Middle East investors are now eyeing U.S. telcos. Kuwait’s Investment Dar says it could spend up to $800 million on a listed U.S. telecom operator. The most obvious candidate is Sprint, which said last week it might have to write off $31 billion for its purchase of Nextel and other deals. Investment Dar, known for buying half of British luxury carmaker Aston Martin, was cagey about its potential investment destinations, saying it could spend the money in Western Europe as it diversifies its portfolio into new sectors such as energy, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications. One requirement could turn out to be a big hurdle — the firm wants an internal rate of return of at least 14 percent.

Dutch office supplies firm Corporate Express denied a newspaper report saying it was in talks to be bought by U.S. rival Staples, erasing a sharp rise in its shares. “Such discussions are not taking place,” the company said in a statement, after noting “rumors in a Dutch morning paper regarding ongoing discussions between Corporate Express and Staples.” Corporate Express has come under pressure from hedge funds to sell itself, but after a strategic review last year decided to remain a stand-alone company. It generates around half of its revenue in the United States, but pressure has risen on its margins even as its market share has shrunk.

Music groups EMI and Warner Chappell are expected to submit second-round bids for UK music recording and publishing firm Chrysalis before today’s deadline. Analysts have put the value of the company — whose roster includes Blondie, David Bowie, and Gnarls Barkley — at between 150 million pounds to 190 million pounds ($375 million). Sony/ATV, a joint venture between Sony and the singer Michael Jackson, has also been linked with Chrysalis after its Chief Executive Martin Bandier said last year that he wanted to expand the business through a mix of acquisitions and the addition of songwriters.