(Adds Four Seasons Toronto, Fresenius, Engie SA, Mikhail
Prokhorov, Zegona, Shanghai Yiqian Trading Company; updates Ser
Educacional SA, Abraaj Group, Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd)
June 6 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions
and disposals were reported by 1930 GMT on Monday:
** U.S. oil and natural gas producer Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN)
DVN.N said it would sell assets in Texas for nearly $1 billion
and that it was making progress on the sale of other assets as
part of its plan to improve its finances through divestitures.
German state-controlled lender NordLB NDLG.UL aims to
take full control of its Bremer Landesbank (BLB) unit after
regulators asked the Bremen-based lender to shore up its capital
against bad shipping loans, sources familiar with the matter
said. Banco Popolare's BAPO.MI 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion)
cash call got off to a solid start on Monday with a rise in the
price of the "rights" to subscribe to the offer needed for its
planned merger with rival Banca Popolare di Milano PMII.MI .
The Psagot Investment House, Israel's largest brokerage,
will buy 20 percent of peer-to-peer lending platform BLender's
Israeli activity, the companies said. Chinese electronics retailer Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd
002024.SZ is buying nearly 70 percent of Italian soccer club
Inter Milan for 270 million euros ($307 million) in the highest
profile takeover of a European team by a Chinese
firm. Emerging markets focused private equity firm Abraaj Group
said on Monday it had acquired a minority stake in Fibabanka to
get a foothold in the Turkish banking sector and it may do two
or three more deals in Turkey this year. Ser Educacional SA SEER3.SA sees no room at this point
to improve a merger proposal with larger rival Estácio
Participações SA, executives said on Monday. BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) BLK.N has agreed to sell a 43-story
office building in Singapore to Qatar Investment Authority, a
sovereign wealth fund, for S$3.4 billion ($2.45 billion), in
what the U.S. firm said was the largest-ever single-tower real
estate deal in the Asia-Pacific region. Constellis Holdings LLC, the owner of the U.S. military
security services business formerly known as Blackwater, is
exploring a sale it hopes will value the company at as much as
$1 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with
the matter. Egypt's EFG Hermes HRHO.CA has received approval from
Lebanon's central bank to sell a 40 percent stake in Credit
Libanais, the company said. German industrial robot maker Kuka KU2G.DE would assess
a possible European takeover bid but it is wrong to assume such
an offer would take priority over the bid by China's Midea Group
Co Ltd's 000333.SZ , Chief Executive Till Reuter told
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. Real estate-focused private equity firm KingSett Capital
is set to acquire 50 percent of Scotia Plaza, Canada's second
tallest office building, from Dream Office REIT D_u.TO and H&R
REIT HR_u.TO , according to two sources familiar with the
situation.
** Shanghai Yiqian Trading Company is set to buy 82.5
percent stake in Germany's Hahn airport from federal state
owners for a low double-digit million euro amount to secure a
base for food exports as well as passengers heading to and from
Asia, a deal highlighting China's increasing appetite for
overseas infrastructure assets. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) GS.N has agreed to fully underwrite an
offer from Zegona ZEG.L should the British investment firm
reach a deal to buy Spanish budget mobile operator Yoigo, a
person familiar with the deal said. Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov is preparing to sell
regional power generator Quadra TGKD.MM , three sources
familiar with the discussions told Reuters, although a spokesman
for the group that controls the firm denied a sale was taking
place. The Brazilian unit of French utility company Engie SA
ENGIE.PA is looking to sell its natural gas blocks in Brazil's
Bahia and Maranhao states as part of a global strategy to focus
on renewable energy resources, the division's chief executive
said on Monday. German healthcare supplier Fresenius FREG.DE and
British engineering company Smiths Group SMIN.L have emerged
as the final bidders for Pfizer's PFE (NYSE:PFE).N infusion pumps
business in a possible deal worth close to $1.5 billion, people
familiar with the matter said. The Four Seasons Toronto, a luxury hotel in the city's
downtown, is up for sale and could fetch as much as C$250
million ($193 million), in what would be one of the
most-expensive deals ever for a hotel in Canada, two sources
familiar with the process said.