General Electric plans to sell the bulk of its $30bn (€28.2bn) property portfolio over the next two years as it returns to its industrial roots, and has set a share buyback plan of up to $50bn — the second-largest ever.

Building materials group CRH raised €1.6bn through an equity placement yesterday to part-fund the biggest acquisition in the company’s history.

CRH has entered a binding agreement to buy assets that cement makers Holcim and Lafarge need to sell ahead of their planned merger.

Two of the biggest private-equity firms are disclosing fees that had largely been hidden.

Iceland will this week tell hedge funds and other creditors in its failed banks how their claims can be settled. 

The O’Flynn construction group has set out "a good arguable case" entitling it to pursue global private equity fund Blackstone over an alleged conspiracy to take over key companies in the Cork-based group, the Commercial Court ruled.

Companies in the Blackstone Private Equity group have asked the High Court to strike out claims that they conspired to take over several companies of brothers Michael and John O’Flynn.

US private equity giant, the Blackstone Group, is facing claims that it engaged in a "sophisticated conspiracy" to effectively oust the O'Flynn brothers from their business empire.

The company that bought the €1.8bn debts of the O’Flynn Construction Group for just over €1bn has secured the appointment of an interim examiner for four key companies within the group.

A high-wire property development and finance rollercoaster ride continues for O’Flynn Construction.

Summertime settled into Wall Street yesterday as major stock indexes drifted slightly higher going into the weekend.

Blackstone Group plans to buy about €100m of Dublin office space as Ireland recovers from Western Europe’s worst property crash, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Today is the last day that companies can submit bids to buy the retail and power generation unit of the semi-State gas company Bord Gáis.

The Edge and Bono hope to buck trend with their Dropbox deal, writes Stephen Rogers

Eircom is technically in default, triggering the payment of credit-default swaps, according to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.

THE ISEQ index ended the week in negative territoryyesterday, with a drop of 10.53 points to close at 2,755.85.

GSO Capital Partners, the global credit platform of the Blackstone Group, has acquired European leveraged loan manager Harbourmaster Capital.

WHEN Prologis built Japan’s first logistics centre in 2002 — offering inventory management, storage and distribution services — potential clients and lenders told the company to invest in malls or apartments instead.

EMPG, or Education Media & Publishing Group, began life in its current guise in 2007 with the $4 billion takeover of the Harcourt US Schools Education business from European information and publishing group Reed Elsevier.

Wall Street advanced in uneven trading today after a drop in oil prices and an unexpected gain in new home sales encouraged investors to put money back into the market.

A LUCRATIVE European-style woodland holiday campus could be developed in the midlands after a major player in the industry revealed it is scouting for a 300-acre site.

Stocks sank today as oil’s surge above 108 a barrel and more worrisome signs for the financial sector led investors to extend last week’s losses.

A US private equity group is to buy Hilton Hotels in a US$20bn (€14.7bn) cash deal, the hotel company said.

Cable company Virgin Media today confirmed it had received a takeover offer for the business.

Bid speculation involving Virgin Media returned this weekend after it was reported the cable company could be about to get an $8 billion (€5.9bn) approach from a private equity firm.

The private equity consortium circling UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s could table an indicative £9.5bn (€14bn) offer before the Easter weekend, reports suggested today.

Takeover target Sainsbury’s posted higher than expected sales figures today as the supermarket chain reaped the benefits of increased revenues from Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day.

Takeover target Sainsbury’s today hailed higher than expected sales figures driven by a strong performance from new stores and higher grocery prices.

Private equity bidders circling British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s were today given until April 13 to declare whether they intend to make an offer.

QATAR’S €30 billion investment fund is seeking a strategic stake in Sainsbury’s and is studying exactly how much of the British retailer it wants to buy, the emirate’s foreign minister said.

McVitie’s and Jacob’s owner United Biscuits agreed today to a £1.6bn (€2.4bn) takeover by a consortium made up of two private equity firms.

A private-equity consortium interested in buying NTL is due to hold talks with senior executives of the cable operator today over a possible £10bn (€14.8bn) buyout, reports said today.

The FTSE 100 Index struggled for direction today as shares lifted in Alliance & Leicester on fresh speculation it may fall to a foreign predator.

Buyers deserted the London market today on fears that its recent rally had run out of steam and nervousness over the future path of US interest rates.

The London market slipped into the red today despite bid activity surrounding broadcaster ITV and a number of mid-cap stocks.

THE private equity consortium stalking ITV could abandon its bid this week if a proposed cash sweetener fails to win over investors in Britain’s biggest commercial broadcaster, it was reported yesterday.

ITV today said it had rejected an approach from a private equity consortium that would have loaded the broadcaster with large amounts of debt.

Broadcaster BSkyB is to grab a slice of the rapidly growing broadband market through an acquisition worth up to £150m (€220m), it was reported today.

The group of investors led by Quinlan Private, a Dublin-based property investment and advisory firm, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Savoy Group from the Blackstone Group and Colony Capital for approximately €1.12 billion.

Private equity firm 3i is being circled by a number of potential buyers after a slowdown in raising money to fund investments, it was reported today.

Quinlan group swoops and steals Savoy deal

An Irish consortium, headed by former revenue inspector Derek Quinlan, is close to agreeing a deal to buy the Savoy hotel group in London from US investment firms the Blackstone group and Colony Capital.

MUSIC group EMI could face a takeover move from a US private equity group if it fails in its bid for the recorded music division of Time Warner, according to reports.