NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Dell Inc (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) is in talks with private equity firms on a potential buyout, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, confirming reports that sent shares in the world’s No. 3 PC maker soaring 13 percent to nearly a eight-month high.

The firms are now holding discussions on a deal with billionaire Chief Executive and founder Michael Dell, who owns about 14 percent of the company, according to one source with knowledge of the matter.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Dell Inc is in talks with private equity firms on a potential buyout, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, confirming reports that sent shares in the world’s No. 3 PC maker soaring 13 percent to nearly a eight-month high.

The firms are now holding discussions on a deal with billionaire Chief Executive and founder Michael Dell, who owns about 14 percent of the company, according to one source with knowledge of the matter.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Dell Inc is in talks with private equity firms on a potential buyout, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, confirming a Bloomberg report that sent its shares soaring 13 percent to near an eight-month high.

The world’s No. 3 PC maker is in talks with at least two private equity firms about going private and the discussions are preliminary as the financing has not yet been secured, said Bloomberg, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – After failing to land a big acquisition in the security space last year and suffering a steady decline in market share, Cisco Systems Chief Executive John Chambers is determined to turn around his company’s lagging security business – whatever the cost.

The growing expectation, from Silicon Valley to Wall Street, is that Chambers will not be able to do it with its SecureX product range, and needs to go back to the deal table to boost the business with an acquisition in the coming months.

NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) – Sprint Nextel Corp is
under no pressure to raise its $2 billion offer for Clearwire
Corp to beat a higher bid by Dish Network Corp
as it holds several trump cards it can play to thwart its rival,
three sources close to the matter said.

Clearwire, which owns valuable mobile spectrum that Dish,
Sprint and Sprint’s Japanese buyer Softbank Corp want
badly, is duty-bound to consider Dish’s $3.30 per share proposal
that tops an agreed-upon $2.97 offer from Sprint.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Passport Health Communications Inc, a healthcare software company partly controlled by private equity firm Spectrum Equity, is close to announcing a deal to buy Data Systems Group, according to three people close to the matter.

Although financial details of the transaction could not be obtained, a deal with privately held Data Systems Group, which develops software products that process medical claims, will give Passport access to more than 200 hospitals and 85 physician sites in 20 states.

NEW YORK/TOKYO, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Japan’s companies spent a
record amount in 2012 to acquire assets outside of their
economically moribund country, up 24 percent from the previous
year, as a strong yen turned foreign companies with a strong
growth potential into bargains.

Investment bankers say 2012, which saw the largest foreign
purchase on record by a Japanese company, may have marked a
fundamental shift in corporate Japan’s attitude to foreign
mergers and acquisitions that could spell even more deals ahead.

NEW YORK/TOKYO, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Japan’s companies spent a
record amount in 2012 to acquire assets outside of their
economically moribund country, up 24 percent from the previous
year, as a strong yen turned foreign companies with a strong
growth potential into bargains.

Investment bankers say 2012, which saw the largest foreign
purchase on record by a Japanese company, may have marked a
fundamental shift in corporate Japan’s attitude to foreign
mergers and acquisitions that could spell even more deals ahead.

NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters) – Sprint Nextel Corp’s $2.1
billion offer to buy out Clearwire Corp appeared to be
running into trouble on Thursday, as some shareholders said they
wanted more money while Softbank Corp set a cap on how
much Sprint could pay.

Sprint, which owns 50.45 percent of Clearwire, offered $2.90
per share for the rest of the company and said it would also
provide interim financing of $800 million to the cash-strapped
company. Any deal would need approval by Softbank, which has
agreed to buy 70 percent of Sprint for about $20 billion.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Softbank Corp’s founder Masayoshi Son has told Sprint Nextel Corp that the Japanese firm will not consent to a takeover of Clearwire Corp by Sprint if the offer price exceeds $2.97 per share, two sources close to the matter said on Thursday.

Sprint, the majority owner of Clearwire, has offered $2.90 per share, or $2.1 billion, to buy the rest of the wireless service provider, but some shareholders and analysts have said it will need to raise its offer to win investor support.