(Adds Bridgestone, Oi SA, General Atlantic, EQUATE
Petrochemical and Ctrip.com; updates Duke Energy , APR Energy,
Ashikaga, Caledonia and Starwood Capital)
Oct 26 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions
and disposals were reported by 1400 GMT on Monday:
** Japanese tire maker Bridgestone Corp 5108.T said it
would buy auto parts retailer Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack PBY.N
for $835 million in cash to expand its presence in the United
States.
** LetterOne Group, the investment firm controlled by
Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, could pour up to $4 billion
into Oi SA OIBR3.SA , should Brazil's No. 4 wireless carrier
combine with rival TIM Participações SA TIMP3.SA .
** U.S. buyout group General Atlantic has agreed to buy a
21.6 percent stake in India's IIFL Wealth Management for 11.2
billion rupees ($173 million), the first private equity
investment in the country's fast-growing wealth management
business.
** EQUATE Petrochemical Co has chosen banks to arrange a $6
billion loan, about half of which will be used to pay for its
acquisition of petrochemical company MEGlobal from Dow Chemical
DOW.N , sources with knowledge of the matter said.
** Chinese online travel company Ctrip.com International Ltd
CTRP.O announced a tie-up with rival Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd
QUNR.O and its backer Baidu Inc BIDU.O through a share swap.
** Duke Energy Corp (N:DUK) DUK.N , the largest U.S. power company
by generation capacity, said it would buy Piedmont Natural Gas
Co PNY.N for $4.9 billion in cash, helping expand its natural
gas distribution business.
** APR Energy Plc APREN.L said it had reached an agreement
to be bought by a consortium that includes its largest
shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd FFH.TO , in a deal
valuing the power plant supplier at about 165 million pounds
($253 million).
** Oil refiner Western Refining Inc WNR.N offered to buy
the shares of Northern Tier Energy LP NTI.N it did not already
own in a deal that values the refiner at about $2.52 billion.
** Kroton Educational SA KROT3.SA has sold distance
learning college Uniasselvi to a group of investment firms for
1.105 billion reais ($285 million), underscoring growing demand
for higher education centers in Latin America's largest economy.
** Deutsche Boerse DB1Gn.DE could soon agree a cooperation
deal with a Chinese financial market operator, a German
government official said, ahead of a visit to China by
Chancellor Angela Merkel this week.
** Japanese banks Ashikaga Holdings Co Ltd 7167.T and Joyo
Bank Ltd 8333.T said they were in merger talks, in a deal that
would create the country's third-largest regional lender by
assets as the industry faces bleak growth prospects.
** Sweden's Securitas SECUb.ST has agreed to buy the
electronic security business of United States-based Diebold as
it aims to strengthen its technology offer.
** Investment trust Caledonia Investments Plc CLDN.L said
it would buy Gala Bingo Holdings Ltd from Gala Coral, which
sealed a merger deal with bookmaker Ladbrokes LAD.L in July.
** South African media firm Naspers NPNJn.J will sell its
holdings in two Czech online businesses for $201 million after
failing to merge it with a Romanian internet retailer, the
company said.
** Philips PHG.AS said the sale of its $3.3-billion
Lumileds business to Go Scale Capital was uncertain, due to U.S.
government concerns.
** Private investment firm Starwood Capital Group has agreed
to buy 72 properties from real estate company Equity Residential (N:EQR)
EQR.N for about $5.37 billion, the companies said.
** Japan's Suntory Holdings Ltd will need at
least three years to bed down its integration with U.S. bourbon
maker Beam and in the meantime it will not consider an initial
public offering or any large-scale acquisitions, its president
said.
** French books and music retailer Fnac FNAC.PA said on
Sunday its proposed acquisition of London-listed electrical
goods retailer Darty DRTY.L could generate at least 85 million
euros ($93.6 million) per year of synergies before tax.
** The board of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology
OTMT.CA has approved an offer to acquire, together with
investment bank ACT Financial, 100 percent of shares of Beltone
Financial BTFH.CA , Orascom Telecom said on Sunday.