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Deals of the day- Mergers and acquisitions

(Adds IVG Immobilien, Finmeccanica, Naspers)

Jan 14 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1430 GMT on Wednesday:

** China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said it had bought a controlling stake in online marketing company AdChina, an investment aimed at bolstering its advertising business. Neither the size of the deal nor the stake was disclosed.

** China has allowed foreign investors to fully own e-commerce companies in Shanghai's free trade zone as part of a pilot scheme, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

** The chairman of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd said no decision has been made on a proposed three-way merger that would create Malaysia's biggest bank, a day after people close to the deal told Reuters the merger was nearing collapse. The merger of CIMB, RHB Capital Bhd and Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) would have formed a banking group with assets of about $190 billion.

** J Safra Sarasin and a consortium comprising Singapore's DBS Group Holdings are among banks shortlisted for the second round sale process of Coutts International, people familiar with the matter said. The sale of the private bank of Royal Bank of Scotland has attracted about 10 suitors in the initial round, and could fetch about $1 billion, Reuters previously reported.

** Sika said prominent mutual funds were backing management's efforts to thwart a 2.75 billion Swiss franc ($2.7 billion) takeover by French building materials company Saint-Gobain.

** German property company IVG Immobilien said it has called off plans to sell Frankfurt office and hotel project The Squaire in a surprise move after failing to find buyers for the $1 billion building.

** India's central bank has allowed conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd to buy Japanese telecom firm NTT DoCoMo Inc's stake in their struggling Indian venture, paving the way for the completion of the long-delayed $1.1 billion deal.

** Sona Petroleum Bhd, a Malaysian special-purpose acquisition company, said it had scrapped plans to buy a stake in two oil and gas blocks from London-listed oil exploration and production firm Salamander Energy Plc in the Gulf of Thailand for $280 million.

** Pet supply retailer PetSmart Inc said on Tuesday it was in talks to acquire or merge with a privately held rival, but ended talks over competition and antitrust concerns. PetSmart succumbed to calls from Jana Partners LLC and other large shareholders for a sale last month by agreeing to be bought by a private equity consortium led by BC Partners Ltd for $8.7 billion.

** Japanese staffing firm Recruit Holdings Co Ltd said it planned to buy Chandler Macleod Group Ltd and another Australian staffing firm for a combined sum of about A$360 million ($290 million), as it speeds its global expansion.

** Luxembourg's Griffin Real Estate is in talks to buy Polish lender PKO BP's real estate arm Qualia and a controlling stake in Poland's Echo Investment, daily Puls Biznesu quoted unidentified sources as saying. Qualia is valued at 317 million zlotys ($87.1 million) in PKO's books.

** Oil and gas producer Newfield Exploration Co said it would retain its assets in China, saying a slump in oil prices had created "headwinds" in the sale process.

** Finmeccanica, the Italian state-controlled industrial conglomerate, said talks with Japan's Hitachi and China's Insigma over the sale of its rail assets were progressing with the aim of receiving final offers rapidly.

** South African e-commerce and media firm Naspers is looking to sell its Polish operations, including Eastern Europe's largest web auction service Allegro, aiming to focus on its faster-growing markets, sources said. A source listed Poland's largest web portals Wp.pl and Onet.pl among potential bidders. ($1 = A$1.24) ($1 = 3.64 zlotys) ($1 = 1.02 Swiss francs) ($1 = 0.8514 euros) (Compiled by Rosmi Shaji in Bengaluru)