Mergers and Acquisitions

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.

The maker of Velveeta cheese will merge with ketchup maker H.J. Heinz, owned by 3G Capital and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, to form America's third-largest food and beverage company. Kraft shares surged in pre-market trading.

The Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday confirmed a report that it was entertaining offers for the sale of the NBA club, saying it was "always open" to overtures, but added no deal was imminent.

Yahoo is moving forward with the spinoff of its sizable stake in China's Alibaba Group, and announced a name for it: Aabaco.

An Illinois man has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with an online Canadian pharmacy to smuggle prescription drugs into the U.S. to sell to doctors.

Solera is being acquired by an affiliate Vista Equity Partners for about $3.74 billion in cash.

Activision Blizzard Inc. said Monday that it has agreed to buy Major League Gaming as the videogame giant continues to pursue a foothold in fast-growing business of competitive videogames, or so-called e-sports.

Anthem said it will buy rival Cigna in a deal valued at $54.2 billion, creating the largest U.S. health insurer by membership. The deal comes amid consolidation in the health-care industry following the rollout of Obamacare.

China's state-backed Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd is preparing a $23 billion bid for U.S. memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc, in what would be the biggest Chinese takeover of a U.S. company, people familiar with the matter said.

Lockheed Martin Corp. is in advanced talks to buy the Sikorsky helicopter unit from United Technologies Corp., in a deal that could be valued at more than $8 billion.

Schlumberger, one of the world's largest oilfield services companies, said it will acquire oilfield equipment maker Cameron International Corp in a deal valued at $14.8 billion.

Intercontinental Exchange agreed to buy Interactive Data Corp. from Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus for about $5.2 billion, ending the financial-data provider's bid to go public.

Duke Energy has struck a deal to acquire Piedmont Natural Gas in a deal worth about $4.9 billion, adding roughly 1 million natural-gas customers to its base.

Private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners  and a Canadian pension fund are nearing a deal to buy Petco Holdings in what would be one of the biggest leveraged buyouts.