India's Suzlon Energy has entered into an agreement with Martifer to purchase its stake in wind energy company REpower Systems. The acquisition of Martifer's 22.48% stake in Germany's REpower will take Suzlon's interest in the company to about 90%. This latest acquisition, announced on September 1, follows Suzlon's June acquisition of a 30% stake in the company from France's Areva.... 2008-09-04

As part of its National Ownership Programme (NOP), Hungary's government announced on August 31 that it will offer shares in three state-owned enterprises to Hungarian individuals by 2009. Under the NOP, which aims to bring more household savings in to the country's capital markets, all shares offered are to be sold through the National Asset Management Company, before being listed... 2008-09-01

Private equity fund Guatefondo will become the first investment company to sell shares on the country's local stock exchange, the Bolsa de Valores Nacional (BVN). The company will initially list 25,000 shares for purchase and resale on the secondary market, an initial starting capital of US$25mn. Guatefondo provides growth capital ranging from US$0.5-5.0mn to small- and medium-sized... 2008-09-02

On September 2, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced that it will buy a majority stake in the Industrial Development Bank of Jordan (IDB), a strategic investment that will pave the way for IDB's conversion into a shari'a-compliant financial institution. Through a joint venture (JV) with Dubai sovereign investment agency Dubai International Capital (DIC), DIB will acquire a 52% stake... 2008-09-03

On September 4 private equity giant Blackstone Group joined the US consortium bidding for UK publishing group Informa, temporarily easing fears that the consortium would struggle to raise the cash. Such relief was short lived, however, as the consortium has now slashed the price of its bid. Earlier in the year, a private equity group led by Providence Equity Partners and Carlyle... 2008-09-04