Dec 18 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions
and disposals were reported by 1100 GMT on Friday:
** Chinese mobile security software maker Qihoo 360
Technology Co QIHU.N said it agreed to be acquired by a group
of investors for about $9.3 billion, including about $1.6
billion of debt.
** The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is looking for office
supply store Staples SPLS.O to improve its offer to divest
assets to further its bid to buy rival Office Depot ODP.O , the
agency said in court on Thursday.
** Buyout firm Apollo Global Management LLC APO.N is in
advanced talks to acquire Maxim Crane Works LP, one of the
largest U.S. providers of lifting equipment, for more than $1
billion including debt, according to people familiar with the
matter.
** Singapore's DBS Group Holdings DBSM.SI and Julius Baer
BAER.VX are seen as potential bidders for Barclays BARC.L
Asian private wealth business, valued at about $600 million,
sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
** UK bank Standard Chartered STAN.L could be acquired by
a white knight as its recovery could prove to be "challenging",
according to broker CLSA, which upgraded shares of the
Asia-focused lender on that possibility.
** Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia BNS.TO is considering
selling its 49 percent stake in Thanachart Bank Pcl, Thailand's
No.2 car loan provider, after struggling to make an Asian retail
presence work, a source familiar with the plan said.
** Italy's Gruppo Gavio has acquired a stake in Brazilian
toll road operator EcoRodovias Infraestrutura & Logística SA
ECOR3.SA for 2.22 billion reais ($573 million), EcoRodovias
said in a statement on Friday.
** Brazilian investment bank Banco BTG Pactual SA
BBTG11.SA said on Friday it was in talks to sell a stake in
Recovery do Brasil, the biggest debt collector in Latin America.
The stake could be worth up to $439 million (1.7 billion reais)
if the sale includes the platform that Recovery uses to price
loans, said the source, who asked not to be identified.