Sept 5 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday:
** Bahrain-based Investcorp INVB.BH has bought a minority stake in a Swiss private bank, Banque Paris Bertrand Sturdza, as a "strategic" investment, it said.
Great-West Lifeco Inc GWO.TO, Canada's second-biggest insurance company, is exploring the sale of a collection of insurance contracts that could fetch as much as $2 billion, three people familiar with the matter said.
Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin's real estate-to-media conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group is exploring a deal to cut its stake in AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC.N , the world's largest cinema operator, people familiar with the matter said.
A U.S. judge granted the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) a preliminary injunction blocking chemical maker Tronox's TROX.N pending acquisition of Saudi Arabian peer Cristal's titanium dioxide business.
British asset manager Schroders SDR.L expressed interest in buying CarVal Investors in May but the hedge fund that is owned by U.S. agri group Cargill said it was not for sale, a CarVal executive said.
Poland said it was taking a 35 percent stake in the country's biggest bus manufacturer Solaris Bus & Coach as part of its efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions.
Ophir Energy OPHR.L is "cautiously optimistic" it will meet a looming deadline for a final investment decision and save its stalled Fortuna FLNG project in Equatorial Guinea, a senior official said.
Global miner BHP BHP.AX has struck a deal to pay $35 million for a 6.1 percent stake in SolGold SOLG.L , giving it a share in the promising Cascabel copper-gold project in Ecuador after an earlier attempt failed.
China's State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) is in talks with Engie SA ENGIE.PA EGIE3.SA to purchase the French energy firm's Pampa Sul coal power plant in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, a Brazilian newspaper reported.
The Swiss government wants to sell a minority stake in PostFinance PFAG.UL and let the banking arm of the country's postal service compete in the lending market, the cabinet said. Albemarle Corp ALB.N , the world's largest lithium producer, could buy FMC Corp (NYSE:FMC)'s FMC.N lithium division if the smaller rival's initial public offering stumbles this fall, a senior executive told investors at an event in June, according to a source who attended.
Blackstone-backed pipeline company EagleClaw Midstream Ventures LLC said it would buy rival Caprock Midstream Holdings for about $950 million, strengthening its presence in the oil-rich Permian Basin.
Brazilian loyalty program operator CVC Brasil Operadora e Agencia de Viagens SA CVCB3.SA has agreed to acquire three Argentine travel companies for about $20 million, CVC said, in line with its international expansion strategy.
Israel's Delek Group DLEKG.TA said it agreed to sell a 4.9 percent stake in insurer Phoenix Holdings PHOE1.TA for 263 million shekels ($73 million) to a third party through a banking institution.
South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group 055550.KS said it has decided to buy a 59.2 percent stake in Orange Life Insurance, a former unit of ING Groep INGA.AS for 2.2989 trillion won ($2.06 billion).
Australian office landlord Investa Office Fund IOF.AX said it would study a $2.4 billion takeover bid from Canada's Oxford Properties Group, an offer that was criticized by rival suitor Blackstone (NYSE:BX) BX.N which also threatened to drop its own bid.
The sale of the French state's 50.6 percent stake in airports operator Aeroports de Paris (ADP) ADP.PA will not take place before mid-February 2019, its chief executive Augustin de Romanet said.
Companies of Russian businessman and lawmaker Suleiman Kerimov may buy a controlling stake in toy retailer Detsky Mir DSKY.MM from business conglomerate Sistema AFKS.MM , Kommersant reported citing a source close to negotiations.
Poland is buying a 35 percent stake in Solaris Bus & Coach from Spanish train maker CAF CAF.MC , which already controls the Eastern European country's biggest bus manufacturer.
French prepaid meal voucher and card provider group Edenred EDEN.PA said it was teaming up with Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco to speed up its expansion into the country's employee benefits market.
Britain's William Hill WMH.L expanded further into the United States, signing a 25-year sports betting deal with casino operator Eldorado Resorts Inc ERI.O.
Portugal's Millennium BCP.LS , MILP.WA and Poland's Alior Bank ALRR.WA have submitted offers to buy Societe Generale 's SOGN.PA Polish business Eurobank, two banking sources said.
Canada's Nevsun Resources Ltd NSU.TO has agreed to a buyout bid worth C$1.86 billion ($1.41 billion) from China's Zijin Mining Group Co 601899.SS , the companies said, in a deal trumping Lundin Mining Corp's LUN.TO earlier hostile offer.
Tailwind Energy, which is financially backed by energy trader Mercuria, bought U.S. group EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG)' EOG.N British offshore oil and gas field assets, Tailwind said.