Investment firm Catalyst Capital Group is the fourth bidder to withdraw from the Canadian government's auction of a 700 MHz wireless spectrum. Canada seeks to break the stronghold of three dominant players in the country's mobile phone business.

As part of its recent acquisition streak, SFX Entertainment bought a majority stake in European ticketing services company Paylogic in a deal valued at approximately USD16.5 million.

Telecom Italia's activist investor Marco Fossati campaigned against the enforced sale of TIM Brasil. Brazil's competition regulatory body ruled earlier this week that Telecom Italia must divest its stake in the Brazilian mobile carrier.

New Orleans-based offshore service vessels provider Tidewater Inc is investing USD30 million to start its subsea operations business, Tidewater Subsea, located in the Gulf of Mexico.

Former American Idol host Ryan Seacrest invested USD1 million to develop a prototype of Typo Keyboards, a simple device that functions as an attached keyboard for iPhone 5 and 5S.

Talal Shakerchi-backed hedge fund Meditor Capital Management is shutting down its equity fund, citing European rules that require hedge fund firms to disclose their bearish bets against companies.

Private equity group Southern Capital Partners offered to buy Malaysian tertiary education provider HELP International Corp Bhd for USD111.3 million (MYR359.3 million) and plans to delist the firm should the deal be successful.

New York-based private equity firm Odyssey Investment Partners is reportedly looking to sell its portfolio company Wencor Group. Wencor manufactures aircraft parts and is based in Springville, Utah.

The Pacific Grove assets of Bratty & Bluhm Real Estate have been acquired by Sotheby's International Realty Inc and will operate as Sotheby's International Realty.

Private equity firm Thoma Bravo is considering to put up for sale two software companies in its portfolio, Hyland and LANDesk. This week, Thoma Bravo sold Digital Insight to NCR Corp. for USD1.6 billion.

More investors discouraged by the declining fortunes of ESL Investment's stake in Sears Holdings Corp. are heading for the exit. American billionaire Edward Lampert owns ESL Investments and leads Sears Holdings.

Philadelphia-based company Monetate has raised USD8 million for the development of its platform that helps other companies drive their sales through analysis of data from various sources.

San Francisco-based online web development school Bloc has raised USD2 million in seed funding which will be used to hire additional staff and establish new online courses.

US-based cloud storage firm Box confirmed it closed USD100 million in fresh capital to catalyze its global expansion as it sealed commercial transactions with Japanese firms.

US-based messaging app Snapchat is raising another USD55 million just six month after it raised USD60 million in its Series B round, pushing the app's valuation to around USD2 billion.

Here are some important dates and events in the life of former South African President and anti-apartheid fighter Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday aged 95 today.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES ACQUIRES SLOTS AT NEW YORK'S LAGUARDIA AIRPORT Southwest Airlines has acquired 12 takeoff and landing slots (for six roundtrip flights) at New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) being divested by American Airlines as part of itsmerger with US Airways.

The following is reaction to the death of Nelson Mandela on Thursday at age 95 The following is reaction to the death of Nelson Mandela on Thursday at age 95.

Crane Co. announced today that the European Commission has approved the definitive agreements to implement the licensing and divestiture Commitments by Crane Co. related to its pending acquisition of MEI Conlux Holdings.

"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is people who have made poverty and tolerated poverty, and it is people who will overcome it." - on being named Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience, 2006

Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa and hero of the country's anti-apartheid struggle, has died aged 95 after a recurring lung infection. The announcement was made by the country's president, Jacob Zuma, on Thursday.

Carlsberg Group reportedly purchased a 30.3% stake in joint venture partner Chongqing Brewery. The Danish brewer hopes to expand its presence in China's USD76 billion liquor market.

French building materials business Materis is reportedly in an advanced stage of negotiations to sell its business unit Kerneos. Investment firm Astorg Partners will acquire Kerneos for EUR610 million.

Dubai state fund Investment Corp of Dubai (ICD) announced on Thursday that it has purchased the Atlantis hotel from a Dubai World unit for an undisclosed amount.

German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA will acquire AZ Electronic Materials for GBP1.6 billion. Merck will pay AZ's existing stockholders GBP403.5 in cash for each share.

Glencore Xtrata PLC, led by its chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg, will be committing more capital in thermal coal than rivals BHP Billiton Ltd., Rio Tinto Group and Anglo American PLC.

UK-based independent private equity firm Vitruvian Partners closed USD1.6 billion (EUR1.2 billion) in a fundraising round for its second fund, the Vitruvian Investment Partnership II (VIP II).

AT&T will be up against smaller rival T-Mobile should the former decide to offer a bid for Verizon Wireless' spectrum block. Verizon, which bought the asset for USD2.4 billion, is seeking to generate USD2.75 billion from the sale.

Colorado firm CSG has bought the key assets of mobile and broadband policy and charging solutions provider Volubill in a deal that will help CSG expand its market reach.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved Verizon's to buyout of Vodafone's stake in Verizon Wireless for USD130 billion, giving Verizon full ownership of the said network.