July 25 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Thursday:
** Dell Inc founder Michael Dell raised his $24.4 billion bid by less than 1 percent just hours before it was to be put to a vote, tacking on a controversial demand to change voting rules to make it easier for him to buy and take the No. 3 personal computer maker private.
** German publisher Axel Springer agreed a 920 million euro ($1.22 billion) deal to sell its regional newspapers as well as its TV programme guides and women's magazines to German group Funke Mediengruppe.
** Lenders are set to take control of Hibu Plc after reaching a conditional agreement with the British yellow pages publisher, a deal that could end the company's two-year struggle to pay off its 2.3 billion pound ($3.53 billion) debt.
The company, formerly know as Yell, said its debt would be exchanged by lenders for all of the equity in a new group holding company.
** Petronas plans to sell down its stake in a $20 billion Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project to as low as 50 percent, in order to share the cost of bringing cheap energy to Asia, three people familiar with the matter said.
** British engineer Invensys, the target of a takeover approach from France's Schneider Electric, said it was still discussing the 3.3 billion pound ($5.1 billion) takeover proposal. Schneider has until Aug. 8 to say whether it intends to make a firm offer or walk away under UK takeover rules.
** The U.S. government has decided to take an additional 45 days to review a Chinese company's plan to purchase Smithfield Foods, the world's largest pork producer said on Wednesday in a statement that expressed confidence the deal would close in the second half of 2013.
** The owners of video streaming site Hulu called off talks with Time Warner Cable Inc over the cable operator's plan to take a 25 percent stake after failing to agree on a price, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations.
** Daimler said it will take a stake of up to 5 percent in Aston Martin as part of a technical partnership the German automaker will set up with the British manufacturer.
** Australian petrol and convenience store retailer United Petroleum is exploring a potential sale or a joint venture of the business that has a value of about A$1 billion ($921 million) including debt, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
** SoftBank Corp CEO Masayoshi Son said on Thursday he could not comment whether he had tried to buy Universal Music, after a media report last week said Universal's owner Vivendi SA had rejected an $8.5 billion offer from Son's company.
** Russian oil major Rosneft may buy a stake in Russia-focused oil and gas company Alliance Oil, Vedomosti daily newspaper reported on Thursday citing sources.
** Japan's Aeon Co Ltd and state-owned China Resources Enterprise Ltd are among the suitors considering bids for the Hong Kong supermarket business being sold by billionaire Li Ka-shing, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Li's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd conglomerate has set an Aug. 16 deadline for initial bids for the business, with an asking price of up to $4 billion, said the people, who declined to be identified because the sale process is confidential.
** CKE Inc, the restaurant group that operates the Carl's Jr and Hardees fast food chains, is exploring a potential sale after postponing its initial public offering last year, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The Apollo Global Management-backed company is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc to run a sale process that is in the early stages and could value the company at more than $1.7 billion, two of the people said.
** JPMorgan Chase & Co's commodity trading arm is looking to sell more of the electricity deals it has with U.S. power plants and wind farms, a source familiar with the business said on Wednesday, at a time when Wall Street's involvement in physical commodity markets is under heightened scrutiny.
** U.S. drugmakers Perrigo Co and Forest Laboratories Inc are preparing to submit takeover bids for Elan Corp this week and the Irish drugmaker hopes to announce a sale as early as next week, according to three people familiar with the matter.
** Megafon, Russia's No. 2 mobile phone company, has obtained clearance from the country's competition watchdog for a potential acquisition of rival Scartel, the regulator said on Thursday.
** Specialty chemicals maker Lonza posted a bigger than expected fall in first-half profit and said it was ending a generic drugs venture with Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by mutual agreement after misjudging how much it would cost.