Lenders to Endemol look set to take over the Dutch TV show producer in a debt-for-equity swap, rejecting Time Warner‘s new 1 billion euro ($1.3 billion) bid, writes Reuters. Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset, Goldman Sach’s Capital Partners and Cyrte Investments agreed to buy Endemol in 2007 for 2.6 billion euros. Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, [...]

Landon Stone has joined CAIS as chief operating officer and general counsel. Stone was previously a director in Merrill Lynch’s alternative investment origination and product management group. New York-based CAIS is a financial technology company that provides an investment platform for the wealth management industry.

Selling: British defense contractor BAE Systems is dealing its platform solutions division, possibly to PE firm Warburg Pincus

Buying: And, the Atheros-Qualcomm deal

Growing: At CES, they’re talking about another year of double-digit growth for consumer electronics sales

Trading: Overseas, stocks did not impress, the Euro weakened and U.S. futures are headed lower

Going public: Oh, thaaat’s why the 2011 IPO projections look so good… Payoff: Many folks wised up and stopped buying Merrill Lynch’s mortgage-backed securities—except for those who were paid to keep buying Payback: the Treasury Dept. scoops up $2.7B from TARP recipients   They’ve got game: gaming companies found plenty of eager investors this year [...]

BP Stock is now a buy: Shares of BP, now subject to takeover and bankruptcy rumors, are up. And only a few companies, Shell, Exxon Mobil or Chevron, could take it on. So it’s a buy now.

Who wants Wendy’s: Shares of the fast food chain pop Friday on rumors that it could be taken over.

Sophisticated Investors not so smart: Investors of Merrill Lynch-issued CDOs claims they were bright enough to read the fine print.

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Wilson Feng, a former senior banker for Merrill Lynch, has been picked to run China’s newly established $1.46 billion nuclear investment fund, two sources briefed on Feng’s new job said on Monday. In April, state-owned Guangdong Nuclear Power Group announced the establishment of the 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) China Nuclear [...]

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. has named Victor Nesi as director of investment banking and co-director of capital markets. He was previously with Merrill Lynch, as head of the firm’s global private equity practice for the telecommunications and media industry.

Jim Lilly has joined Cowen Group Inc. as a managing director, with responsibility for leading the firm’s healthcare services I-banking practice. He previously was a managing director in Merrill Lynch’s global healthcare group.

Bank of America has decided to discontinue the fund placement business it acquired via the Merrill Lynch merger. A source familiar with the situation tells me that the Merrill team is currently helping to raise between 15 and 20 funds, and will continue full-service through at least the beginning of Q4 (and probably through year-end). It will not take on any new clients, but will work to transition existing ones to other placement agents if needed.

The group employs more than 30 professionals, including head of origination Loren Boston (who previously ran Citi’s placement biz). No word yet on if there will be some sort of independent spinout, or if most folks will go their separate ways.

Bank of America’s decision effectively ends Wall Street’s oldest and most fertile fund placement business. The unit began back in 1981, and its veterans have spawned similar groups at banks like Credit Suisse/DLJ and Lazard.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) has hired William Rifkin, former chairman of global mergers and acquisitions at Merrill Lynch, as vice chairman of M&A, the bank said on Thursday. Rifkin will start work at JPMorgan in September reporting to Jimmy Elliott, global head of mergers and acquisitions, the bank said in [...]