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Done Deals

• Wellcome Trust has taken a 2.5 per cent stake in Marks and Spencer worth an estimated £100 million. Shares fell after the announcement, prompting speculation that a potential bidder is looking at the beleaguered retailer.

• Estonian infotechnology company MicroLink has bought 82.9 per cent stock of IT Koolituskeskus in a deal worth 22 million kroons (£975,000)

• International education and information company Pearson has acquired an additional 22 per cent stake in Nigerian education publisher Longman Nigeria, which takes its ownership to a controlling 51 per cent

• The Riverside Company has completed its 19th acquisition of 2008, with the buying of queue products company Tensator Group for an undisclosed sum

• Catapult Venture Managers has completed a £600,000 investment as part of a £1.25 million funding round in Coventry-based DigePrint

• Quinlan Private, a private equity property investment group, has announced that the Sultanate of Oman has bought half of Quinlan-owned Jurys Inns hotels for an estimated €200 million (£157 million)

• Cardiff-based estate agency Thomas H Wood has acquired rival firm Michael Traynor Estate Agents for an undisclosed sum

• Ardeshir Naghshineh, an Iranian property tycoon, has raised his stake in troubled retailer Woolworths to 10.2 per cent, sparking rumours that he will mount a bid for the business

In the pipeline

• Energy company E.ON has agreed to acquire MVV Energie’s Polish operations that focus on heat production, distribution and energy consulting for an undisclosed sum

• Flying Brands, a British mail order company, has received a “very preliminary” takeover approach from West Coast Capital

• Acambis, a vaccines company is currently being advised on a £276 million recommended cash offer by Sanofi Pasteur Holding

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