(Updates MacDonald Dettwiler; adds F.N.B Corp, Caisse, Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP), 8x8 Inc )
Feb 24 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2100 GMT on Friday:
** Canada's MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd MDA.TO said it would buy U.S.-based satellite imagery provider DigitalGlobe Inc DGI.N for about C$3.10 billion ($2.40 billion), the biggest deal yet in a fast-consolidating earth-imaging satellite market. France's Safran SAF.PA on Thursday rejected criticism by a UK hedge fund over a proposed $9 billion offer for Zodiac Aerospace ZODC.PA and pledged to stand firm as a spat intensified over plans to create the world's third-largest aerospace supplier. Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO , the country's biggest lender, has put its Asian wealth management business under review, which could lead to its sale, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The RBC review was prompted because the bank's global head of wealth management feels the Asian business, with less than $10 billion in assets, lacks the scale to generate adequate profit. 8x8 Inc EGHT.O , a U.S. provider of internet-based voice and communication services to businesses, is exploring a potential sale of the company, people familiar with the matter said. Activist investor AOC has called for Stada's STAGn.DE management and supervisory boards to run a non-biased, transparent sales process for the German generic drugs maker. Stada on Thursday received a binding 3.6 billion euro ($3.8 billion) takeover offer from buyout firm Advent. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) GS.N and other shareholders said they had sold 100 percent of Daesung Industrial Gases, South Korea's second-largest producer of industrial gases, to Asian private equity firm MBK Partners. The sale price is about $2 billion, South Korean online media Money Today reported this week. Japan's Softbank Group 9984.T and Taiwan's Foxconn will soon begin operating a joint venture that deepens ties between two of Asia's biggest technology companies, they said. General Motors (NYSE:GM) GM.N has told PSA Group PEUP.PA it would only sell licences for the manufacture of Opel cars to the French company if it agreed not to sell them in North America, Russia or China, German magazine Der Spiegel reported. as the only European country where carmaker PSA's PEUP.PA production overlaps with that of Opel, Spain could deliver the quick cost savings sought by PSA boss Carlos Tavares to convince investors to back his planned acquisition of the rival brand. France's Engie SA ENGIE.PA , looking to sell a coal-fired power station in Australia that could fetch $1 billion, expects to attract more interest from international firms than local players, its Asia Pacific head said. U.S. power utility company AES Corp AES.N said it would buy a privately held company that builds utility-scale solar projects, along with Canada's investment fund manager Alberta Investment Management Corp, for $853 million in cash. Toshiba Corp 6502.T , responding to media reports, said it was not aware that its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse was considering filing for Chapter 11 protection from creditors - an option analysts say could jeopardize the entire group. Argentina's state-run oil company YPF SA YPFD.BA said it reached a preliminary deal with Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L on Thursday to develop oil and gas assets in the Vaca Muerta shale field, involving a $300 million investment from Shell. South Africa's Northam Platinum Ltd NHMJ.J said it would acquire Glencore Plc's GLEN.L Eland platinum mine in North West province for 175 million rand ($14 million). South Africa's Liberty Holdings LBHJ.J will acquire a 75 percent stake in a Nigerian long-term insurer for 160 million rand ($12 million), the company said, after reporting a 38 percent decline in earnings. Swiss speciality chemicals maker Sika SIK.S dismissed the takeover threat from France's Saint-Gobain SGOB.PA and raised its financial goals. Italian prosecutors are investigating French media tycoon Vincent Bollore and one of his top executives for alleged market manipulation after his company Vivendi VIV.PA took a stake in Italian broadcaster Mediaset MS.MI , a source said. Hospital operator Quorum Health Corp QHC.N is investigating whether it provided adequate disclosure to investors prior to its spin-off last year, according to a letter seen by Reuters and a person familiar with the matter. Indonesian conglomerate PT Astra International Tbk ASII.JK will not sell its stake in lender PT Bank Permata Tbk BNLI.JK , the company's top executive said. The Federal Reserve has approved F.N.B Corp's FNB.N acquisition of Yadkin Financial Corp YDKN.N , two people familiar with the matter said, the first U.S. bank merger to receive regulatory clearance in 2017.