(Adds Microsemi, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Electrolux, General Electric, Tereos; updates KeyCorp, McGraw Hill)
Oct 30 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday:
** Cleveland-based KeyCorp has agreed to buy First Niagara Financial Group Inc of Buffalo for $4.1 billion in the biggest deal this year between two U.S. regional banks.
** Chipmaker Skyworks Solutions Inc raised its offer to buy PMC-Sierra Inc to about $2.27 billion, marginally above a rival bid worth $2.25 billion from Microsemi Corp.
** Microsemi Corp hiked its offer to buy PMC-Sierra Inc to about $2.33 billion, topping a $2.27 billion bid from Skyworks Solutions Inc and extending - but perhaps not ending - a bidding war that started almost two weeks ago.
** Peet's Coffee & Tea will expand its reach in the premium "third wave" coffee sector with the purchase of a majority stake in Intelligentsia Coffee, the two chains said on Friday.
** The U.S. Justice Department rejected an Electrolux offer to settle a fight over whether the Swedish company would be allowed to buy General Electric's appliance business, saying it was inadequate.
** Three buyout funds are vying to buy General Electric's banking unit in France as the U.S. conglomerate presses ahead with its plan to offload its financing operations in Europe, four sources familiar with the matter said.
** French sugar group Tereos said on Friday Brazil's Petrobras had raised its stake in their sugar and ethanol joint venture Guarani to 45.9 percent through a capital injection of 268 million reais ($69.75 million).
** German defence group Rheinmetall has tied up with buyout group Blackstone to bid for Airbus's defence electronics unit, two sources familiar with the matter said, in a deal worth up to a billion euros ($1.1 billion).
** Brazil's telecommunications group Oi SA said it entered in exclusive negotiations with investment firm LetterOne to merge with rival TIM Participações SA.
** European Union antitrust regulators will decide by Dec. 23 whether to clear U.S. drinks can maker Ball Corp's 4.43-billion-pound ($6.8 billion) proposed takeover of British peer Rexam, a two-week delay from the previous deadline.
** AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes began talks with bankers to take Asia's No.1 budget airline private after a plunge in its stock price put $200 million worth of loans borrowed against AirAsia's shares at risk, people familiar with the situation told Reuters.
** Poland needs to consolidate some of its four biggest state-run power companies soon to create bigger players able to compete on the European market, the CEO of the country's second biggest electricity producer Tauron said on Friday.
** McGraw Hill Financial Inc is looking at selling off its J.D. Power unit, best known for car quality and reliability ratings, as the owner of the Standard & Poor's ratings services focuses on capital and commodity markets.
** Chinese state-backed technology conglomerate Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd is buying a 25 percent stake in Powertech Technology Inc for $600 million, becoming the largest shareholder in the Taiwanese chip packaging and testing company.
** The head of Japan's Sharp Corp said it was in talks with several companies on possible deals for its loss-making liquid crystal display (LCD) business, which posted a loss of 12.7 billion yen ($105 million) in the July-September quarter.
** Samsung Group will sell its chemicals businesses to local conglomerate Lotte Group for about 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion), the latest move to simplify its structure ahead of a transfer of power from its elderly chief to his heirs.
** Buyout firm TPG Capital Management LP is exploring a sale or initial public offering of Nexeo Solutions LLC, hoping a deal would value the U.S. chemical distribution company at close to $2 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
** American International Group Inc directors are discussing a spinoff or sale of the company's small mortgage-insurance business as it faces new pressure from shareholders to break itself apart, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
** Australian logistics firm Qube Holdings Ltd said it and partners had bought a near 20 percent stake in freight firm Asciano Ltd, seeking to block a $6.5 billion bid from Canada's Brookfield Asset Management.
** Airbus Group aims to sell its remaining stake of around 23.4 percent in Dassault Aviation by the end of next year, Finance Director Harald Wilhelm said.
** Xavier Niel, the founder of low-cost French mobile operator Iliad, has increased his holding in Telecom Italia to the equivalent of a 15.143 percent voting stake, a filing from Italian market regulator Consob showed.
** Canadian Oil Sands, the largest-interest owner in the Syncrude oil sands project, has not received any offers to rival Suncor Energy's hostile takeover bid but is "getting interest", Chief Executive Ryan Kubik said on Thursday.
** Raytheon Co's Websense unit is buying Intel Corp's Finnish cybersecurity arm, Stonesoft, according to news media reports.
** U.S. private equity group Centerbridge Partners has appointed investment banks to sell Spanish property services firm Aktua, five sources familiar with the matter said.
** Europe's largest hotel group Accor SA is planning to buy Canada-based FRHI Hotels & Resorts for about $3 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing sources. (Compiled by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)