DealZone M&A Briefing: Blackstone’s China drive

Blackstone Group plans to buy 20 to 40 percent stake in chemical maker China National BlueStar (Group) Corp for up to $500 million, according to a source close the to deal. A Chinese state investment agency owns a $3 billion stake of Blackstone. The source said that the deal could be closed within days.
 
** The future of the U.S. private equity market, at least through the rest of the year, appears to rest in the hands of the investors, bankers and executives handling KKR’s $26 billion leveraged buyout of First Data Corp, as lenders on the deal try to offload the deal’s debt load.
   
** Taking a stand-back look at the global M&A boom the Wall Street Journal reports the greatest deal frenzy in history, is winding down.
   
** U.S. Legislators published an analysis of the private-equity and hedge-fund industries on Tuesday, in advance of hearings this week to weigh possible tax increases. The Deal Journal breaks down the numbers.
 
** Siemens said its Belfast Merger unit had extended its cash tender offer for Dade Behring Holdings Inc by three weeks as it waits for regulatory approval. By the end of the original deadline of Sept. 5, the company said it had received acceptances for the bid from 48.82 percent of Dade shares.
 
** Australian healthcare firm Healthscope said it had rejected a proposal from Primary Health Care for some of the assets of Symbion Health. Healthscope’s A$2.9 billion ($2.4 billion) offer for Symbion has the support of Symbion’s board.
   
** Pallinghurst Resources Australia upped its offer for Australian manganese miner Consolidated Minerals to A$4.10 per share, trumping a bid by Ukraine’s Palmary Enterprises Ltd. The deal would be worth around A$937 million ($768 million).
   
** Canada’s main securities regulator ruled in favor of Yamana Gold’s challenge to Meridian Gold’s shareholder rights plan, extending Yamana’s hostile takeover bid by four days. Regulators said the company’s poison pill will now expire at 9 a.m. (1300 GMT) on Sept. 11, provided Yamana’s cash and stock offer is extended to 8 a.m. (1200 GMT) on Sept. 11. The bid is worth about C$2.8 billion ($2.7 billion), or C$27.51 a share.