Mergers and Acquisitions

Shares in drugmaker AstraZeneca have climbed more than 7 percent this week, fueled by speculation of renewed takeover interest from Pfizer, following an abortive $118 billion (71 billion pounds) takeover attempt in May.

Facebook Inc's $19 billion bid for fast-growing mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp sent shares of BlackBerry Ltd higher before the opening bell on Thursday as investors placed bets that the smartphone maker's own messaging platform has been undervalued.

The world's biggest chipmaker said Monday it will buy rival Altera in an all-cash deal valued at $54 per share as it seeks to expand its higher-margin chip unit.

Endo International PLC has agreed to buy Par Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. from private-equity firm TPG for about $8 billion in cash and stock, a deal that will help boost its generics business.

E-commerce company eBay has sold its 28.4 percent stake in Craigslist back to the online classified advertising site, ending years of legal wrangling between the two companies.

Before he became a billionaire in e-commerce, Richard Liu was a failure.

Applied Materials has called off its $9.4 billion acquisition of Tokyo Electron Ltd. after hitting a regulatory roadblock.

Nokia says it is acquiring French telecom company Alcatel-Lucent through a public exchange offer in France and the United States.

European cell phone operator Telefonica says it has reached an agreement to sell its British business, O2, to Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa for 10.25 billion pounds ($15.24 billion).

TiVo says that it has received bankruptcy court approval to buy some assets of Aereo, an online startup that offered a cheaper alternative to cable TV.

Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors N.V.

CommScope is buying TE Connectivity Ltd.'s telecom, enterprise and wireless businesses for about $3 billion, which will help diversify its operations and broaden its geographic reach.

Sysco on Monday said it terminated its merger agreement with US foods, and will pay a break-up fee of $300 million to US Foods and $12.5 million to Performance Food Group.

General Electric Co. has agreed to sell its U.S., Mexico, Australia and New Zealand fleet businesses for $6.9 billion, with a separate smaller deal in the works to unload its business in Europe, marking the latest steps in the industrial group's retreat from banking.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp could buy television network Starz and other "free radicals" in the industry, media mogul John Malone told the Wall Street Journal.

Intel Corp. is nearing a deal to buy chip-making rival Altera Corp. for about $15 billion, The New York Post reported late Thursday, citing a person close to the matter.

Hormel Foods Corp. agreed to buy Applegate Farms LLC for about $775 million, a move that would give the maker of Spam a foothold in the organic-meats category.

Ascena Retail Group Inc, which runs Dressbarn and Lane Bryant women's clothing stores, said it agreed to buy rival Ann Inc, owner of LOFT and Ann Taylor, for $2.15 billion.

In an effort to boost its digital content, the telecom giant announced on Tuesday it will buy AOL in a deal valued at about $4.4 billion, or $50 per share, a 17.4% premium from AOL's Monday closing price. 

When Kraft Foods Group merges with H.J. Heinz Co, they will share a name, a central place in the American kitchen and two headquarters near Chicago and Pittsburgh.