Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) announced it will acquire European Goldfields (PINK:EGFDF) for roughly $2.5 billion Canadian. The deal enhances Eldorado’s project pipeline and creates a “premier high growth, low cost intermediate gold producer” with a market cap of $11 billion Canadian

Potash Corp. (NYSE:POT) which is from Canada has asked for approval from the Israeli government to raise its stake in rival Israel Chemicals (PINK:ISCHF) to 25% from 13.9%, reports say. Buying the extra 11.1% could cost Potash around 5.23 billion shekels ($1.38 billion). Market players reckon the move could be a prelude to taking full control of ICL.

Don’t Miss: Potash Makes Big Strategic Move.

Bank of Ireland (NYSE:IRE) agrees to sell U.K.-based lender Burdale to Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) for around 690 million euros, bringing Bank of Ireland closer to its target of selling 10 billion euros in assets under a European Union – International Monetary Fund bailout. The latest deal takes BOI to 8.6 billion euros.

VistaPrint (NASDAQ:VPRT) is acquiring Webs, a provider of tools allowing small businesses to build websites, Facebook pages, and “mobile presence solutions,” for $117.5 million in cash and restricted stock. Webs’ solutions complement VistaPrint’s branded product for small businesses.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) is expanding its presence in the Pacific Northwest, acquiring 650 finished homesites from Seattle-based builder Premier Communities. Lennar is also announcing plans to build new homes in the Portland area. The news comes a month after Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) acquired a builder of Seattle-area luxury homes.

Belden (NYSE:BDC), a networking cable maker trades lower after stating it will make a $22 Canadian/share offer for RuggedCom, a Canadian maker of industrial-grade networking gear. RuggedCom says it has formed a special committee to evaluate Belden’s proposal. Its shares are currently trading at $22.66 Canadian on the Toronto exchange (up 66.5%), which suggests investors expect a higher bid.

Don’t Miss: Basel Seeks Tighter Rules Regarding Banks’ Disclosure of Capital Positions.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) buys Israel’s Anobit, a maker of flash storage technology, for $500 million, and it also plans to open an R&D center in Israel; Apple’s first outside the U.S.

RBS (NYSE:RBS) makes further progress in its aim of withdrawing from riskier property loans, forging a deal to sell a 1.36 billion pounds ($2.1B) portfolio, Reuters reports. The loans will be put into a fund in which RBS will hold 75% and the remainder held by Blackstone. Blackstone will manage the fund and RBS will sell down its stake by 2013.

Don’t Miss:Google Teams Up with SunTap to Tap Into Solar Energy.

Deutsche Boerse’s (DBOEY.PK) attempt at acquiring NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) will be decided upon by the European Commission by early February, says Commissioner Joaquin Almunia. The European Union is examining a “new set of remedies,” Almunia says, without providing specifics, although they probably include the sale of NYSE’s Liffe unit.

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) is selling 17 over-the-counter drug brand. The brands include a number of pain relief and sleep aid products, and are being sold to Prestige Brands (NYSE:PBH) for $660 million in cash. Prestige, which beat out a large number of P-E firms to acquire the brands, says it will finance its purchases by issuing new debt. The transactions are expected to close in the first half of 2012.

AT&T’s (NYSE:T) deal collapsed and it was aided by a Stifel Nicolaus report raising the possibility that Dish (NASDAQ:DISH) “could very well be the next target for AT&T….we believe Charlie Ergen realizes he is unlikely to ever get a better offer than from a moderately-desperate AT&T that needs spectrum and needs it quickly.”

Verizon (NYSE:VZ) gives back some of today’s gains after Bloomberg reports the U.S. government will be examining its spectrum purchase/reseller deals with cable providers. Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) have also gone down, though slightly.

Don’t Miss:Will AT&T Really Bid for Dish Network?

HSBC (NYSE:HBC) is pulling out of private banking in Japan as it streamlines operations, and is selling the unit to Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS). The amount is undisclosed. The value of the gross assets included in the sale was around $2.7 billion as of the end of October.

Investing Insights: Expedia and TripAdvisor Split as Reviews Site Goes Public.

Delphi Financial Group (NYSE:DFG) to be acquired by Tokio Marine Holdings (TKOMY.PK) for $43.875 per Class A share and $52.875 per Class B share in cash, or a total of $2.7 billion including a special dividend. The deal is part of a larger trend of Japanese firms. Firms are capitalizing on the strong yen to go shopping abroad, hoping to offset weak growth at home.

Medco’s (NYSE:MHS) shareholders officially approved the proposed $29 billion merger with Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX) edging the firms closer to a marriage in an increasingly tough antitrust situation.

Don’t Miss: Philips CEO: LED Sector has More Pain on the Horizon.

Yanzhou Coal (NYSE:YZC) was expected to make a takeover bid of at least $2 billion today and as a result trading in Australia’s Gloucester Coal was suspended. Sources say an announcement could come today or early tomorrow. Reuters reports that the board of Yanzhou Coal approved the proposed merger with Gloucester

Citi’s (NYSE:C) break-up sale of EMI to Universal Music (VIVHY.PK) and Sony (NYSE:SNE) is being reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission. Sources are saying the Federal Trade Commission has to play point because the Justice Department was too busy cracking apart the AT&T/T-Mobile deal.

Don’t Miss: FTC: We are Leading the Review of Citi’s Sale of EMI.

International Consolidated Airlines Group (BABWF.PK), or IAG, beats out Virgin Atlantic. The two have been in the fight for Lufthansa’s (DLAKY.PK) airline British Midland. IAG will pay 172.5 million pounds ($271 million) in cash for the money-losing airline to help secure its growth at London’s Heathrow airport.

NYSE (NYSE:NYX) and Deutsche Boerse (DBOEY.PK) may have to directly lobby European Commissioners in order to obtain approval for their merger after being unable to assuage the concerns of European Union antitrust officials about the deal’s effects on the derivatives market, Reuters reports.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) rejects Martin Marietta’s (NYSE:MLM) unsolicited offer to acquire the company at an exchange ratio of 0.50 shares of MLM for each VMC common share.

Williams Partners (NYSE:WPZ) agrees to acquire natural gas gathering systems in the Marcellus shale. The systems will be obtained from Delphi Midstream Partners for around $750 million. The Laser Northeast Gathering System includes 33 miles of 16-inch natural gas pipeline in Susquehanna County, Pa.

Investing Insights: First Solar Rumored to Attract Big Name Buyers.

Get Your FREE Special Report: 4 Things You Must Know About the US Economy Now!