-based venture capital firm Global Founders Capital and Luxembourg-based firm Redline Capital invested €6.1 million ($8.3 million) in UK-based short-term e-commerce business loans startup Iwoca.

New York, US-based news giant NBCUniversal News Group announced a minority investment in mobile video news startup NowThisNews to co-produce original short news videos for social sites.

Massachusetts, US-based video hosting solutions firm Brightcove acquired Arizona-based Internet video solutions provider Unicorn Media Inc in $49-million acquisition deal to facilitate easier distribution of ad-supported video.