(Adds Shandong Gold , Bid Corp, BNP Paribas ; Updates Amazon, JAB, AkzoNobel)
April 5 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday:
** BNP Paribas SA BNPP.PA said it has sold its $120 million share of the loan for the Dakota Access Pipeline, becoming the second bank to divest from the project that faced opposition from Native Americans and environmentalists. Hydrogen fuel cell maker Plug Power Inc PLUG.O said Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O had acquired the right to buy up to 23 percent of the company and that it would supply batteries to power forklifts used by the online retailer in its warehouses. China's Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd 600547.SS is in advanced talks to buy a 50 percent stake in Barrick Gold Corp's ABX.TO , ABX.N Veladero gold mine in Argentina, people familiar with the process told Reuters even as the Canadian miner grappled with a pipe rupture at the site. South Africa's Bid Corporation (Bidcorp) BIDJ.J has bought a 90 percent stake in Spanish foodservice group Guzman Gastronomia and Cuttings, it said without disclosing the value. JAB Holdings, the owner of Caribou Coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, said it would buy bakery chain Panera Bread Co PNRA.O for $7.2 billion, as it expands its coffee and breakfast empire through the biggest-ever U.S. restaurant deal. ChemChina CNNCC.UL won EU antitrust approval for its $43 billion bid for Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta SYNN.S , a crucial deal that could help China boost its domestic agricultural output. The bid is still set to close in the second quarter, Syngenta said. British housebuilder Galliford Try GFRD.L pulled out of a 1.2 billion-pound ($1.5-billion) attempt to buy rival Bovis BVS.L after the two failed to agree on price, leaving Bovis to pursue a turnaround under a new chief executive. EU antitrust regulators blocked a joint bid by German cement producers HeidelbergCement (DE:HEIG) HEIG.DE and Schwenk for Cemex's CMXCPO.MX Croatian business after the companies failed to address competition concerns. Shareholders in Swiss biotech group Actelion ATLN.S approved spinning off its drug discovery and early clinical pipeline into a new company, keeping Johnson & Johnson's JNJ.N $30 billion takeover on track to close in the second quarter. Italian banking foundation Cariverona has bought about 3 percent in insurer Cattolica CASS.MI from Banca Popolare di Vicenza, two sources said, after the bank announced the sale of part of its stake in the insurer through an accelerated book building. Dutch paint maker AkzoNobel AKZO.AS could face a shareholder revolt if it continues to avoid a meeting with PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) PPG.N to discuss a possible takeover by the U.S. company, PPG Chief Executive Michael McGarry told Reuters. Bankers are working on debt packages of around $1.5 billion to back a potential sale of one of the largest U.S. herbal supplement makers, Nature's Bounty Co, banking sources said. ExxonMobil XOM.N said it is in talks to buy a refining-petrochemical complex in Singapore that could boost its fuel and chemical production in Asia. Snapdeal's three biggest investors - Japan's SoftBank 9984.T , Kalaari Capital and Nexus Venture Partners - have moved closer to resolving an impasse, potentially clearing the way for a sale of the Indian e-tailer to one of its rivals, Flipkart or Paytm, according to a Mint report. RWE RWEG.DE is considering selling its majority stake in Hungary's second-biggest power plant and related lignite mines, as the German utility reviews its struggling generation assets across Europe. Aurubis AG NAFG.DE , the world's biggest copper recycler, is likely to start its search for acquisitions in Europe and the United States as it looks to expand into other metals, but will not get into mining, its chief executive told Reuters. The battle for German drugmaker Stada STAGn.DE is edging towards a close, with final offers from two private equity consortia expected on Friday evening, three people close to the matter said. Daishi Bank Ltd 8324.T and Hokuetsu Bank Ltd 8325.T , two small Japanese lenders, said they had agreed to merge their operations, the latest consolidation in regional banks amid a decline in population. As Britain steps up the hunt for a new partner for a stalled nuclear power project, South Korea's KEPCO remains the most likely suitor, but two people with direct knowledge of the matter said the giant utility won't be rushed to the altar. Qatar's Masraf Al Rayan MARK.QA said that a committee had been formed to manage the merger of the bank with Barwa Bank IPO-BABK.QA and International Bank of Qatar. French advertising group Havas HAVA.PA has signed a joint venture agreement with Guangdong Advertising Group as part of its moves to expand in the fast-growing Chinese market. San Francisco startup Wyre Inc, a cross-border payments firm, has acquired a Beijing-based platform, Chief Executive Michael Dunworth told Reuters on Tuesday, in what he said was the first acquisition by a U.S. company of a Chinese blockchain business in the corporate payments space.