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Deals of the day- Mergers and acquisitions

Reuters

(Adds Amazon, Hess, Dolby Laboratories, Numericable; updates Chiquita Brands, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, GE Capital, BHP Billiton)

Oct 27 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Monday:

** British oil and gas explorer Salamander Energy Plc , which operates in Indonesia and Thailand, said it had received a conditional proposal from Ophir Energy Plc and that it was seeking to clarify details of the potential offer.

** Amazon.com Inc is buying online comedy service Rooftop Media, a small deal that underscores the Internet retailer's broader ambition of becoming a media and entertainment powerhouse.

** Chiquita Brands International Inc agreed on Monday to a $682 million takeover by Brazilian juice maker Grupo Cutrale and investment firm Safra Group, with the U.S.-based banana producer going private early next year at the latest.

** Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc said in a letter to Allergan Inc's board of directors that it was prepared to raise its offer to at least $200 per share but stopped short of doing so.

** GE Capital has bought a $450 million portfolio of European loans from US-based bank CIT, banking sources said on Monday. The sale was agreed last week after GE Capital became the preferred buyer in a competitive auction process, the banking sources said.

** Alternative investment management group Oaktree Capital Management L.P. has purchased Hess Corp's share of proprietary energy trader HETCO, and will inject $500 million to fund the New York-based outfit's expansion into new commodity markets.

** Dolby Laboratories on Monday received EU clearance for its acquisition of digital cinema technology group Doremi, the European Commission said.

** French cable telecoms operator Numericable won conditional approval on Monday for its multi-billion-euro takeover of Vivendi's SFR mobile network operator, paving the way for it to close the deal by the end of the year.

** Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB) may sell a minority stake in Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport (ISG) after taking full ownership of the business, expected in coming months, a senior company official told Reuters on Monday.

** Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti said it had transferred its 29.851 percent stake in power grid operator Terna to its CDP Reti unit. CDP Reti, which is fully owned by CDP, also owns 30 percent of gas grid operator Snam .

** BHP Billiton is planning to sell its Fayetteville shale gas assets in the United States, the mining and energy group said, in the latest effort to trim its portfolio in the region and focus on more profitable petroleum liquids.

** Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena is likely to have to sell assets to fill a capital hole uncovered by European regulators, with shareholders reluctant to stump up cash after a recent fundraising and would-be buyers of the bank holding back.

Italy's fifth-biggest lender UBI is not studying any possible merger with other Italian banks, the lender said after press reports fueled speculation it might come to the rescue of troubled Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

** Buyout group Advent has sold a unit of its German books-to-cosmetics retailer Douglas to rival private equity firm 3i, making headway in a revamp ahead of a planned exit from the investment.

** State-owned Lithuanian firms are seeking to buy a majority stake in the country's gas utility company Latvijas Gaze to speed up market reforms to fully benefit from new liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, the energy minister said.

** Maple Energy Plc said it expected to seal the sale of a controlling stake in its Peruvian units to Grana y Montero and Alcogroup soon, rebutting media reports the agreement had collapsed.

** Portugal's Banco BPI sees the potential for "a large increase in efficiency" from the possible acquisition of Novo Banco, which was carved out of Banco Espirito Santo after a state rescue in August, BPI chief executive said.

** Swiss-based commodity trading house Mercuria is not actively looking to divest its metals storage business Henry Bath but it is open to a partnership should a majority, or minority investor come forward, its new head of base metals said in an interview.

** German tyre and car parts maker Continental AG is looking for an acquisition in the industrial sector, possibly in Asia, and could spend up to 2 billion euros ($2.54 billion), its finance chief told a German newspaper.

** Australia's CSL Ltd, the world's largest blood products company, said it had agreed to buy Novartis AG's global influenza vaccine business for $275 million, part of the Swiss drugmaker's drive to focus on its best assets.

** Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp said it would buy 49 percent of Texas-based Kalon Biotherapeutics LLC, which has expertise in manufacturing vaccines used against pandemic influenza, Ebola and other public-health threats.

** Japan's Kurita Water Industries Ltd agreed to buy APW, the water treatment business owned by Israel-based manufacturer ICL Israel Chemical Ltd for 250 million euros ($317 million), the companies said on Sunday.

** Telecom Italia said on Saturday it would sell only part of its majority stake in Telecom Argentina SA and the rest once the regulator approved its full sale to New York-based fund Fintech, owned by Mexican billionaire David Martinez.

** German tank manufacturer Rheinmetall is close to buying steel group ThyssenKrupp's marine systems business, according to Wirtschaftswoche. (Compiled by Avik Das and Lehar Maan in Bangalore)