RPT-Market Chatter-Corporate finance press digest

Feb 5 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related

stories were reported by media on Tuesday:

* The Osaka Securities Exchange is investigating how

Universal Entertainment Corp accounted for millions of

dollars paid in 2010 to advance the Japanese firm's casino

project on Manila Bay, people with direct knowledge of the

inquiry said.

* South Korean telecoms company KT Corp has

joined the competition to buy Vivendi's 53 percent

stake in Maroc Telecom, lining up banks to advise on a

deal potentially worth over $6 billion, two people familiar with

the situation said.

* Dutch telecoms group KPN is finalising plans to

raise as much as 4 billion euros ($5.42 billion) in new capital,

the Financial Times reported. The company, whose stakeholders

include Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, is seeking to raise 2

billion euros to 4 billion euros in the form of a rights issue,

the paper said.

* Ryanair has offered rival Flybe 100

million euros to take some Aer Lingus routes off its

hands, a source close to the deal said on Monday, as the

European Commission prepares to decide on its 694-million-euro

offer for the Irish airline.

* SGX, the Singapore stock exchange, is in talks

to buy a stake in clearing house LCH.Clearnet, the Financial

Times reported, adding that the Asian exchange may participate

in the London Stock Exchange Group's purchase of LCH or

buy a separate stake.

* Siemens AG has picked banks to organise the

sale of two units as part of its efforts to streamline

operations and stay competitive in a weak global economy, people

familiar with the matter said.

* Dell Inc moved closer to a nearly $24 billion

buyout deal, a person familiar with the matter said, with price

negotiations narrowing to $13.50 to $13.75 a share in what would

be the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis.

* The world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates,

told investors it will launch a new hedge fund this year, and

that it had sold a minor equity stake in the firm to an

unidentified buyer, the Wall Street Journal reported.

* U.S. billionaire John Malone's cable group Liberty Global

is preparing a bid for UK cable company Virgin Media

Inc, the Financial Times reported.

* Mercuria, one of the world's top oil traders, has hired

bankers for a partial sale, becoming the first of the

Swiss-based houses that dominate global raw materials trade to

follow Glencore in opening up to outside investors, the

Financial Times reported.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rpt-market-chatter-corporate-finance-press-digest-055922604--sector.html

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