(Adds Amazon; updates Anima, Ritchie Bros)
Feb 15 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers,
acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2030 GMT on
Wednesday:
** Amazon said it is in talks with regulators on its $1.7
billion bid for iRobot Corp , maker of the robotic
vacuum cleaner Roomba, with the takeover likely to draw tough
scrutiny due to regulatory concerns about deals by Big Tech.
** An Italian private equity fund has bought 7.2% of
Anima Holding , the bank that handled the deal said,
investing in an asset manager likely to be involved in future
domestic banking consolidation.
** Eminence Capital, a shareholder in Ritchie Bros
Auctioneers Inc , has come out against the company's
planned acquisition of U.S. auto retailer IAA Inc ,
opposing a deal that has received support from activists
Starboard Value LP and Ancora Group Holdings.
** China's Sinochem Holdings Corp, the biggest investor in
Pirelli & C SpA , is considering selling its entire 37%
stake in the Italian tyremaker, Bloomberg News reported on
Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
** Adobe Inc will need to secure European Union
antitrust approval for its $20 billion bid for cloud-based
designer platform Figma even though the deal falls short of the
EU turnover threshold for a review, EU regulators
said.
** The European Union is set to investigate Amazon.com Inc's $1.7 billion purchase of iRobot Corp , the
Financial Times reported.
** Barrick Gold would be open to acquiring
Newmont's minority stake in Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture
between the two gold miners majority-owned by Barrick, CEO Mark
Bristow told Reuters.
** LATAM, Latin America's largest airline, said it wants to
buy Colombian low-cost carrier Viva Air, becoming the third
business in the region to set its sights on acquiring the
embattled company.
** Lab equipment and software maker Waters Corp said
it would buy peer Wyatt Technology for $1.36 billion in
cash.
** British oil and gas producer Capricorn Energy pulled the plug on its planned merger with Israeli gas group
NewMed Energy after months of shareholder pressure
that also toppled Capricorn's leadership.
** BP has entered the South Korean offshore wind
sector after acquiring a stake in Norway's Deep Wind Offshore
portfolio of projects in the country, the British energy firm
said.
** Commodity trader Trafigura said it has
completed its purchase of Ecobat Resources Stolberg (ERS)
multi-metals processing plant in Germany and plans to bring it
online in the coming weeks to supply European battery producers.
** Canadian asset manager Brookfield is seeking to
buy the 50% stake in Spain's renewable power company X-elio it
does not already own, Spanish newspaper Expansion reported.
** Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi, chair of MSP
Sports Capital, is set to launch a $3.75 billion takeover bid
for English soccer club Tottenham Hotspur, the Financial Times
reported, citing two people with direct knowledge of the plans.
** Italian gas grid operator Snam said it had not
made any moves regarding its 13.5% stake in gas distributor
Italgas , denying media speculation over the potential
sale of the shareholding.
** Brussels-headquartered data and analytics group Kpler has
bolstered its presence in the maritime space with the
acquisition of ship tracking companies MarineTraffic and
FleetMon, the company said.
** Half of the 1.99 billion euros ($2.14 billion) from a
media rights deal between LaLiga and private equity firm CVC
Capital Partners has already gone to the 38 top clubs which have
agreed to accept the investment, a LaLiga top executive
confirmed on Tuesday.
** A sale of Enel's Romanian assets is moving "in the right
direction" and it expects a deal before the end of June, the
chief executive of the Italian power utility said on Tuesday. (Compiled by Rajarshi Roy, Khushi Mandowara and Anirban
Chakroborti in Bengaluru)
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