Alipay is an Alibaba subsidiary that was transferred to a separate entity controlled by founder Jack Ma in order to meet Chinese regulations relating to foreign ownership. Yahoo owns 43 percent of Alibaba, which it acquired for $1 billion in 2005.

Australian brewer and takeover target Foster’s said it did not rule out takeover talks with SABMiller, but the company’s new CEO John Pollaers said “the value put on the table was so far away from reality that it wasn’t worth engaging (with SABMiller).” SABMiller, the world’s number two brewer had offered $10.4 billion for Foster’s last month.

Superstar hedge fund manager George Soros announced earlier this week he was returning all captial to outsiders, citing tougher government regulations as the reason for his decision. This piece by Deal Journal’s Shira Ovide quotes a comment by Senator Richard Shelby on Soros and asks, “is George Soros a hypocrite on regulation?”

Shares of Dunkin’ Brands shot up as much as 56 percent on its first day of trading, closing at $27.85 by the end of Wednesday’s trading session. The parent of the Dunkin’ Donuts chain said it has set a 20-year target to open 15,000 new stores in the U.S., up from its current 6,800. This would surpass rival Starbucks’ numbers.

France Telecom is looking to put its Swiss, Austrian and Portugese units up for sale. Analysts say the sell-off could raise as much as $2.9 billion and pave the way for a return to shareholders.

Private equity and real estate firm Blackstone Group is in talks to buy healthcare IT company Emdeon, in a deal that could be valued at $3 billion, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

This slideshow in PEHUB shows who Dunkin’ Brands’ top shareholders are.

Sources say private equity firms Centerbridge Partners and BC Partners are pursuing Caterpillar’s logistics unit, a sale that could fetch more than $1 billion. In a Reuters exclusive, several people familiar with the matter said “two or three parties remain in the auction as the bidding process for Caterpillar’s third-party logistics business has reached the final round.”

In a letter addressed to investors, billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros announced he was returning all capital to outsiders and ending his four-decade long career. The letter also stated chief investment officer Keith Anderson would also be leaving the firm. This piece in Deal Journal examines the reasons behind Anderson’s departure.

A study has found more than one-fourth of the 94 U.S. securities fraud lawsuits seeking class-action status and filed from January to June were related to so-called Chinese reverse mergers. Despite this surge in lawsuits, investors may have trouble recouping their losses even if they win.

Walt Disney Co., the majority shareholder of India’s UTV Software Communications, is proposing to buy most of the shares it does not already own in the company and delist them from all bourses. The deal has a market value of $826 million.

Dutch bancassurer ING will sell most of its Latin American operation to Colombia’s GrupoSura for $3.7 billion in a deal resulting from its state rescue in 2008. This sale now paves the way for the sale of ING’s U.S., European and Asian businesses, which are worth about 18-19 billion euros.

Internet radio service Pandora debuted last month well above its offer price but fears of the company’s chances of turning profit quickly dragged shares down. Deal Journal writes why two stock-research firms are telling investors to “scoop up” Pandora stocks, while one other notable firm is advising against it.

Reinsurer Validus Holdings has taken its $3.2 billion bid for Transatlantic Holdings hostile after merger talks came to a standstill.

A planned rescue deal involving Saab and China’s Hawtai Motor Group collapsed after it failed to get necessary approvals, leaving Saab’s owner, Spyker, chasing new funding alternatives to restart production at the Swedish automaker. Spyker said it was continuing talks with Hawtai, while a Reuters exclusive reported the Dutch sportscar-maker was also talking to another Chinese company, Great Wall Motor about a possible tie-up.

Glencore’s CEO Ivan Glasenberg said recent falls in commodity prices were due to “froth” in the market and had not affected strong demand for the company’s IPO. Commodity price volatility in the past week has prompted worries over Glencore’s planned $11 billion IPO, with fund managers sensing an opportunity to drive down prices. The commodities giant recently unveiled the prospectus for their IPO, detailing plans to raise funds in a dual listing in London and Hong Kong.

Hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam was found guilty on all 14 counts of insider trading, and could face at least 15 years in prison. The Galleon founder was at the center of the biggest insider trading investigation in decades and the use of phone taps in his conviction may have marked a turning point in prosecution of Wall Street crimes. This piece in the New York Times by Peter Lattman and Azam Ahmed takes a look inside Rajaratnam’s circle of friends and business associates, and how they played a crucial role in his scheme.

