Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) wants to buy a 53% stake in Archstone from Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Barclays (NYSE:BCS) reports the WSJ reports. The proposal puts Equity ahead of AvalonBay (NYSE:AVB), Blackstone (NYSE:BX)and Brookfield (NYSE:BAM), and highlights the increased interest in rental apartments as home ownership falls. The offer was over $2.5B.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) says its acquired more than 90% of Macarthur Coal (NYSE:MACDF.PK). This is trigger that allows the company to force remaining shareholders to sell and increases the offering price to $16.52/share from $16.27/share.

Jaguar Mining (NYSE:JAG) was offered $785M to sell to Shandong Gold, parent of China’s second-largest gold producer by market value. Shandong is said to have a 73% premium to JAG’s Tuesday closing price of $5.39.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) 50% stake in the Seaway Crude Pipeline Company is up for sale for $1.15B. The company which transports oil between Texas and Oklahoma, will be purchased in part by Enbridge (NYSE:ENB), which will bring total proceeds from its 2010-2012 divestiture program up to $10.5B to COP.

Fluor (NYSE:FLR) is rumored to have given McDermott International (NYSE:MDR) a $16.50/share offer – a bid that marks a 41% premium to slumping MDR’s current share price.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) strengthens its lead in the race to buy Morgan Keegan, with a book value of $1.5B. SF is entering into an exclusive negotiation with parent company Regions Financial (NYSE:RF), Bloomberg reports. The latest talks for the brokerage come after Regions dropped discussions with two P-E consortia.

AMAG Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMAG) is exploring a potential sale of the company. They hired Jefferies as a strategic advisor to “explore all opportunities to enhance stockholder value.

Don’t Miss: Angie’s List to Bask in Groupon’s Glow.

ACCO Brands (NYSE:ABD), in a transaction valued at ~$860M will merge with MeadWestvaco’s (NYSE:MWV) consumer and office products. MWV shareholders will own 50.5% of the combined company. ACCO says the combination will increase its annual revenues by more than 50%.

Valpey – Fisher (NASDAQ:VPF) has struck a deal with CTS to sell out. Currently VPF sits at $4.15/share, while CTS closed yesterday at $2.55/share.

ModusLink Global Solutions (NASDAQ:MLNK) is up after it says it is exploring strategic alternatives aimed at enhancing stockholder value. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) will undertake a comprehensive review of viable alternatives, including a possible sale of certain assets.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) will sell its Physio-Control unit to Bain Capital for $487M in cash. Without specifying exactly how, Medtronic says it expects to use some of the proceeds to offset any dilutive EPS impact from the deal. The Physio-Control unit provides emergency medical response equipment.

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