Acquire

W.R. Grace said Thursday that it will acquire the assets of Chinese manufacturer Noblestar Catalysts Co. Ltd. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Noblestar, based in Qingdao, makes fluid catalytic cracking catalysts and other related products, which are used in the petroleum refining industry. As part of the agreement, Grace established a new, wholly foreign-owned enterprise in China. Grace officials said the acquisition would help the Columbia company better serve its refining customers in China and northern Asia.

• On a Notre Dame men's lacrosse team where everyone contributes, Clarksville's Jim Marlatt has grabbed the spotlight. The River Hill grad had a career-high five-point day in the NCAA first-round win over Yale. But it's depth that has been the key: 19 different players have hit the back of the net for the Irish, who play Virginia on Sunday in the NCAA quarterfinals. "We're just looking for the opening guy and whoever that guys is at the end of the play is going to get the goal," said Marlatt, a 2012 Big East Conference first-team honoree.

The Orioles have acquired left-handed minor-league reliever Mike Belfiore from the Diamondbacks as the player to be named later in the Josh Bell trade, the club announced Saturday. The 23-year-old was 0-0 with a 2.37 ERA with 28 strikeouts and just five walks in 19 innings this season with Arizona's high Class-A team in Visalia, Calif. This is the first season in Belfiore's four minor leagie seasons that he's pitching exclusively out of the bullpen. In four minor-league seasons, Belfiore is 9-16 with a 4.05 ERA and 267 strikeouts in 282 2/3 innings Bell, once seen as the Orioles' third baseman of the future, was acquired in July 2009 along with minor league pitcher Steve Johnson in the deadline deal that sent closer George Sherrill to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Major League Lacrosse Bayhawks acquire Dailey from Cannons The Chesapake Bayhawks acquired former Stevenson and Winters Mill star Jimmy Dailey from the Boston Cannons on Wednesday in exchange for a 2013 fifth-round supplemental draft pick. In other moves, the Bayhawks released attackman Trevor Moore , a 10th-round supplemental draft pick out of Robert Morris last year, and traded goalie Johnny Rodriguez (Salisbury) to the Ohio Machine for a 2013 supplemental pick.

Big news today in the world of social media: Facebook plans to acquire Instagram for a whopping $1 billion in cash and shares. CEO Mark Zuckerberg broke the news himself , and wrote that Instagram will stay alive as an independent product. This is incredible news for Instagram, one of the most popular iPhone apps out there, which only just recently introduced an Android version. AllThingsD has a helpful breakdown of what an Instagram/Facebook union means , and how important the world of photo sharing is to Facebook.

First Mariner Bank, the Baltimore-based institution that is under regulatory oversight, has acquired 1.8 million shares in Cecil Bancorp Inc., according to documents filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The purchase represents a nearly 25 percent stake in Elkton-based Cecil Bancorp, the parent of Cecil Bank.

Maybe there's more to the Brandon Marshall trade than meets the eye. On Tuesday, just before the free agency frenzy began in the NFL, the Chicago Bears were able to obtain the three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver for what seemed like a bargain price of two third-round draft picks. Maybe here's the reason why the cost was so low: Marshall is accused of punching a woman in the face at a New York City nightclub on Sunday morning, according to a New York Post story . Given his long list of off-field troubles and $9.5 million salary, the Dolphins look like they took whatever they could get for Marshall.

SECU, Maryland's largest state-chartered credit union, announced Tuesday that it will acquire Anne Arundel County Employees Federal Credit Union. The proposed merger — with SECU as the surviving entity — would expand banking services and access to AACE FCU, which has 14,000 members and $81 million in assets, the financial cooperatives said. The Anne Arundel County employees credit union joins the larger entity, which has over 225,000 members and $2.26 billion in assets.

Baltimore-based Yerman Witman Gaines & Conklin Realty said Friday that it has been acquired by a Pennsylvania residential real estate company for an undisclosed amount. The merger brings together Prudential Homesale Services Group's 950 real estate agents in 21 Pennsylvania locations with YWGC's 190 agents in five offices. The new company will be called Prudential Homesale YWGC Realty and will have dual headquarters in Lancaster and Baltimore. Prudential Homesale saw the acquisition as a way to break into the Maryland market, while YWGC expects "significantly more exposure" for its listings, company officials said in statements.

North Baltimore is losing the grocery store that replaced a Superfresh only seven months ago. The Fresh & Green's supermarket on 41 s t Street in the Hampden neighborhood will be acquired by Giant Foods. Giant will close its store in the nearby Rotunda shopping center and move to the 41 s t St. site, Giant announced Friday. The Fresh & Green's store on Harford Road in Parkville will also be acquired by Giant, the company said in a news release. Giant will acquire both Fresh & Green's stores from Mrs. Green's Management Corp.