Deals of the day- Mergers and acquisitions

(Adds Spirit Pub, Farrow & Ball, Telecom Italia, Cenovus and Unicredit)

Oct 23 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday:

** Britain's Spirit Pub Co Plc said it had rejected a takeover proposal from Irish cider maker C&C Group Plc. Spirit Pub, which is engaged in takeover talks with brewer and pub owner Greene King Plc, said C&C, the maker of Magners and Bulmers, had until Nov. 20 to announce a firm offer.

** American buyout firms Carlyle Group LP and Bain Capital are among a group of four private equity funds preparing second-round bids for British luxury paintmaker Farrow & Ball, sources familiar with the situation said. Gulf Investment firm Investcorp and Ares Private Equity are the others bidders for Farrow & Ball, which could be valued at about 250 million pounds ($401 million), the sources said.

** Telecom Italia SpA is in advanced talks to sell the mobile phone towers of its Brazilian unit TIM Participacoes (TIM Brasil) and could agree a deal in weeks, three people with direct knowledge of the situation said. Telecom Italia is aiming to raise 900 million euros ($1.1 billion) from the sale, but bids have come in at between 500 million and 600 million euros, the sources said.

** Cenovus Energy Inc, Canada's No. 2 independent oil producer, said it is mulling the future of its royalty-generating freehold oil and gas properties in Western Canada after competitor Encana Corp raised billions through the sale of similar properties. It expects to announce its plans for the properties in the next three months.

** Unicredit is talking with a consortium comprising Fortress Investment Group and Italy's Prelios on the sale of its bad loan unit Unicredit Credit Management Bank (UCCMB) and could soon enter exclusive talks. The sale could yield Italy's biggest bank by assets more than 600 million euros ($758.5 million).

** A consortium of buyout firms Advent International Corp and Avista Capital Partners is in advanced talks to acquire UCB SA's U.S. generic drugs unit Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals Inc, according to people familiar with the matter.

** Russia's top crude oil producer Rosneft is ready to continue investing into Italy as attractive opportunities become available, CEO Igor Sechin said at a conference in Verona.

** Money manager Old Mutual Global Investors (OMGI) said it would merge its Old Mutual Property Fund into Henderson Global Investors' Henderson UK Property OEIC, forming a 2.7 billion pound ($4.32 billion) fund.

** Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd plans to acquire the remaining 40 percent stake in Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen airport and the firm that operates services within the airport, MAHB said in a statement.

** Germany's Metro AG said it was satisfied being the owner of department store chain Kaufhof after a report that the owner of rival chain Karstadt wanted to make an offer.

** Juice maker Grupo Cutrale and investment firm Safra Group raised a definitive offer to acquire Chiquita Brands International Inc, in a new attempt to scuttle the U.S.-based company's plans to combine with Irish rival Fyffes Plc.

** U.S. weapons maker Raytheon Co said it was acquiring a privately held company in its core defense business for about $400 million, and the deal should close next month after completing regulatory reviews.

** Deutsche Telekom has started looking for an alternative buyer for T-Mobile US after France's Iliad abandoned its efforts to buy the business earlier this month, Germanys' Monthly Manager Magazin said.

** Health insurer Humana Inc is exploring a sale of its urgent care subsidiary Concentra in a deal that could value it at around $1 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.

** German utility E.ON and gas firm VNG AG have sold their jointly owned regional gas grid EVG Thueringen to First State Investments, the asset management arm of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), E.ON said.

** Lloyds Banking Group's aborted attempt to sell hundreds of branches to the Co-operative Bank was not influenced by politicians, a committee of lawmakers said on Wednesday.

** The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) has decided to resume selling stakes in major local companies to the public, planning to offer its stake in Kuwait Investment Co in the first half of 2015, state news agency KUNA reported. ($1 = 0.6238 British pound) ($1 = 0.7910 euro) (Compiled by Anannya Pramanick and Amrutha Penumudi in Bangalore)