Deals of the day - Mergers and acquisitions

July 14: The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Monday:

** London-listed drugmaker Shire Plc said it was ready to recommend a new 31 billion pounds ($53 billion) takeover offer from AbbVie Inc, entering talks after receiving a fifth bid from the U.S. firm.

** Generic drugmaker Mylan Inc said it would buy Abbott Laboratories' specialty and branded generics business in developed markets outside the United States in an all-stock transaction valued at about $5.3 billion.

** Engineering design firm AECOM Technology Corp on Sunday said it would pay about $4 billion to acquire engineering and construction services firm URS Corp.

** Whiting Petroleum Corp said on Sunday it would acquire Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp for $3.8 billion in stock, to become the largest producer in North Dakota's Bakken shale oil formations, eclipsing Harold Hamm's Continental Resources Inc.

** Shareholders of iconic Australian retailer David Jones Ltd approved a $2 billion takeover from South Africa's Woolworths Holdings Ltd, voting overwhelmingly to create a southern hemisphere department-store giant.

** Brazilian investment bank Grupo BTG Pactual is buying Swiss private bank BSI for a knock-down 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.7 billion), extending an overseas push by the Sao Paulo-based lender controlled by billionaire financier Andre Esteves.

** Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital has struck a deal with Gondola Group to buy Britain's Pizza Express chain for about 900 mln pounds ($1.6 billion), the companies said on Saturday.

** Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp is in advanced discussions to buy insurance claims services provider York Risk Services Group Inc for more than $1.3 billion, people following the situation said on Friday.

** Crumbs Bake Shop Inc may get a second chance if a bankruptcy judge approves a deal for the owner of Dippin' Dots ice cream and the star of a reality television show to buy and reopen the U.S. cupcake chain, according to a court document.

** Swiss chocolate maker Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Spruengli said it had agreed to acquire family-owned U.S. candy business Russell Stover, giving it a bigger presence in the world's largest chocolate market.

** Indonesian telecommunication tower operators PT Solusi Tunas Pratama Tbk and PT Tower Bersama Infrastructure Tbk are considering bidding for the tower assets of PT XL Axiata Tbk.

** Printer maker Lexmark on Monday raised its bid for Swedish software firm Readsoft to 50 crowns per share, topping a bid from software firm Hyland.

** Kindred Healthcare Inc raised its hostile bid for a stake in Gentiva Health Services Inc, stepping up its pursuit of the home healthcare services provided by Gentiva to an aging U.S. population. Hospital operator Kindred offered $16 per share for a 14.9 percent stake in Gentiva, valuing the company at $589 million, based on the 38.6 million Gentiva shares outstanding as of May 7, according to Thomson Reuters data.

** Russian state oil group NK Rosneft' OAO signed an agreement with Brazil's state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA to seek ways to sell natural gas trapped in Brazil's remote Amazon jungle, the companies said.

** Swiss private aviation firm VistaJet is in talks with bankers over a potential sale of the business which could fetch up to $900 million, two financial sources closely monitoring the deal said.

** Spain's Banco Popular said it had booked a 96 million euro ($131 million) capital gain from the sale of financial rights linked to certain pension and insurance products to a group of investors. In a notice sent to Spain's market regulator, Popular also said the sale was worth about 105 million euros.

** Bankrupt wireless venture LightSquared and its largest creditor, Dish Network Corp Chairman Charles Ergen, have resolved a long-running dispute over Ergen's treatment under LightSquared's proposed restructuring.

** The founding family of Brazil's biggest retailer, GPA SA , sold almost all of its remaining stake in the company, now run by French group Casino, raising 1.19 billion reais ($538 million).

** UBS said it would sell an about 4 percent stake in Spanish technology firm Indra on behalf of investor Casa Grande de Cartagena through an accelerated book build process.

** Britain's biggest sporting goods retailer Sports Direct said it plans to launch in Australia and New Zealand via an online joint venture and a small number of stores.

The firm said it would form an online partnership with flash sales fashion retailer OzSale.com.au, part of the MySale Group it bought a 4.8 percent stake in last month, giving it access to MySale's 12 million members.

** British grocer Morrisons said it had sold its children and baby products business, Kiddicare, to private equity firm Endless for 2 million pounds ($3.40 million).

** Honeywell International Inc will merge its transportation systems unit into its aerospace division to take advantage of similarities between the businesses, the diversified U.S. manufacturer said.

** Austrian real-estate company Immofinanz is interested in buying UniCredit's 16.8 percent stake in peer CA Immobilien, Immofinanz's chief executive said.

** Malaysia's state Employees Provident Fund and RHB Capital have hired investment banks to advise on the country's biggest banking merger, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

** Portugal's financially troubled Espirito Santo family loosened its grip on the country's largest listed bank, announcing a stake sale and hastening management change after prompting from the central bank which is trying to calm investors.

** Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state government said on Monday it appointed UBS AG and Deutsche Bank AG to study the potential privatization of its A$20 billion ($19 billion) electricity network.

** Barrick Gold said on Sunday it was forming a joint venture with Saudi Arabian Mining Co to run its Jabal Sayid copper asset in the kingdom, a move that could see the long-delayed mine finally begin production in late 2015.

** Saudi Arabia-based Olayan Financing Co said on Sunday it had acquired a majority stake in Gulf Union Foods Co from a group of investors including private equity firm Jadwa Investment.

** Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar's largest Islamic bank by market value, said on Sunday it had agreed to sell its 50 percent stake in Seef Lusail Real Estate Development Co to the real estate arm of the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund.

** Austrian investor Rene Benko is not interested in taking control of German department store chain Karstadt, Focus magazine reported on Sunday, citing company sources.

** Brazil's government does not believe a planned merger of Grupo Oi SA and Portugal Telecom SPGS SA is at risk, three sources with direct knowledge of the situation said on Friday, as tensions grew over Portugal Telecom's debt deals with troubled Banco Espírito Santo SA.

** Buyout group KKR has launched an offer to take full control of German cutlery and coffee-machine maker WMF , which it then would delist from the Frankfurt stock exchange.

** Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Co, a venture between Coca-Cola Co and Saudi Arabia's Aujan Industries, said it had acquired a majority stake in National Beverage Co, a maker and distributor of Coca-Cola and other drinks in Lebanon.

** Indonesia's Lion Air Group is in talks with Qantas Airways Ltd about buying the Australian carrier's stake in the Singapore-based affiliate of its budget airline Jetstar, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

** Global commodity trader Noble Group Ltd has joined forces with a private equity group to set up an energy investment fund run by a former Royal Dutch Shell executive, its second such arrangement in a year. ($1 = 0.59 British pounds) ($1 = 0.89 Swiss francs)- Reuters