Private equity funds Carlyle Group LP and KKR & Co are in discussion to purchase troubled Brazil-based medical services provider Fleury SA in a deal worth BRL2.9 billion ($1.2 billion), according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Tech giant Google has purchased Timely, the alarm clock app created by BitSpin, for an undisclosed sum, making all its versions including the upgraded one, completely free.

US-based social games maker Zynga is testing Bitcoin payments for in-game purchases in some of its popular titles including FarmVille 2 and ChefVille, and has partnered with BitPay to handle the transactions.

Israel-based private equity firm Fortissimo Capital has bought one-third of online professional document translation services provider One Hour Translation in a deal valued at $10 million.

Tech giant Apple has purchases Australia-based startup SnappyLabs, a one-man team behind the photo app that augments iPhone's camera, according to earlier reports by TechCrunch and Recode.

Commerzbank is anticipating opportunities to expand its wealth management business after Swiss Credit Suisse Group sold its private bank in Germany to Bethmann Bank last month.

Alitala, Italy's flag carrier, has written to Italian banks UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo asking to extend an existing loan agreement by €50 million. This comes on top of the €200 million in bank loans agreed on in October.

JPMSL Copthall Mauritius Investment Ltd. has acquired a little over 1% stake in Cox & Kings by buying 6,84,216 shares on Friday and 8,13,172 shares the day before. Shares in Cox & Kings closed at INR136.15 apiece on Friday's trading.

GlaxoSmithKline has asked for the approval of India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board for its planned acquisition of a 24.33% stake in its Indian arm GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. GSK will fund the stake hike by investing INR6,400 crore.

A Mississippi bankruptcy judge on Friday approved the sale of bankrupt car rental company Advantage Rent A Car to Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group.

2013 had been the best sales year for the auto industry as US consumers bought 15.5 million vehicles. Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. and Chrysler Group posted single-digit percentage gains, while General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. sales declined.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands has pushed back an arbitration claim hearing involving Chevron Corp. and Ecuador to February. Chevron was indicted for environmental damage done in Amazon by Texaco.

Financial information provider SNL Financial in a report said that the five largest lenders in US control 44.2% of the industry's assets. JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America,Citigroup,Wells Fargo & Co, and US Bancorp have a total of $6.46 trillion in assets.

Philadelphia Inquirer owners George Norcross III and Lewis Katz, who are at odds over the management of the newspaper company, are pushing it back to the auction block a few years after emerging from a bankruptcy.

Boeing Co.'s machinists on Friday voted 51% against 49% in favor of accepting a crucial labor contract, which means Boeing will build its 777X jetliner and wings in Washington state.

Sources said that no settlement talks are currently taking place between department store chains Macy's and J.C. Penney Co. on their dispute over Martha Stewart-branded home goods.

The US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled against food and beverage company Dean Foods Co. in an antitrust case. The said lawsuit alleged that Dean Foods conspired to restrict competition for bottled milk in southeastern states in the US after its 2001 merger with Suiza Foods Corp.

Retail chain Grupo Elektra, controlled by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, is expected to close a deal to acquire video and video games sales and rental company Blockbuster Mexico next week.

Argentina's stock regulator CNV on Friday rejected Braskem's $1.35 per share bid to buy roughly 30% of the shares of plastics maker Solvay Indupa that are traded on the Buenos Aires bourse. CNV said that the offer was below Solvay Indupa's book value of $2.81 per share as of September.

Harbinger Capital Partners, controlled by American investor Philip Falcone, has asked the US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan to reject Dish Network Corp.'s $2.2 billion takeover bid for bankrupt satellite firm LightSquared Inc.

California, US-based genomics startup DNAnexus raised $15 million to develop its cloud-based platform for storage and analysis of large amounts of DNA data, bringing its total funding to date to $31.6 million.

Canadian Solar Solutions Inc, a unit of Canadian Solar Inc (CSIQ), has concluded the sale of Mississippi Mills solar power plant in Ontario, Canada for over $57.4 million (C$61 million).

The biggest bank in Spain, Banco Santander SA, sold its real estate arm to US-based private equity group Apollo Global Management in a deal valued at €664 million ($903 million).

Ontario, Canada-based clay brick manufacturer Brampton Brick Ltd said it has closed the previously announced $40 million long-term loan for asset purchases and other general corporate purposes.

North Carolina, US-based diagnostic and research service provider Metabolon Inc announced that it has closed $15 million in Series E financing through preferred stock issuance.

New York City, US-based video syndication startup Vidible closed $3.35 million in a Series A fundign round led by Greycroft Partners, according to a regulatory filing in December.

Australia-based wireless network provider BigAir Group plans to add telecommunications firm Anittel Communications Pty Ltd (ACPL) from Anittel Group Ltd in a deal valued at $6.5 million.

Philippine-based budget carrier Cebu Pacific Air is planning to buy Southeast Asian Airlines-operated Tigerair Philippines as the airline eyes an expansion in its market share.

Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry filed an infringement lawsuit against Typo Products, the startup co-founded by Ryan Seacrest, over its newly released smartphone keyboard that attaches to the iPhone5.

Carme Trust announced the completed sale of its 1.87 million shares in Canada-based lentil and pea splitting group Alliance Grain Traders Inc (AGT) in a deal valued at $28 million.