Investors Put a Premium on Buyout Hopes Judging by the number of stocks subject to agreed-takeover deals trading above the buyout price, more speculators on Wall Street are feeling lucky.

Shinsei, the Japanese bank, is preparing to raise about Y75bn in fresh capital as a merger with a rival domestic lender once seen as a lifeline is in danger of collapse.

Buyout shops may need more than a decade to deploy the half-trillion dollars they ve raised from investors, if the current dealmaking trend of fewer and smaller deals continues, Bloomberg News says.

A flurry of merger and acquisition activity helped US and European equities tick higher yesterday, although the underlying mood remained relatively cautious as the markets consolidated recent gains.

British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia have offered to give up a handful of landing and take-off slots in London and New York in an attempt to win approval for their proposed trans-Atlantic alliance.

Korea Exchange Bank said Wednesday its biggest shareholder, private equity group Lone Star Funds, is renewing efforts to sell its majority stake in a prospective deal that has long been hampered by legal and political constraints.

U.S. bank stocks march higher, led by Zions Bancorp, Regions Financial Corp. and SunTrust Banks Inc., amid speculation about mergers and acquisitions in the industry.

Shares in U.K. interdealer broker Tullett Prebon jump as much as 19% Wednesday after the company says it is in preliminary talks that could lead to a takeover bid.

U.K. interdealer broker Tullett Prebon said Wednesday that it is in preliminary talks with a third party that could lead to a takeover offer for the company. The group said there is no certainty that an offer will be made and that a further announcement will be made in due course.

U.S. private equity fund Lone Star plans to resume selling its 51 percent stake in Korea Exchange Bank , worth 4.4 trillion won at current market prices, the South Korean bank said on Wednesday.

Asian stock markets trade mixed, with stocks drifting as investors look to cues later in the week. In Australia, Aurox Resources powers higher on news of a merger with Atlas Iron.

* Deal value up 65 percent * Number of transactions rises 18 percent * Conditions improving CALGARY, Alberta, March 9 - Canadian corporate mergers and acquisitions continued to rebound in the fourth quarter, with the number of deals rising 18 percent year over year and the value of the transactions climbing by nearly two-thirds, investment bank Crosbie & Co said on Tuesday.

UK Coal said Tuesday that it is in the early stages of investigating a merger proposal that could address the group s exposure to the volatile performance of its deep mines. However, the company added that it is not aware of any proposal for a cash bid for the company from its major shareholder or any other source.

* GVT to delist shares after Vivendi takes it over * GVT shares fall 0.4 pct on Monday SAO PAULO, Brazil, March 8 - GVT , the Brazilian telephone company bought last year by France s Vivendi , said on Monday it will delist its shares from the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange as part of the takeover.

Forth Ports leaped 25% to 1,400 pence in early London trade after disclosing late Friday that it received and rejected two takeover bids. The consortium of Arcus European Infrastructure Fund 1, Peel Ports Holdings Limited and RREEF Pan-European Infrastructure Fund offered 1,340 pence a share but Forth said the offer was far short of its value.

The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 0400 GMT on Monday.

Arrow Energy Ltd. said Monday it has received a takeover bid worth $3.3 billion Australian dollars from a company jointly owned by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina.

Abry Partners will acquire RCN for about $1.2 billion including debt, in the latest in a series of acquisitions by private-equity firms.

The American International Group said on Friday that it planned to sell its 13.8 percent stake in a reinsurer, Transatlantic Holdings.

Does the recent flurry of M&A signal a top or the beginning of the next leg higher?