(Adds Criteo, CDP, Spirit Airlines, Carlyle Group,
Frankfurt-Hahn, Sabadell; Updates Santander)
Feb 7 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers,
acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2045 GMT on Tuesday:
** Sabadell has picked Italian payments group
Nexi as the preferred bidder to acquire the Spanish
bank's retailers' payments business, two sources with knowledge
of the matter said.
** Creditors of Frankfurt-Hahn airport in Germany have
agreed to refer to the government a decision on whether a
Russian billionaire named on a 2018 U.S. list of oligarchs can
buy the airport, a source familiar with the proceedings told
Reuters.
** Carlyle Group Inc is in talks to buy private
healthcare technology firm Cotiviti Inc from Veritas Capital for
up to $15 billion, including debt, a person familiar with the
matter said.
** Spirit Airlines Inc said it expects U.S.
antitrust regulators to decide whether to allow the low-cost
carrier to proceed with its $3.8 billion merger with JetBlue
Airways Corp JBLU.O in the "next 30 days or so."
** Italian state lender CDP is sounding out banks that
could help finance its offer for Telecom Italia's landline grid
while also speaking to infrastructure funds though time is tight
to recruit another co-investor, sources close to the matter
said.
** French advertising technology provider Criteo SA is making a new attempt to sell itself after discussions with
potential acquirers in previous years proved unsuccessful,
according to people familiar with the matter.
** Santander valued its Mexican business at
around 8.1 billion euros ($8.65 billion) with the launch of a
voluntary tender offer to acquire the 3.76% of shares it does
not own, taking a step towards its de-listing.
** The investment arm of insurance giant Metlife Inc said it had agreed to acquire Raven Capital Management,
a U.S. private credit manager with $2.1 billion in assets under
management.
** Intesa Sanpaolo would need a cross-border merger
and acquisition (M&A) deal to become a European leader in its
core wealth management and insurance businesses, but there are
no suitable targets at present, its chief executive
said.
** Canada's Hut 8 Mining Corp will merge with rival
US Bitcoin Corp to create a crypto mining giant in North
America, consolidating after a steep fall in valuations for the
crypto sector that saw high-profile collapses in recent
months.
** Shares in Siemens Energy fell to their lowest
level in four weeks , hit by a pending potential share issue the
company has flagged to help fund its planned takeover of
troubled wind division Siemens Gamesa .
** Top Japanese banks have agreed to issue commitment
letters for a 1.4 trillion yen ($10.60 billion) loan that backs
a Japan Industrial Partners-led consortium's takeover offer for
Toshiba , Bloomberg News reported, citing
sources.
** Apollo Global Management Inc is among a group of
financial firms in talks to buy a stake in Credit Suisse Group's revamped investment bank, the Wall Street Journal
reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
** BNP Paribas is not interested in buying a stake
in Orange's banking unit, Chief Executive Jean-Laurent
Bonnafe said.
** Holcim AG , the world's biggest cement maker, has
agreed to buy U.S. roofing systems manufacturer Duro-Last in a
$1.29 billion deal, the Swiss company said , its latest move to
bolster its presence in North America.
** South Korea's Kakao Corp said it will acquire
a 9.05% stake in SM Entertainment , an entertainment
agency behind K-pop acts, including NCT and Aespa, in a deal
worth 217.2 billion won ($172.8 million).
** Barrick Gold has ruled out a counterbid for
number-one Australian gold producer Newcrest Mining ,
its chief executive told Bloomberg, eliminating what had seemed
to be the most likely prospect of a rival to bidder Newmont .
** Philippine conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp said it has entered into a deal to acquire a third of
Axelum Resources Corp to expand its agriculture
portfolio.
** CVS Health Corp is close to an agreement to buy
primary care center operator Oak Street Health Inc for
about $10.5 billion, including debt, the Wall Street Journal
reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
** Australia's Nitro Software said private equity
firm Potentia Capital had indicated it may be in a position to
beef up its takeover offer to gain due diligence, a move aimed
at outbidding rival buyer, KKR Inc-backed Alludo.
** Britain's RELX has agreed to buy Aistemos, a firm
that uses artificial intelligence to classify patents, for
around 30 million pounds ($36 million) to enhance its
intellectual property (IP) analytics, a source close to the
company said.
** Vontobel Asset Management on Monday became the fourth
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers shareholder to come out with
concerns about the company's planned buyout of IAA Inc . (Compiled by Priyamvada C, Rajarshi Roy and Granth Vanaik in
Bengaluru)
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