(Adds ArcelorMittal, Hapag-Lloyd, and others; Updates KKR, Estácio)
March 17 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday:
** Private equity firm KKR & Co LP KKR.N and Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec announced plans to buy USI Insurance Services from Onex Corp ONEX.TO for $4.3 billion, including debt. China's Sinopec 600028.SS is nearing a deal to buy Chevron's CVX.N South African oil assets for up to $1 billion to secure its first major refinery on the continent, several people familiar with the matter said. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) XOM.N is seeking to sell half of its 2,500 petrol stations in Italy for up to 500 million euros ($537 million), several sources close to the process said. BP Plc BP.L said it had sold around half its roughly 20 percent stake in New Zealand Refining Co Ltd NZR.NZ for NZ$80.4 million ($56.2 million) as part of a global portfolio review. Private equity firm KKR KKR.N has struck a deal with six shareholders of GfK GFKG.DE that clears the way to squeeze out the German market researcher's minority shareholders. ArcelorMittal ISPA.AS , the world's top steelmaker, and Italian processor Marcegaglia have offered 1.6 billion euros ($1.72 billion) to buy Italy's troubled Ilva steel plant, outbidding a rival consortium, three sources said. German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd HLAG.DE on Friday postponed the completion date for its takeover of United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) to May 31 from March 31, but said the deal, worth 7 to 8 billion euros ($7.52-8.60 billion), was not at risk. Former Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE chairman Ferdinand Piech is in talks to sell his stake in Porsche SE PSHG_p.DE in a deal that would shake up the ownership structure of the company that controls VW. Singapore telecom firm M1 Ltd's MONE.SI three biggest shareholders, who own about 60 percent in the company, are evaluating selling their stakes, in the first recent sign of M&A activity in the local sector which is set to see increased competition. Ant Financial Services Group, the world's largest financial technology company, is confident of closing a deal for U.S. money-transfer firm MoneyGram International Inc MGI.O , a top executive told Reuters, despite a higher bid from a U.S. rival. Brazilian for-profit education company Estácio Participações SA ESTC3.SA denied a report that top managers were attempting to boycott a sale to larger rival Kroton Educacional SA KROT3.SA , the latest hurdle to a deal that would create the sector's global leader. Britain's Circassia CIRCI.L has secured the U.S. rights from AstraZeneca AZN.L for two drugs to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive lung condition affecting millions of people, for up to $230 million. Baidu Inc BIDU.O said it had led an investment round into green car start-up NextEV, as the Chinese search engine giant looks for new growth drivers and as competition heats up in the fast-growing electric vehicles market. ValueAct Capital raised its stake in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (NYSE:VRX) VRX.TO , in a move that could provide a confidence boost to the drug company three days after its largest shareholder sold out of the stock. Chinese technology conglomerate LeEco is looking to sell a 49-acre U.S. Silicon Valley property less than a year after buying it from Yahoo Inc YHOO.O , sources said, in what is the latest effort by the firm to ride out a cash crunch. Former Barclays BARC.L chief executive, Bob Diamond, marked a return to investment banking in Britain with a Qatari-backed takeover of stockbroker Panmure Gordon PMR.L , one of the oldest names in the City of London. Italy's biggest utility Enel ENEI.MI said any major deals in the European industry would have to wait until new industry rules were in place after elections this year in France and Germany. China Vanke 2202.HK 000002.SZ said Shenzhen Metro would become its largest shareholder in terms of voting rights after a proxy agreement with its No. 3 shareholder, a move that gives Vanke management the upper hand in its power struggle with Baoneng Group. Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA PDVSA.UL has offered Russian counterpart Rosneft ROSN.MM a stake in a joint venture in the country's Orinoco Belt extra-heavy crude area, five industry sources said, in a sign of the Latin American nation's dire economic situation and Moscow's growing muscle there. Sweden's MTG MTGb.ST has agreed to sell its Baltic broadcasting operations to Providence Equity Partners, the latest deal in its transformation from a traditional broadcaster to a digital entertainment firm.