Acquisition | featured news

Priceline is buying Kayak in a $1.8 billion cash-and-stock deal, adding a travel search site that went public earlier this year.

Well, this is unexpected: In a deal worth a reported $4 billion in stocks and cash, George Lucas has handed the keys to his Star Wars kingdom over to Disney. Saying that "Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas," the understandably enthused Disney CEO, Bob Iger, heralded an acquisition that "combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney's unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value."

The Walt Disney Company, in a move that gives it a commanding position in the fantasy world of film, said Tuesday it had agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. from its founder, George Lucas, for $4.05 billion in stock and cash.

Clean Harbors is buying Safety-Kleen for $1.25 billion in cash as it looks to enter smaller markets and expand its waste treatment capabilities.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, the parent company of HarperCollins, is exploring a cash bid for Pearson PLC’s Penguin book division, a step that could ignite a bidding war for Penguin as the publishing industry begins to move toward consolidation.

Yahoo (YHOO) announced its first acquisition under CEO Marissa Mayer on Thursday, a New York-based mobile startup named Stamped that was founded by two former Google (GOOG) employees and received financing from celebrities including Justin Bieber.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is looking to bid for the Los Angeles Times, the paper has reported, adding Murdoch is also interested in buying its stablemate the Chicago Tribune from their parent company, the Tribune Company.

The world's leading chip gear maker ASML is buying U.S. group Cymer for 1.95 billion euros ($2.5 billion) to get control of a light-based technology crucial to making the smaller, smarter chips of the future.

Penske Media has acquired show business publication Variety. The company already owns one of Variety's fiercest competitors, the online-only trade Deadline.com. Variety has been a Hollywood must-read and a global show business symbol for more than a century, famous for its snappy lingo and its breathless coverage of entertainment industry news.

Bank of America announced on Friday that it would pay $2.43 billion to settle a class action lawsuit related to its acquisition of Merrill Lynch.