(Adds Ball Corp (N:BLL), Shell, Caxton,Groupe Bruxelles Lambert,
Herbalife (N:HLF), UBS and Feu Vert )
Feb 16 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions
and disposals were reported by 2100 GMT on Tuesday:
** UK mobile phone operator Vodafone Plc VOD.L and John
Malone's cable company Liberty Global Plc LBTYA.O agreed on
Monday to combine their operations in the Netherlands in a bid
to gain a stronger presence in the local market. Bank of East Asia Ltd 0023.HK , a family-run Hong Kong
lender, rejected a call by activist investor Elliott Management
Corp to put the bank up for sale, saying the challenging
economic and business environment would bode ill for such a
process. Drinks can makers Ball Corp BLL.N and Rexam Plc REX.L
have begun the process of selling assets, potentially worth more
than $3 billion, to meet antitrust regulations ahead of their
planned merger, several people familiar with the matter said.
Medical device maker Stryker Corp (N:SYK) SYK.N said it would
buy Physio-Control International Inc for $1.28 billion in cash
to expand its emergency medical services business and the
company raised its earnings forecast for the second time this
month. Canada's Element Financial Corp EFN.TO said it would
split its fleet management business and its vendor and
commercial financing business, creating two publicly traded
companies. Private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC APO.N
will buy ADT Corp (N:ADT) ADT.N in the biggest leveraged buyout so far
this year to create a business with nearly a third of North
America's electronic security products market. Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc FCS.O said
the unsolicited offer it received from China Resources
Microelectronics Ltd and Hua Capital Management Co Ltd in
December was not superior to ON Semiconductor Corp's ON.O
deal. Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O said it had acquired Indian
payments processor Emvantage Payments Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed
sum. Health insurer Aetna Inc (N:AET) AET.N said on Monday Florida's
insurance regulator approved its acquisition of Humana Inc (N:HUM)
HUM.N . The company said that with the approval from Florida's
Office of Insurance Regulation, it has secured 10 of the 20
state approvals required. Australian ports and rail giant Asciano Ltd AIO.AX
formally dumped an A$8.9 billion ($6.4 billion) buyout from
Canada's Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAMa.TO after it
failed to match a higher offer from local rival Qube Holdings
Ltd QUB.AX . Orange ORAN.PA and Bouygues BOUY.PA are likely to
reach an initial agreement on the sale of Bouygues's telecoms
unit in March at the earliest, amid wrangling over terms that
would make Bouygues the second biggest shareholder in Orange
after the French state, sources close to the matter said.
J&F Investimentos SA, the holding company that controls
the world's largest meatpacker, said on Monday it is not
considering buying Brazil's largest diversified retailer GPA SA
PCAR4.SA and cosmetics producer Natura Cosmeticos SA
NATU3.SA as reported by a local columnist. Indian conglomerate JSW Group, whose businesses range
from power to steel and cement, is looking to buy distressed
port assets in the country as part of a strategy for a massive
expansion of its ports capacity, its chief financial officer
said. Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil LKOH.MM is
interested in acquiring a controlling stake in Russian oil
company Bashneft BANE.MM , Lukoil's chief executive said on
Tuesday. Russia's region of Bashkortostan has no plans to sell its
25 percent stake in mid-sized oil producer Bashneft BANE.MM ,
TASS news agency quoted regional head Rustem Khamitov as saying
on Tuesday. Royal Dutch Shell PLC RDSa.L canceled the sale of 80
percent stakes in two mature oil fields off the coast of Brazil
to local oil company PetroRio, the oil major said on Tuesday.
Caxton Corp exited its stake in a gold exchange-traded
fund when bullion prices fell to their lowest level in nearly
six years late last year, a government filing showed on Tuesday,
bailing out ahead of the biggest rally in more than four years
in early 2016. Brussels-based holding company Groupe Bruxelles Lambert
GBLB.BR said on Tuesday it planned to sell its 0.7 percent
stake in French oil and gas major Total TOTF.PA through a
private placement. William Stiritz, one of the largest investors in
Herbalife Ltd HLF.N , cut his stake in the nutrition and weight
loss company to 5.2 percent, down from 8.2 percent, according to
a regulatory filing on Tuesday. Activist investor Knight Vinke has abandoned its bid to
convince Swiss bank UBS UBSG.VX to change its strategy and
sold a roughly 1 percent stake late last year, a spokesman said
on Tuesday. Investment fund Alpha Private Equity is set to enter
exclusive negotiations to buy French auto servicing chain Feu
Vert, a source with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on
Tuesday.