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By unlocking the once-obscure medical marijuana market, Canada has created a fast-growing, profitable and federally regulated industry with a distinct appeal to the more daring global investor. About a dozen producers of the drug will find themselves in the spotlight this year as they consider going public or prepare to so through share sales or reverse takeovers to capitalize on recent regulatory changes, investment bankers said. The Canadian companies are in a race to raise money to build facilities, attract patients and grab shares in a market projected to grow to C$1.3 billion ($1.20 billion) in the next 10 years. Despite facing considerable risks, they have the advantage of being in one of the few countries where medical marijuana is legal nationwide and where licensed operators can mass-produce it. In the United States, the drug remains illegal at the federal level. Some 20 U.S. states have legalized medical marijuana, but investors worry about the prospect, however remote,

Global private equity firm Bain Capital Partners LLC is suing EY in a United States court, claiming that the auditing firm cost it roughly $60 million by advising it to invest in Lilliput Kidswear, a children's clothing company in India. Bain alleges that it invested around $60 million in Lilliput in May 2010 for a non-controlling 30.99 percent stake, based on false financial statements that EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, had audited and certified, according to a copy of the lawsuit seen by Reuters. Bain and 10 other subsidiaries of the global private equity firm have sued Ernst & Young Global Limited and Ernst & Young LLP in a Massachusetts court, claiming that the investment is now "rendered worthless", according to the suit. An external spokeswoman for Bain declined to comment on the lawsuit. "These allegations of wrongdoing are baseless and EY will vigorously defend this matter," EY said in a statement. Bain invested in Lilliput i

A consortium led by global private equity firm TPG Capital Management LP has agreed to buy the property arm of Australian engineering services company UGL Ltd for A$1.215 billion ($1.14 billion), a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday. _0"> UGL put the unit DTZ on sale to cut debt as its main engineering services division faces declining revenues due to a slowdown in the Australian mining sector. TPG's consortium partners include Hong Kong private equity firm PAG and Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, the source added. A deal is expected to be signed as early as Friday, the source said, declining to identified as the decision is not public yet. UGL was not available for immediate comment, while TPG declined to comment. PAG and OTPP could not be immediately reached for comment. ($1 = 1.0620 Australian Dollars) (Reporting by Stephen Aldred ; Additional reporting by Byron Kaye in SYDNEY; Editing by Denny Thomas and Ryan Woo

Two of Merlin Entertainments' private equity backers sold 100 million shares in the British theme park owner for 366 million pounds ($615 million) on Friday, according to Deutsche Bank, one of the banks handling the sale. _0"> Plans to place the shares by CVC Capital Partners Ltd and Blackstone Group LP via Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley were announced after Thursday's close. Merlin is the world's second-biggest operator of visitor attractions behind Walt Disney with brands such as Madam Tussauds and Legoland and counted Blackstone and CVC as its biggest shareholders after Kirkbi A/S, according to Thomson Reuters data. ($1 = 0.5956 British Pounds) (Reporting by Steve Slater ; Editing by Pamela Barbaglia)

A TPG Capital Management-led consortium has agreed to buy the property arm of Australian engineering services firm UGL Ltd for A$1.215 billion ($1.14 billion), a source told Reuters on Friday. UGL put the unit DTZ, a real estate services company, for sale to cut debt as its main engineering services division faces declining revenues due to a slowdown in the Australian mining sector. A deal is expected to be signed as early as Friday, bringing to a close a year-long sale process that has attracted interest from a number of private equity bidders including U.S. buyout firm Warburg Pincus. The sale also underscores the return of strong buyouts market in Asia, spurred by easy credit markets and capital flowing into the region's private equity firms. As a result, private equity-backed M&As have got off to their best-ever start, with $26.7 billion in deals announced so far this year. That is 21.6 percent more than the whole of 2013, according to Thomson Reuters data. Private eq

The Indian stock market is the topper in Asia on price performance in dollar terms this year, while Japan and China trail the region with negative returns. _0"> Indian stocks have surged over the last few weeks on optimism that the newly formed BJP government under Narendra Modi would revive the country's economy. Track their performance through the following charts: Asian markets performance: ( link.reuters.com/ryx99v ) Asian markets valuations: ( link.reuters.com/qyx99v ) Asian markets-Analyst Revision scores - ( link.reuters.com/syx99v ) For related news: India's economic outlook turns encouraging for new government India's economy looks to Modi for growth rebound (Compiled By Patturaja Murugaboopathy)

The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday: ** Spain will sell up to 49 percent of heavily indebted AENA, the world's biggest airports operator valued at around 16 billion euros ($22 billion), Public Works Minister Ana Pastor said on Friday. ** Germany's Siemens and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are putting the finishing touches on a joint offer for Alstom's turbine businesses that includes a cash element of roughly 9 billion euros ($12.25 billion), sources close to the bidders said. As part of the deal, Mitsubishi and the French government would take equal stakes in Alstom, union representative said after a meeting with Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg. The offer would counter an existing $17 billion offer from General Electric. ** Travel website operator Priceline Group Inc said it would buy OpenTable Inc for $2.6 billion in cash as it looks to add restaurant bookings to its services. ** The board of I