July 31 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers,
acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Friday:
** Martin Sorrell's WPP WPP.L and buyout firm Providence
agreed to buy British marketing group Chime Communications
CHW.L for 374 million pounds ($584 million) in a bid to turn
the smaller group into a global sports marketing agency.
ID:nL5N10B10N
** Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO agreed on Thursday to sell 50
percent of its Zaldivar copper mine in Chile to copper miner
Antofagasta Plc ANTO.L for $1 billion in cash, and both
parties stressed that this was just the start of more
cooperation. ID:nL1N10A3S3
** Sharp Corp 6753.T said it would exit the TV set
business in the Americas by selling its TV manufacturing plant
in Mexico and license its brand in the Americas to China's
Hisense Group. Hisense said it would pay $23.7 million for the
business. ID:nL3N10B2VX
** Austrian utility Verbund VERB.VI is keen to take over
smaller rival Kelag by buying out the stake of the country's
Carinthia province, which is burdened by debt guarantees for
defunct lender Hypo Alpe Adria. ID:nL5N10B1HM
** Cigarette maker PT HM Sampoerna Tbk HMSP.JK plans to
launch a share sale of up to 20 trillion rupiah ($1.5 billion)
in September or October to meet Indonesia's minimum free float
requirement, IFR reported, citing two people close to the
transaction. ID:nJ9N0ZN01K
** Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings' planned sale
of shipper Neptune Orient Lines NEPS.SI offers potential
buyers a modern fleet at a comparative bargain price, expected
to be around $2 billion, industry and banking sources said.
ID:nL3N10B3X4
** LafargeHolcim LHN.VX , the world's biggest cement maker,
offered to buy out the 11 percent stake it does not own in Greek
peer Heracles HERr.AT 1.23 euros a share, or about 9.6 million
euros, according to Reuters calculations. ID:nL5N10B1NG
** European cable operator Liberty Global LBTYA.O said it
had raised its stake in ITV ITV.L to 9.9 percent through a
hedging deal but still had no intention of taking over Britain's
biggest free-to-air commercial TV firm. ID:nL5N10B11D
($1=13,520.00 rupiah)
($1 = 0.6406 pounds)