Mergers & Acquisitions | featured news

Southwest Airlines will purchase AirTran Holdings for $1.04 billion in cash and stock in a deal that will allow Southwest to expand its presence in major East Coast markets.

Wal-Mart Stores is offering to buy South African retailer Massmart Holdings for approximately $4.25 billion.

Video ad network VideoEgg has announced that it has agreed to acquire blogging pioneer Six Apart, the company behind TypePad and Movable Type. As part of the acquisition, both companies will drop their names and be renamed SAY Media.

Shareholders of United and Continental airlines voted Friday to approve a combination of their companies that would create the world's biggest airline and could have far-reaching effects on where they fly and how much they charge passengers.

Hertz Global Holdings agreed on Sunday to raise its takeover offer for the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group to about $1.4 billion in stock and cash, trumping a rival offer from the Avis Budget Group.

Dell on Thursday withdrew from the bidding for 3Par, which agreed to be acquired by Hewlett-Packard for $33 per share.

Burger King Holdings Inc , the No. 2 U.S. fast-food chain, agreed to be bought by investment firm 3G Capital for $24 per share, or about $3.26 billion.

Hewlett-Packard Co. is bidding $1.5 billion for data storage provider 3Par Inc., offering 33 percent more than what rival Dell Inc. agreed to pay for the company just a week earlier.

Tyco Electronics agreed to buy network equipment maker ADC Telecommunications for about $1.25 billion.

The surprising endorsement by the Federal Trade Commission of Google’s deal for AdMob follows Apple’s purchase of Quattro Wireless, an AdMob rival.