What Microsoft paid to buy LinkedIn, an ailing professional-networking and job-hunting site.

In its biggest acquisition in more than a decade, Symantec, a giant provider of anti-virus and other security software, will purchase Blue Coat Systems, which specializes in scanning network traffic for threats. As part of the deal, Greg Clark, Blue Coat's chief executive will take the top job at Symantec - a position vacant since April.

Bid that chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG is considering for Monsanto. If this does go through, the combined company would become the largest supplier of farm chemicals and seeds.The bid was made amid the backdrop of a slump in agricultural commodities that is spurring consolidation. Monsanto had earlier failed to buy Syngenta.

The takeover bid by America's second largest ATM maker Diebold for German rival Wincor Nixdorf has received approval from the latter's shareholders. The deal will creat a new market leader - 35% market share - ahead of NCR, another American firm with market share of 25%.

Alaska Air agreed to buy Virgin America, a tiny but (by its customers) beloved budget airline. Alaska will overtake JetBlue, which was also bidding for Virgin, as the 5th largest American carrier; it will expand its footprint n hubs including San Fransisco and Los Angeles.

What Verizon (which owns AOL, which owns TechCrunch) will pay to acquire Yahoo’s core business in cash, which includes Yahoo’s advertising, content, search and mobile activities.

Verizon's second big acquisition in a short period of time - t’s buying Fleetmatics, a telematics company based out of Dublin, Ireland, to build out the products that it offers to enterprises in the areas of logistics and workforces that are on the move. The deal will make Fleetmatics a part of Verizon Telematics, a subsidiary of the telco that focuses on fleet management, mobile workforce solutions and IoT.