(Adds Shandong Tyan, Rolls-Royce, Advent International, Abu Dhabi National
Energy, Telecom Italia, Grupo Bimbo and BlackRock; updates PPG and Lufthansa)
April 19 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals
were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday:
** A group backed by private equity firm KKR & Co said it had made a
revised A$6.15 billion ($4.65 billion) offer for Australia's biggest lottery
operator Tatts Group Ltd, upping the ante in a bidding war against
Tabcorp Holdings Ltd.
** Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S.-based oil company, sold its
Canadian gasoline stations and refinery in British Columbia to Parkland Fuel
Corp, a marketer of petroleum products, for C$1.46 billion ($1.09
billion).
** Ant Financial, the payment affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
, has acquired Singapore-based payment service helloPay Group, as part
of the Chinese firm's drive to boost its Alipay brand and presence in Southeast
Asia.
** A Japanese government-backed fund and policy bank are considering a joint
bid with Broadcom Ltd for Toshiba Corp's semiconductor
business, a move that would vault the U.S. chipmaker into the lead to buy the
prized unit, the Asahi newspaper said.
** Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) has entered into exclusive talks with
Hong Kong insurer FWD Group to sell its life insurance arm, which could raise $3
billion for Thailand's third-biggest lender, people with direct knowledge of the
matter said.
** Canadian grocery and pharmacy retailer Loblaw Cos Ltd said it
would sell its gas station business to asset manager Brookfield Business
Partners LP for about C$540 million ($402.17 million).
** The Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) plans to take
at least a 10 percent stake in Turkey's state-run stock exchange as the
multilateral lender ramps up activities in the country, a senior official of the
bank told Reuters.
** Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries dismissed proposals put forward
by Dutch paintmaker Akzo Nobel to fend off its takeover bid and won
support from activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors.
** British materials testing company Exova Group said UK-based
Element Materials Technology would buy it in a deal valued at 620.3 million
pounds ($795.3 million).
** Dutch eyeglass store operator Grandvision said it will acquire
Tesco's chain of more than 200 opticians.
** Lufthansa is in talks with Iran Air to provide catering,
maintenance and pilot training as it seeks to take advantage of emerging
business opportunities in the country, executives at the German airline group
said.
** China Development Bank is considering providing financing for a Chinese
consortium seeking to buy a stake in Russia's largest gold producer Polyus
, two sources familiar with discussions about the potential deal told
Reuters.
** German automotive supplier Continental AG and a unit of China
Unicom have agreed to set up a joint venture in China to offer
intelligent transport systems, such as vehicle data services and connected
vehicle software.
** Centurion Midstream Group LLC said it acquired a petroleum marketing and
transportation business that operates in West Texas from Agave Energy Holdings,
a subsidiary of Lucid Energy Group.
** India's online grocery delivery service BigBasket and smaller rival
Grofers India Pvt Ltd have begun talks on a possible merger, Indian newspaper
Mint reported, citing sources.
** Sweden's SCA has rejected a recent bid for its hygiene arm and
an offer last year for its forestry business, Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter
reported, citing sources.
** Top shareholder Invesco Perpetual has trimmed its stake in technology
incubator Allied Minds for the second time in as many weeks, according
to regulatory filings.
** An Italian regulator ordered French media group Vivendi on
Tuesday to cut its stake in either Telecom Italia or broadcaster
Mediaset within a year, ruling it was in breach of rules designed to
prevent a concentration of power.
** Czech utility CEZ aims to sell all of its Bulgarian assets and
has received expressions of interest mainly from investors in the Balkan
country, a company official said.
** KAR Auction Services Inc, a provider of car auction and salvage
services, said it would acquire DRIVIN, which aggregates automotive retail,
pricing, registration and economic data to match vehicle inventory to dealer
demand, for $43 million in stock.
** Renova Energia SA sold a wind farm project to a unit of AES
Corp for 600 million reais ($193 million) on Tuesday, enabling the
Brazilian renewable power company to replenish cash amid a severe cash crunch.
** Verizon Communications Inc has agreed to buy optical fiber from
Corning Inc for at least $1.05 billion over the next three years as the
No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier aims to improve its network infrastructure, the
companies said on Tuesday.
** Shanghai-listed Shandong Tyan Home said its negotiations
with Barrick Gold Corp to buy the Canadian operator's 50-percent stake
in Kalgoorlie mine have ended without a deal, citing new capital and acquisition
rules in China.
** European Union antitrust regulators said they had cleared the acquisition
of aircraft engine components maker ITP by Rolls-Royce subject to its
elimination of a conflict of interest in an engine consortium.
** European Union antitrust regulators said they had cleared U.S. private
equity firm Advent International's planned acquisition of Morpho, the biometrics
and security business of French aerospace group Safran.
** Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) might sell some of its
oil and gas interests in North America to raise capital for its core business,
its chief operating officer told Reuters.
** Telecom Italia shareholders should not support board candidates proposed
by Vivendi, two advisory firms said, potentially dealing a fresh blow to Vivendi
chairman Vincent Bollore's attempts to build a southern European media empire.
** BlackRock Inc Chief Executive Larry Fink, who runs the world's
largest asset manager, forecast a wave of mergers and acquisitions in asset
management, but said his company may be limited for now to small deals.
** Mexican breadmaker Grupo Bimbo plans to grow in China in the
short term with acquisitions, while also expanding its presence in the rest of
Asia and entering Middle Eastern markets, the company's food business chief
said.
(Compiled by Ahmed Farhatha and Divya Grover in Bengaluru)