Business news for Mon, 31 Dec 2007 & with words provider+sale. 2 news.

Merrill Lynch's sale of two life-insurance units to Dutch insurance and investment-products provider Aegon has closed, with the $1.25 billion pricetag being $50 million less than the two parties agreed to in August.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Magic Software Enterprises Ltd., the Or Yehuda, Israel, provider of business-integration and application-development technology, sold its Advanced Answers on Demand subsidiary to Fortissimo Capital for $17 million. Fortissimo is the Rosh ha'Ayin, Israel, investment firm. Magic expects to post a more than $9 million gain on the sale of AAOD, which develops software for application in long-term health care, including retirement facilities as well as home-health and rehabilitation agencies. As part of the deal, Magic has licensed to AAOD the right to continue to sell its product portfolio for three years.