** MGIC Investment Corp and Radian Group Inc said they would terminate their pending merger because of weak market conditions and said that all outstanding litigation between mortgage insurer MGIC and bond insurer Radian will be withdrawn. No payments were exchanged in connection with the termination agreement. MGIC agreed in February to acquire Radian in a $5.47 billion all-stock deal, but since then MGIC shares have lost more than half their value, amid the turmoil in the mortgage and housing markets.

    
** Canadian Pacific Railway has agreed to buy the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp for at least $1.5 billion cash to expand its network and increase access to U.S. Midwest markets. The acquisition by Canada’s number two railway will expand its track by about 2,500 miles. The deal includes a $1.48 billion cash payment at closing and future contingent payments of up to about $1 billion.
    
** Swiss engineering group ABB has $15 billion to spend on acquisitions and it just can’t wait to spend it. “Something must happen in the foreseeable future. We can’t wait until fall 2009,” said Chief Executive Officer Fred Kindle.
 
** Australian retailer Coles Group Ltd backed an enhanced A$18.2 billion ($15 billion) takeover offer from conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd, after the deal was backed by an independent expert. Wesfarmers tweaked the terms by offering a new price protection mechanism on half the value of the share component of its bid following recent share market turmoil. Coles, which has now formally rejected a possible break-up in favor of the bid, said shareholders would vote on Australia’s largest takeover deal in November.
    
** Australian equipment hire firm Coates Hire has rejected a sweetened A$1.6 billion ($1.3 billion) takeover bid from Carlyle Group and National Hire Group Ltd, saying it undervalued the company. The bid is conditional on the board’s unanimous support, but shareholder pressure is building.
    
** Woori Bank, South Korea’s third-biggest, expects to receive final approval this month to set up a wholly owned unit in China by December and is looking to buy Chinese lenders. 
    
**The writers of the news release announcing MetroPCS’s surprise $5.5 billion bid for Leap Wireless said more in what they left out of the release than what they put in, according to the Deal Journal, which says the absence of any mention of prior advances from Metro begs the question of what went on behind the scenes.
 
** Top South African mass-market lender African Bank Investments Limited has offered to buy furniture retailer Ellerines in a 10.6 billion rand ($1.46 billion) all-share deal. The offer represents a premium of 47 percent on Ellerines’ closing share price on Aug. 17.
    
** Vodafone Group might have to settle for less than a 50 percent stake in South Africa’s Vodacom because of government plans to ensure black Africans get stakes in top industries. Analysts say they expect South Africa’s largest telecoms operator Telkom, which is state-controlled and which owns 50 percent of Vodacom, to sell about 5 percent of the top cell phone group to a black consortium. Vodafone has long voiced interest in raising its Vodacom stake, valued at around 75 billion rand ($10.33 billion).