1. A Chinese consortium is paying $4.3 billion for 80.1 percent of American International Group’s (AIG) plane-leasing unit in a bid to profit from growing air travel in Asia. The acquisition will be China’s biggest ever in the U.S.

2. Oklahoma-based Williams (WMB) will purchase a $2.4 billion stake in Access Midstream Partners (ACMP), a tax-free shale pipeline partnership.

3. Switzerland’s Barry Callebaut (BARN), the No. 1 maker of bulk chocolate, is acquiring the cocoa ingredients unit of Singapore’s Petra Foods (PETRA) for $950 million.

4. An investor group led by private equity firm Siris Capital will pay $862 million for Reston (Va.)-based TNS, a provider of data communications for retailers, banks, and telecom companies.

5. Southeast Asia’s top lender, DBS Group Holdings, offered $850 million for a 30 percent stake in Singapore’s Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3, where the company is headquartered.

6. Gilead Sciences (GILD), the world’s No. 1 maker of AIDS drugs, will acquire YM BioSciences (YMI) for $510 million to obtain the Canadian company’s research into treatments for bone marrow cancer.

7. Delta Air Lines (DAL) is buying a 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways for $360 million to boost its share of the lucrative trans-Atlantic market.

8. John Malone’s Liberty Interactive paid $300 million for 4.8 million shares of TripAdvisor (TRIP), gaining voting control of the online travel review company that was spun out from Expedia (EXPE) last year.

9. A rectangular-cut 50-carat diamond ring by Graff sold for $8.4 million at Christie’s New York Magnificent Jewels auction.

10. On opening day of Art Basel Miami Beach, billionaire Eli Broad snapped up a 1988 Jeff Koons sculpture of Buster Keaton on a horse. The asking price was from $5 million to $5.5 million.

Photographs by Christie's Images Ltd. 2012 (diamond); Alamy (planes); Dinodia Photos/Getty Images (cocoa bean); Marco Secchi/Getty Images (Koons)