(Adds Dell Inc, Orkla, Marathon Oil, Elan, prada, Telecom Italia and others)
May 23 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday:
** Activist investor Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management Inc have initiated talks with banks and asset managers to line up commitments for as much as $7 billion in bridge loans to back their leveraged recapitalization proposal for Dell Inc, banking sources told Thomson Reuters LPC on Thursday.
** U.S. industrial conglomerate Dover Corp said it plans to spin off some of its communication technologies businesses into a publicly traded company with annual revenue of about $1.3 billion, sending its shares up as much as 5 percent.
** Norway's Orkla ASA, Danish brewer Royal Unibrew and private equity firm Nordic Capital have proceeded to the second round of bidding for Heineken's Finnish division Hartwall, three people familiar with the matter said.
** Private equity firm Apax Partners LLP has agreed to acquire rue21 Inc for about $1.1 billion, attracted by the teen-apparel retailer's growth and cash flow and keen to add to a retail portfolio that includes Cole Haan and Takko Fashion.
** Marathon Oil Corp said on Thursday that negotiations to sell a portion of its 20 percent stake in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project in Canada ended without a deal.
** Elan Corp Plc rejected Royalty Pharma's increased $6.4 billion bid on Thursday, shortly after the U.S. firm cut the acceptance bar for its latest offer to 50 percent plus one share.
** Italian fashion house Prada is not planning on returning to the acquisition trail for now, its chief executive said on Thursday, dousing speculation it might be in the hunt for deals. Prada was reported to be mulling a bid for Italian jeweller Pomellato before it was snapped up by PPR last month.
** Telecom Italia SpA has pushed to the end of the month a decision on whether to spin off its fixed-line access network, which is proving more complex than expected due to political and regulatory considerations.
** Italian Industry Minister Flavio Zanonato said he asked automaker Fiat SpA to stay in Italy after its planned merger with Chrysler, which has led labour unions to fear it plans to move its headquarters to the United States.
** Blackstone Group LP and Prologis Inc have agreed to buy a portfolio of 17 million square feet of warehouse and distribution centers whose majority owner is Lehman Brothers for about $960 million, two sources familiar with the deal said on Wednesday.
** The Netherlands is willing to sell its 33 percent stake in nuclear fuel producer Urenco, but wants governments to retain a majority holding in the firm, the Dutch finance ministry said on Thursday.
** Norwegian fish farmer Cermaq said it is in talks with bigger rival Marine Harvest and other parties about a potential deal after dropping its bid for Peruvian fish feed firm Copeinca ASA. Marine Harvest has offered to buy Cermaq for $1.7 billion on the condition that it walked away from Copeinca.
** Austrian construction group Strabag SE has made an indicative offer for German company Hochtief's services unit, it said on Thursday.
** Nordion Inc said early Thursday that it agreed to sell the its targeted therapies division, which includes the liver cancer therapy TheraSphere, for $200 million in cash to British health care company BTG PLC.
** Bahrain's Al Salam Bank and BMI Bank, an affiliate of Oman's Bank Muscat, have announced plans to merge, a tie-up which would create the kingdom's third-largest bank by assets, the lenders said in a statement.
** India's Tata Steel Ltd said it expected to take no further charges in Europe and has put no European assets up for sale, following a $1.6 billion writedown for the region in the past financial year due to weak demand.
** Britain's BTG Plc said it would make two acquisitions, one extending its expertise in liver cancer and the other a treatment for severe blood clots, to create an interventional medicine business with potential sales of $1 billion.
** Spain's Caixabank SA may sell around 10 percent of Grupo Financiero Inbursa, a Mexican bank controlled by tycoon Carlos Slim, in response to renewed pressure to shed investments and bulk up capital.
** British defence technology company QinetiQ Group could sell its U.S. services division after a 256 million pound ($385 million) writedown prompted it to launch a strategic review of the business.
** Australian casino company Crown Ltd is selling its entire 10 percent stake in rival Echo Entertainment Group , the operator of Sydney's sole casino, a source with knowledge of the sale said.
** Mexican real estate investment trust Terrafina said on Thursday that it agreed to pay $600 million to acquire a Mexican property portfolio from U.S. Kimco Realty Corp and its partner American Industries.
** South African miner Lonmin said on Thursday that talks with union AMCU had failed to yield a deal that would formalise the group's status as the majority union at the world's third-largest platinum producer.
** Belgian grocer Delhaize is looking to sell two of its U.S. businesses as it continues to cut costs in the region, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
** State-run Banco do Brasil SA is in talks to buy possible takeover targets in the United States, Chile and Colombia, a senior executive said on Thursday, adding the high value of banking assets in South America is no longer a problem. (Compiled by Vijay Vishwas and Lehar Maan in Bangalore)