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Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions

March 28 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday:

** Russian mobile phone operators MTS and Vimpelcom said on Thursday they offered to buy the Russian unit of Swedish rival Tele2 for $4 billion-4.25 billion, including $1.15 billion of net debt.

** Italian insurer Generali increased its stake in GPH, an eastern European joint venture it holds with Czech group PPF, to 76 percent for 1.3 billion euros as planned, it said on Thursday. Generali said on Jan. 8 it will buy out the rest of GPH from PPF for 2.5 billion euros ($3.3 billion), increasing its exposure to the fast-growing region which is Generali's fourth-largest market.

** Societe Generale said on Thursday it finalised the sale of its entire stake in Egyptian subsidiary National Societe Generale Bank to Qatar National Bank for $2 billion.

** German insurer Allianz SE and a Canadian investor agreed to pay some 1.6 billion euros ($2 billion) including debt for a Czech gas pipeline operator, as financial investors flock to such assets in search of safe returns.

** Schneider Electric said it bought the 50 percent of Russian medium voltage specialist Electroshield-TM Samara that it does not already own in a deal that values the whole company at around 510 million euros ($655 million).

** A judge on Wednesday approved AMR Corp's plan to merge with US Airways Group, a step toward creating the world's largest airline.

** Hungary has signed a deal to buy the local gas units of Germany's E.ON SE which will give Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government a firmer grip over the energy sector and control over vital gas imports from Russia.

** Germany's E.ON SE agreed to increase its stake in Brazilian power producer MPX Energia SA, buying a quarter of the company from controlling shareholder Eike Batista and participating in a capital injection of up to 1.2 billion reais ($596 million).

** Anglo American Plc has abandoned a $555 million plan to buy a metallurgical coal project in Mozambique in the latest sign of prudence from major miners chastised by investors for excessive spending and poor acquisitions.

** Genworth Financial Inc will sell its wealth management and alternative investment businesses to private equity firms Aquiline Capital Partners and Genstar Capital for about $412.5 million as the insurer looks to raise funds to repay debt.

** Cable operator Liberty Global Inc extended its reach into the Netherlands by buying a 12.65 percent stake in Ziggo NV for 632.5 million euros ($808 million), prompting speculation it might eventually make a full bid.

** Australia's Leighton Holdings Ltd said on Thursday it agreed to sell around sell 70 percent of its telecommunication assets, including its NextGen Networks fibre-optic business, to Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, in a deal valuing the assets at A$885 million ($915.93 million).

** Wireless service provider Clearwire Corp said it would draw on $80 million in financing from Sprint Nextel Corp , which is seeking to buy it, reducing the chances for rival bidder Dish Network Corp.

** Polish media group Cyfrowy Polsat agreed to buy the broadcaster of two small television channels, TV4 and TV6 from two Cyprus-registered companies for 99 million zlotys ($30.3 million), Cyfrowy said on Thursday.

** Affin Holdings, Malaysia's second smallest bank, has ceased negotiations to buy a stake in DRB-Hicom Bhd's 70 percent owned Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, stock exchange filings showed on Thursday.

** New Zealand's Meridian Ltd is unlikely to agree a revised power contract for NZ Aluminium Smelters Ltd, the state-owned utility said on Thursday, raising the odds the struggling smelter could close, potentially causing power prices to slump and casting a cloud over state asset sales.

** Deutsche Telekom AG will likely be forced to sweeten the terms of its deal with MetroPCS Communications Inc after proxy advisory firm ISS recommended shareholders vote against the proposed transaction, according to analysts.

** Poland's largest media group Cyfrowy Polsat said it agreed to buy two small television channels from its main shareholder in a bid to strengthen its own broadcasting arm and carve up a bigger share of the advertising market.

** Activist investor Keith Meister and real estate major Related Cos lowered their offer price for CommonWealth REIT to $24.50 per share from $27, citing the office building operator's recently completed equity offering.

** The investment arm of Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman is prepared to make a counter offer to buy the Russia telecoms business of Sweden's Tele2 for $3.6-$4 billion, it said in a statement on Thursday.

** Chinese state-owned carmaker Dongfeng Motor Group will not pursue a bid for a majority stake in Fisker Automotive, according to sources familiar with the matter, leaving the troubled U.S. electric car without a clear financial backer.

** The U.S. government is seeking oversight of network equipment purchases as a condition to approve the $20 billion takeover of Sprint Nextel Corp by Japanese mobile carrier Softbank Corp, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

** Dutch delivery company TNT Express has sold Hoau, its Chinese parcel business, to private equity funds as it refocuses on core European activities after an unsuccessful takeover attempt by a U.S. rival.

** Swedish investment firm Kinnevik said on Thursday it fully backed a deal agreed by Tele2 to sell its Russian unit to banking group VTB for $3.5 billion.

** Insurer Swiss Life is looking to sell a specialist unit catering for U.S. clients and is sounding out possible bidders, a company approached about a deal said.

** Taiwanese chipmaker ProMOS Technologies Inc said on Thursday that it has agreed to sell its 12-inch wafer fab to Silicon Valley-based contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries, after failing to dispose of the asset in two previous auctions.

** German investor Joh A Benckiser (JAB) is in talks over a 6.4-billion-euro deal ($8.2 billion) to buy the owner of Douwe Egberts coffee and bolster its position in a hot drinks industry benefiting from innovation and emerging market growth.

** Britain's Johnson Matthey, the world's top supplier of catalytic converters, said it had bought Formox, a Sweden-based specialist chemical company, for 107 million pounds ($161.71 million).

** A major investor in Central European Distribution Corp , one of the world's largest vodka producers, has withdrawn from a consortium that had proposed acquiring the company through a restructuring proposal.