Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with word private. 13 news.

THE China Development Bank and the Tianjin Binhai New Area signed an agreement to set up a venture capital fund to boost high-technology start-ups in the fastest-growing economic zone in north China. The Ministry of Science and Technology Website released yesterday the joint efforts to kick off the first government-backed venture capital worth two billion yuan (US$270 million) with equal contributions from the CDB and the TBNA. Pi Qiansheng, a vice-ministerial official who heads the TBNA administration, said the government funded and operated venture capital would primarily perform as a fund of funds, an investment fund that has a strategy of holding a portfolio of other investment funds rather than investing in tangible projects. Pi said that the fund of funds will choose outstanding domestic and overseas venture capital funds, including private equity funds, to invest. The selected venture capital funds will be asked to prioritize their investment portfolio in high-technology

For dealmakers, 2007 was a year of extremes. It started with the private equity boom in full swing, and closed with the credit markets in disarray and investment banks nursing billion-dollar write-downs. Along the way, a few DealBook items really got readers talking — or more specifically, sounding off in our comment section. As 2007 closes [...]

The controlling shareholder of office furniture maker Teknion Corp. is offering to buy all of the company in a friendly deal worth $76.8 million.

United Rentals Inc. said Monday it will seek $100 million after a Delaware court ruled that private equity company Cerberus was not obligated to complete a $4 billion buyout of the equipment-rental company that it abandoned last month.

Houston-based Cooper Industries Ltd., the maker of Halo brand lighting, said it bought three privately held companies for about $100 million as part of its effort to expand into higher-growth markets.

United Rentals said on Monday that it will not appeal a Delaware judge’s ruling Friday that Cerberus Capital Management cannot be forced to complete its $4 billion buyout of the rental equipment operator. United Rentals said that it will terminate the deal and ask the private equity firm to pay the $100 million breakup fee stipulated [...]

Is News Corp. becoming a publishing centric media conglomerate? That appears to be a pattern emerging following Saturday's announcement that the company would divest of eight U.S. television stations to private equity firm Oak Hill Partners for about $1.1 billion. The divestiture, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2008, follows News Corp.'s deal to acquire print and online publisher Dow Jones and Co. for $5 billion, and moves to liquidate other TV assets, including stakes in DirecTV and Gemstar TV Guide.

United Rentals Inc. wants $100 million after a Delaware court ruled that private equity company Cerberus was not obligated to complete a $4 billion buyout that it abandoned last month.

With all manner of electronics being gift wrapped this season, responsible givers might already be wondering what to do with surplus computers, television sets and other gizmos that can harm the environment - and violate privacy - if not disposed of properly....

New CEO Zell urges entrepreneurial vigor as firm sheds Wall Street control. ESOP structure may aid performance. After nearly a quarter of a century as a publicly traded corporation, Times parent Tribune Co. reverted to private ownership last week, making a bet that having Wall Street shareholders is more a burden than a boon to a struggling company in a mature industry.

The U.S. government disregarded numerous warnings over the past two years about the risks of using Blackwater Worldwide and other private security firms in Iraq, expanding their presence even after a series of shooting incidents showed that the firms were operating with little regulation or...

The UK will next year award contracts for its first 'super-prison', which is to open in 2012, a move underscoring the PM's commitment to the private finance initiative

Grandparents, flush with cash earned in the property boom, are helping with their grandchildren's school fees that have risen sharply amid the rise in teachers' pay