(Adds HNA Group, Wolong Electric, Abbey Life, Empire Today)
June 3 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions
and disposals were reported by 2030 GMT on Friday:
** Electricity producer Talen Energy Corp TLN.N said
private equity firm Riverstone Holdings LLC would buy the
remaining stake in the company it did not already own for about
$1.8 billion, amid a string of deals in the U.S. power industry.
Commercial real estate manager NorthStar Asset Management
Group Inc NSAM.N , REIT NorthStar Realty Finance Corp NRF.N
and private equity firm Colony Capital Inc CLNY.N agreed to an
all-stock merger, creating a combined company with $58 billion
of assets under management. SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T said on Friday it was
selling a further $1.1 billion of its shares in Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group
Holding Ltd BABA.N , bringing the total it has sold in the
Chinese e-commerce company to $10 billion. China's HNA Group has expressed interest in acquiring
Avianca Holdings SA AVT_p.CN and Avianca Brasil, the South
American airlines controlled by Bolivian-born entrepreneur
Germán Efromovich's Synergy Group, people familiar with the
matter said. China Gezhouba Group Co 600068.SS is considering buying
infrastructure assets in Brazil, through concessions,
partnerships or construction projects, a senior executive said
on Friday. China's Wolong Electric 600580.SS , Japan's Nidec
6594.T and other Asian firms are seen as possible buyers of
U.S. automation equipment maker Emerson Electric's EMR.R
alternator unit Leroy Somer, two sources with knowledge of the
situation told Reuters. Germany denied interfering in Chinese home appliance
maker Midea's 000333.SZ 4.5 billion euro ($5 billion) bid for
industrial robot maker Kuka KU2G.DE on Friday, saying it was
not organizing a rival offer. Private equity firm Astorg has put French calcium
aluminates company Kerneos up for sale in a move which could
value the firm at around 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), three
sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Deutsche Bank 's DBKGn.DE sale of its British insurer
Abbey Life Assurance Co is facing delays as bidders struggle to
decide on a valuation due to an investigation by Britain's
financial watchdog into the firm, sources familiar with the
matter said. State Grid Corp of China's (SGCC) offshore investment
unit has been selected as the favorable bidder to buy a 14
percent stake in Belgium gas and power distribution firm Eandis
Assets EANDI.UL , SGCC said in a statement on Thursday.
French oil and gas producer Total TOTF.PA has begun
preparations for the sale of its specialty chemicals and
equipment division Atotech, which may be valued at about 3
billion euros ($3.4 billion), sources said. ICAP Plc IAP.L said it won a contract to provide
technology for China's main fixed income and foreign exchange
trading system, giving the British broker a major break in the
world's second-largest economy. The deal, valued at $65 million
over a three-year period, would see ICAP expanding into China
just as the country is becoming more integrated into global
financial markets. Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp 600699.SS , a major
Chinese auto supplier, said it was looking at investing in
Japan's Takata Corp 7312.T , which has been searching for
financial backers to help it face mounting recall costs over
potentially deadly air bags. Indonesia's largest telecommunication operator, PT
Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom) TLKM.JK , dropped the
deal to buy Guam telecom firm AP Teleguam Holdings Inc as there
was no certainty on the approval process by the U.S. regulator,
a Telkom director told Reuters. French tycoon Vincent Bollore said in a newspaper
interview published on Friday that media group Vivendi VIV.PA
did not need to make any big acquisitions as it had all the
assets it needed to challenge the industry's dominant players.
China's Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd ANBANG.UL will
try for a second time to buy U.S. life insurer Fidelity &
Guaranty Life FGL.N after the Chinese firm put on hold its
acquisition plan earlier this week, the South China Morning Post
reported on Friday. Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc ATDb.TO and
Japan's Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd 3382.T have submitted
indicative offers to acquire U.S. convenience store retailer CST
Brands Inc CST.N , people familiar with the matter said on
Thursday. Empire Today LLC, the privately held U.S. carpet,
hard-floor and window treatment retailer known for its catchy,
digit-bearing advertising jingle, is up for sale, according to
people familiar with the matter. Shareholders of Australian ports and rail freight giant
Asciano Ltd AIO.AX voted for a A$9.1 billion ($6.6 billion)
buyout by a global consortium led by Canada's Brookfield Asset
Management Inc BAMa.TO , leaving the company's future in the
hands of regulators. United Continental Holdings Inc UAL.N and Delta Air
Lines Inc DAL.N are among the possible bidders for Colombia's
Avianca Holdings SA AVT_p.CN , the Wall Street Journal
reported, citing people familiar with the matter. British private equity firm Equistone Partners is buying
marine navigation service ChartCo from fellow fund ECI for 55
million pounds ($79.43 million), the companies said on Friday.
Brazil's Restoque Comércio e Confecções de Roupas SA
LLIS3.SA has began talks with rival Inbrands SA over a
potential tieup, which could create a leading apparel retailer
with 2.8 billion reais ($781 million) in annual combined revenue
and around 730 stores. Brazilian renewable energy company Renova Energia SA
RNEW11.SA , which is seeking fresh capital following a failed
asset sale last year, could see a new partner joining its
controlling bloc within three months, three sources with direct
knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.