(Adds Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), Metro; Updates Lenta)
April 2 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Tuesday:
** Energy distributor UGI Corp UGI.N said it will buy the nearly 75 percent it does not own in retail propane marketer AmeriGas Partners L.P. APU.N in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $2.44 billion. Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) XOM.N recently held talks on the sale of a suite of oil and gas fields in Nigeria as the company focuses on new developments in U.S. shale and Guyana, industry and banking sources told Reuters. Italy's Acea SpA ACE.MI is not involved in any merger talks with other utilities at the moment and will assess the situation regarding power group Sorgenia SpA's planned asset sale, Chief Executive Officer Stefano Donnarumma said. Thyssenkrupp AG TKAG.DE and Tata Steel Ltd TISC.NS see little scope for making more concessions to try to win regulatory approval for a planned joint venture, a person familiar with the matter said, casting doubt over whether the deal will go ahead. A planned transfer of a 112,229 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Pasadena, Texas, to Chevron Corp CVX.N from Brazil's state oil company Petrobras PETR4.SA stalled on Monday, one day after units were shut at the Houston-area refinery, sources familiar with the matter said. [nL1N21K0ZI
** British sub-prime lender Provident Financial PLC PFG.L stood its ground against a hostile bid by smaller rival Non-Standard Finance PLC NSF.L , raising new concerns about the strategic, operational and financial merits of the offer. Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) is set to take over Shuaa Capital PSC SHUA.DU in a reverse merger, two sources familiar with the matter said. Investment company Searchlight Capital Partners has agreed to buy a 26 percent stake in French aeronautics company Latecoere SA LAEP.PA for around $106.8 million, as activist funds continue to flex their muscles. French aerospace and defence electronics group Thales SA TCFP.PA said it had completed its previously announced 4.8 billion euros ($5.4 billion) takeover of chipmaker Gemalto (AS:GTO), boosting Thales' presence in the booming security services market. Russian steel magnate Alexey Mordashov has raised his bet on the Russian food retail sector with a deal to buy a 42 percent stake in Lenta LNTAq.L , to be followed by a cash offer for all the group's outstanding shares. Australian cobalt developer Jervois Mining Ltd JRV.AX said it would buy out Canada-based Ecobalt Solutions Inc ECS.TO , for C$57.6 million ($43.29 million), to expand its geographical footprint into the United States. Vodafone Group PLC VOD.L still expects to secure EU antitrust approval for its $22 billion purchase of Liberty Global PLC's LBTYA.O assets in Germany and eastern Europe by the middle of the year, it said. Germany's Metro B4B.DE is still in talks with several investors, who are interested in buying its Real hypermarkets chain, the wholesaler said. The European Union has not raised major concerns about the impact of Vodafone Group PLC VOD.L buying Liberty Global PLC's LBTYA.O assets on the cable market in Germany or on fixed line-mobile convergence in the Czech Republic, sources said. Sunrise Communications Group AG SRCG.S CEO Olaf Swantee does not believe the company's largest shareholder Freenet AG FNTGn.DE would oppose the planned takeover of Liberty Global PLC's LBTYA.O Swiss business, he was quoted as saying by a newspaper. U.S. fund Varde Partners has pulled out of a bidding process for troubled Italian bank Carige CRGI.MI , a source close to Varde said. DowDuPont Inc DWDP.N said on Monday it had completed the spin-off of its materials science division as part of a plan to split the chemical producer into three separate units.