It may no longer be glory days for private equity, but some firms see bargains in the troubled financial sector. National City is close to getting a $6-7 billion capital injection from a group of investors led by private equity firm Corsair Capital, according to a source familiar with the transaction. The Midwest regional bank racked up losses of more than $300 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 due to exposure to risky mortgage assets, and said earlier this month it was exploring strategic alternatives. Under the plan, the investors would pay about $5 a share — a 40 percent discount to the company’s Friday closing price and a fraction of its $37 price a year ago — for about 50 percent of National City.

NP Paribas is the leading contender to buy Bank of America’s equities prime brokerage unit, but the talks still may not lead to a deal. BNP Paribas is the only party left in the race to buy the unit after JPMorgan Chase, Jefferies Group and Barclays pulled out. The FT reported that no deal had been signed and talks could still crumble. Bank of America has thought about pulling the plug on the sale in recent weeks, unhappy with the prices it was being offered for the unit, the FT said, citing people familiar with the process.

The Bank of England is offering to swap government bonds worth 50 billion pounds ($100 billion) for banks’ riskier mortgage debt to try to ease the effects of a credit crunch on Britain’s banking system. The move is designed to free up banks to lend more to consumers and each other, but economists cautioned the scheme alone would not be enough to revive a flagging economy or unlock mortgage markets.

Australia’s Macarthur Coal, 20 percent-owned by the Chinese government, said on Monday it had been approached by a potential buyer, raising its shares 17 percent. Local media said the company’s founder, Ken Talbot, had held talks with Swiss-based Xstrata and others over his 24 percent stake in Macarthur. Last month Xstrata paid A$1.09 billion for another Australian coal miner, Resource Pacific, and has spent billions more buying other outback miners. China Coal Energy, China’s No. 2 coal miner, this month said it too was looking for investments in Australia.

** Libya is in talks with potential strategic investors in its oil refining and marketing arm Tamoil, now owned by the government-owned sovereign national fund, the head of Libya’s National Oil Corporation Shokri Ghanem told Reuters.

** Kuwait’s International Leasing & Investment Co said it has completed talks about buying a government bank in the Indonesian province of Aceh and developing $5 billion of infrastructure projects.

** Italy’s second-biggest power group Edison is bidding for 100 percent in Egypt’s Abu Quir gas field as it aims to boost its own oil and gas supplies, Edison Chief Executive
Umberto Quadrino said.

** European aircraft maker Airbus and its parent EADS are sticking to their plans to sell Airbus sites in Nordenham and Varel and an EADS site in Augsburg.

** Volkswagen’s biggest shareholder, Porsche, has sounded out the government of Lower Saxony on the sale of the state’s 20.1 percent stake in VW.

** Mazda Motor Corp is looking to boost its stake in a Chinese joint venture sales company to 40 percent from 25 percent, a senior executive said.
** BriTel Fund Trustees Ltd has raised its stake in Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASM International to 15 percent, Dutch market regulator AFM said.

** Indian drug maker Dabur Pharma Ltd said its founders and other shareholders have agreed to sell 73.27 percent in the company to Fresenius Kabi (Singapore) Pte Ltd, at 76.50 rupees a share.

** Electronic Arts Inc extended its offer for Take-Two Interactive Software Inc after winning over just 8 percent of shareholders ahead of the launch of Take-Two’s “Grand Theft Auto 4″.

** TSX Group Inc said that its C$1 billion ($1 billion) acquisition of Montreal Exchange Inc will take effect May 1.

** U.S. oilfield services company Halliburton Co said that it was considering a counterbid for Britain’s Expro International Group Plc and that any offer would be in cash and at a premium to that made by Candover and Goldman Sachs.

** Spanish bank Santander bought 2.3 percent of Royal Bank of Scotland last year, according to its annual report published — days before the British bank is expected to announce a rights issue.

** Agrium Inc said it will divest up to seven U.S. retail centers and is optimistic the move will allow it to close its $2.65-billion deal to take over U.S. agricultural retailer
UAP Holding Corp by early May.

** The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has granted early termination of the required waiting period for O’Reilly Automotive Inc’s purchase of CSK Auto Corp, the companies said.

** Satyam Computer Services Ltd, India’s No. 4 software-services exporter, said it had acquired Belgium-based S&V Management Consultants for $35.5 million in an all-cash deal.