Catherine Badour

GEMS Education’s owners have chosen JP Morgan (JPM.N), Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) to lead the private schools group’s planned flotation, sources told Reuters.

Buyout group Nordic Capital has agreed to buy Alloheim, one of Germany’s top three nursing home operators, for about 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) including debt, sources close to the matter said.

Private equity firm Blue Water Energy said on Monday it had raised $1.1 billion for a fund to invest in oil and gas, the latest sign of growing appetite for the industry as crude prices recover from a downturn, Reuters reported.

U.S. drugstore chain operator CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) said on Sunday it had agreed to acquire U.S. health insurer Aetna Inc (AET.N) for $69 billion, seeking to tackle soaring healthcare spending through lower-cost medical services in pharmacies, Reuters

Swiss food giant Nestle (NESN.S) and the private equity owners of German drug firm Stada (STAGn.DE) are both preparing tentative bids for Merck KgaA’s (MRCG.DE) consumer health unit, sources told Reuters.

Mednax Inc, a U.S. healthcare network operator targeted by activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp, is fielding acquisition interest from several private equity firms, sources told Reuters.

Altice (ATCA.AS) has agreed to sell its Swiss telecommunications solutions business and Data Center operations, the telecoms and cable company said on Friday, as it seeks to reduce its 50 billion euro ($59.6 billion) debt burden.

French technology consultancy Altran (ALTT.PA) is to buy U.S. design and engineering services firm Aricent in a 1.7 billion euro ($2.01 billion) deal, Reuters reported.

Private equity firms Apollo (APO.N), KKR (KKR.N) and CVC Capital Partners [CVC.UL] are the final three parties left bidding for Unilever’s (ULVR.L) (UNc.AS) margarine and spreads business, sources familiar with the matter said, as the process moves towards its final round, Reuters reported.

Bitcoin zoomed past $11,000 (£8,185.5) to hit a record high for the sixth day in a row on Wednesday after gaining more than $1,000 in just 12 hours, stoking concerns that a rapidly swelling bubble could be set to burst in spectacular fashion, Reuters reported.