Thu May 1, 2014 6:20am EDT
<span id="articleText"/> May 1 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Thursday:
<span id="midArticle_0"/> ** Sprint Corp is meeting with banks to work out funding for its bid for smaller rival T-Mobile US Inc, a source familiar with the situation said, as the mobile carrier works to ease regulatory concerns that the deal would hurt competition.
<span id="midArticle_1"/><span id="midArticle_2"/> ** AT&T Inc has approached DirecTV about a possible acquisition of the satellite TV company, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
<span id="midArticle_3"/><span id="midArticle_4"/> ** Qualcomm Inc is spinning off its location awareness technology, which is compatible with Apple Inc's iBeacon version, to a group of investors including music, sports and arena conglomerate AEG.
<span id="midArticle_5"/><span id="midArticle_6"/> ** Merck & Co Inc is considering selling a big portfolio of mature drugs that could fetch more than $15 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, as the U.S. drugmaker continues to streamline businesses to focus on high-growth areas.
<span id="midArticle_7"/><span id="midArticle_8"/> ** Private equity firm Golden Gate Capital is in advanced talks to acquire Phillips-Medisize Corp, a provider of medical device manufacturing services, from buyout firm Kohlberg & Co LLC for close to $800 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
<span id="midArticle_9"/><span id="midArticle_10"/> ** British media baron Richard Desmond will announce that he is selling free-to-air TV broadcaster Channel 5 to U.S.-based Viacom Inc for up to 450 million pounds ($760 million), The Guardian reported On Wednesday, without citing sources.
<span id="midArticle_11"/><span id="midArticle_12"/> ** Italian transport minister Maurizio Lupi is optimistic about ongoing talks between Etihad Airways and Alitalia over a possible investment by the Abu Dhabi-based airline in Italy's troubled carrier, the newspaper La Stampa reported on Thursday.
<span id="midArticle_13"/><span id="midArticle_14"/> ** British engineer Weir Group is pursuing a range of acquisition opportunities across all its divisions, after a $5 billion bid for Finnish rival Metso was rejected last month, the company's chief executive said on Thursday.
<span id="midArticle_15"/><span id="midArticle_0"/> ** Salamander Energy Plc is considering selling itself and has opened talks with "a small number" of potential buyers, the company said on Thursday.
<span id="midArticle_1"/><span id="midArticle_2"/> ** Northill Capital, the independent asset manager backed by the Bertarelli family, said on Thursday it had acquired a majority stake in fellow independent asset manager Longview Partners.
<span id="midArticle_3"/><span id="midArticle_4"/> ** Negotiations to buy Israeli stem cell therapies developer Gamida cell have been terminated, Gamida's parent company said on Thursday.
<span id="midArticle_5"/><span id="midArticle_6"/> ** Plastic-packaging maker RPC Group Plc said it would buy Hong Kong-based ACE Corp Holdings Ltd for as much as $430 million.
<span id="midArticle_7"/><span id="midArticle_8"/> ** British pub and breweries group Greene King sold 275 tenanted and leased pubs for 75.6 million pounds ($127.66 million) on Thursday and said it would accelerate disposals to concentrate on its faster-growing own-managed outlets.
<span id="midArticle_9"/><span id="midArticle_10"/> ** France's Danone SA will buy milk formula processing and packing factories in New Zealand to replace supply lost by terminating contracts with the Fonterra dairy cooperative following a food safety scare last year.
<span id="midArticle_11"/><span id="midArticle_12"/> ($1 = 0.5922 British Pounds) (Compiled by Avik Das in Bangalore)
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