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(Reuters) - Douglas Holding Chief Executive Henning Kreke said his family is teaming up with buyout firms with the aim of raising its stake in the company. Douglas, which has a market value of about 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion), earlier on Thursday said that unspecified board members with major holdings were in talks with several financial investors for a substantial stake in the company.

Reston, Va.-based AppTap, developer of an app recommendations service, has raised $4 million in a round led by Syncom Venture Partners. Return backer New Atlantic Ventures also participated in the round. The money will go toward development and toward expanding its partnerships and its app advertising capabilities for developers.

StrikeAd, a mobile advertising startup with offices in London and New York, has added 2 million pounds ($3.06 million) in a second round of funding from DFJ Esprit. The round follows a first round from Germany-based venture capital firm eValue in February 2011.

New York-based SK Capital Partners is spinning out a new company - IBA Molecular Imaging – from the radiopharmaceutical division of Ion Beam Applications S.A., the firm announced. IBA Molecular is a manufacturer and distributor of radioactive isotopes used for medical imaging, with more than 50 locations across the world. The transaction is valued at approximately €180 million ($234 million). SK Capital will own 60% of the recapitalized entity, and IBA will retain a 40% stake, the firm said.

Raymond James Financial Inc. has agreed to pay $930 million to buy Southeast investment bank and brokerage Morgan Keegan from Regions Financial Corp. In addition to the $930 million in stock, Morgan Keegan will also pay a $250 million dividend to Regions Financial. The deal expands Raymond James’ current $256 billion in client assets by $80 billion, making it seventh in client assets among U.S. brokerages, Reuters wrote Wednesday.

Anthemis Group, Firstmark Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital and several undisclosed individuals have put $2 million into personal finance start-up Payoff.com. To date, Payoff.com has raised a total of $5.8 million. The company's platform utilizes research from personal finance, games and behavioral science, and is designed to help people save money and pay off debt. Payoff.com was formed in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles.

PAI Partners is planning to raise a new 3 billion euro ($3.81 billion) buyout fund this year, Reuters reported. The new fund represents a potential comeback for the French buyout fund, which ousted its management 18 months ago and cut in half its fifth buyout fund, Reuters wrote. Meetings with investors will reportedly begin in March.

Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital said Thursday that it had raised nearly $4 billion for two new funds, Reuters reported. The firm sealed $2.4 billion for its fifth dollar fund and $1.6 billion for its second local currency fund. Those numbers are almost double the sizes of previous dollar and yuan funds for Hony Capital, which is backed by Legend Holdings Ltd., Reuters wrote.

DeskStream Inc., a maker of desktop virtualisation software, has acquired Irish cloud computing start-up WorldDesk Ltd. Terms were not released. WorldDesk, founded in 2010, will continue to be based in Belfast.

Jumio Inc. has raised $25.5 million in new equity financing, according to a filing with the SEC. The company, a developer of mobile and online payment products, in March closed a $6.5 million round led by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. Formed in 2010, Jumio is based in Mountain View, Calif.