For the first time, individuals and companies that do not themselves make anything - commonly known as "patent trolls" - are bringing the majority of U.S. patent lawsuits, according to a study by a California law professor.
2 min read · 11 December 2012
U.S. biotechnology group Amgen has agreed to buy unlisted Decode Genetics, a pioneer in hunting down genes linked to disease, for $415 million in cash, writes Reuters. Amgen and Decode said on Monday that the transaction did not require regulatory approval and was expected to close before the end of 2012.
3 min read · 11 December 2012
Nordic technology investor Northzone, an early Spotify investor and its biggest shareholder after the founders, would like to see the online music streaming service gain a stock market listing in the next few years.
2 min read · 10 December 2012
Spanish travel company Globalia has agreed to buy debt-laden peer Orizonia in a deal that will value the business at 141 million euros ($182 million) after lenders cut their debt claims substantially, Reuters reported Monday. Orizonia's value has tumbled since private equity firms Carlyle Group and Vista Capital bought the tour operator for about 900 million euros in 2006.
2 min read · 10 December 2012
British baker Greggs said on Monday its Chief Executive Ken McMeikan is to quit the firm to take up the CEO role at catering firm Brakes Group, Reuters reported. McMeikan, CEO since 2008, will stay in his position whilst a successor is appointed. Brakes, which supplies food and machinery to the catering industry and has over 10,000 staff, is owned by private equity firm Bain Capital.
1 min read · 10 December 2012
Ingersoll-Rand Plc is expected to announce as soon as Monday it will spin off its security division, as the industrial conglomerate cedes to pressure from activist investor Nelson Peltz to unlock more shareholder value, Reuters wrote Monday. The company, which has a market value of more than $14.5 billion, also plans to buy back shares and increase dividends, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 10 December 2012
When he started looking around for start-ups in which to invest, Dan Scheinman noticed something: twenty-something entrepreneurs building Internet companies usually had a much easier time lining up early financing from venture capitalists compared to their forty- and fifty- something counterparts. Age bias, increasingly acknowledged as a widespread phenomenon in Silicon Valley, has created opportunity too.
2 min read · 08 December 2012
U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group may complete the sale of its shares in Medical Park in the first half of 2013, the Turkish hospital group's chairman said. Medical Park's other main shareholder, the Sancak family, may also consider selling a stake, Muharrem Usta also told Reuters on Friday, adding he would not sell his own shares. Sources told Reuters that private equity firms Texas Pacific Group and CVC were among those interested in buying a stake in Medical Park.
2 min read · 07 December 2012
Blackstone Group LP, one of the world's biggest investors in hedge funds, is preparing to launch a portfolio that will give retail investors a taste of these normally exclusive funds, Reuters wrote. New York-based Blackstone, best known as a private equity shop, filed registration documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week to launch the Blackstone Alternative Investment Funds. The new offerings will put money into alternative investments including global macro strategies, opportunistic trading strategies, quantitative strategies and managed futures strategies, the regulatory filing says.
2 min read · 07 December 2012
IndiaVenture Advisors, a private equity fund owned by Indian drugmaker Piramal Enterprises, is planning to raise up to 10 billion rupees ($185 million) for a new fund that will invest in healthcare and education, its chairman said. Investors have stepped up ploughing money into the healthcare sector in India, home to more than 1.2 billion people, betting on steadier returns than in other businesses that have been hit by an economic slowdown, Reuters wrote Friday.
2 min read · 07 December 2012