Professional networking service website LinkedIn is looking to go public, a move that could value the company at more than $3 billion. In this article, NYT’s Steven M. Davidoff explains why certain plans LinkedIn has for its IPO would “not only disenfranchise its future shareholders, but contains elements that have been heavily criticized by corporate governance advocates.”

The impact of AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile on competition, pricing and consumer choice will be examined at a congressional hearing, where top executives are scheduled to appear to defend the deal. A successful merger would concentrate 80 percent of U.S. wireless contract customers in just two companies — AT&T/T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.

Microsoft’s decision to acquire internet phone service Skype for a hefty $8.5 billion was immediately slammed by analysts, who questioned the logic of the deal and suggested the software giant paid too much. Reuters Breakingviews columnist Richard Beales thinks that, in theory, there are potential advantages to the deal but points out how Microsoft’s poor M&A track record and the high price means the transaction is unlikely to ever connect with investors.

Medco Health Solutions CEO David Snow says no biotech company is too big to be bought. He told the Reuters Health Summit he sees major drugmakers needing the growth potential of biotech more than ever.

This article in the Guardian by Graeme Wearden asked telecoms analysts what they think about the Microsoft-Skype deal.

Reuters columnist Felix Salmon gives his opinion on how being public eases acquisitions for companies, using the Microsoft-Skype deal and Facebook’s earlier interest in Skype as an example. Salmon writes that had Facebook been public, it could have snapped up Skype itself instead of having Microsoft buy it to keep it out of Google’s hands.

Deutsche Boerse’s works council is refusing to back a merger proposal with NYSE Euronext, according to two people familiar with the company’s thinking. The exchange is close to releasing a formal statement on behalf of the management and supervisory board, a formal part of German corporate governance in a takeover situation.

Buyout firms Blackstone and KKR are weighing up offers for France Telecom’s stake in Mobistar, sources familiar with the situation said. The deal could value Belgium-based Mobistar at more than 3 billion euros ($4.3 billion).

Chemicals group DuPont said it was confident its increased $6.4 billion offer for Danisco would succeed, after a hedge fund stoked uncertainty over the takeover. DuPont affirmed that its revised bid of 700 Danish crowns ($135) per share for Danisco was its “best and final” offer.

Upscale handbag maker Coach is planning to list shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, a move the New York-based company said reflected the importance of China’s luxury market. Last month, Coach said sales at its Chinese stores open a year had risen by a double-digit percentage.

Chip equipment maker Applied Materials will buy Varian Semiconductor for $4.9 billion, as it looks to maintain its edge in new chipmaking technology to meet rising demands. Applied expects to fund the transaction with a combination of cash on hand and debt.

ConAgra Foods said it raised its offer for private-label food maker Ralcorp Holdings by 5 percent to about $4.9 billion in cash. The company, one of North America’s largest packaged food companies is looking to gain access to more U.S. store brands that have been attracting people looking to cut spending on food. ConAgra’s proposal comes after Ralcorp said late on Sunday that its board rejected an unsolicited offer it received from a third party in March.

German engineering conglomerate Siemens is looking for acquisitions of up to 3 billion euros ($4.5 billion) to boost core areas after raising its full-year outlook on strong demand from emerging markets. The company makes products ranging from lights bulbs to trains and power plants to name a few.

When Nasdaq and InterContinentalExchange first unveiled their spoiler takeover offer for NYSE Euronext, it was valued at $11.1 billion – or $1.78 billion more than the bid from rival Deutsche Boerse. Within a month, that gap has narrowed by 55 percent.  In this Wall Street Journal piece, Shira Ovide explains what has happened in the past month to change the price-gap of the offers.

In this Reuters Dealtalk article,  the reporters suggest that as deal volume and CEO confidence picks up, companies will become more daring and willing to take risks in their fight for assets. The case of Nasdaq and ICE taking their bid for NYSE hostile is a prime example of this attitude.

Investment firm Onex and its affiliates said they will sell their Husky International business to private equity firms Berkshire Partners and Omers Private Equity for $2.1 billion. Husky is one of the world’s largest suppliers of injection molding equipment and services to the plastics industry.

There has been a flurry of acquisitions in the technology industry. TechCrunch reports Twitter is set to buy TweetDeck for $40 to $50 million, and an announcement of the transaction is expected over the next few days. Group buying site BuyWithMe acquired Chicago-based daily deals site DealADayOnline to expand its regional offerings and TrueCar, a site which helps people research new and used car prices, struck a deal to buy automotive social media company Honk.com.