** Shares in Bavarian Nordic BAVA.CO surge 16% to top of STOXX 600 .STOXX index after a media report on a potential takeover bid for the Danish vaccine maker
** Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter, that consortium consisting of Nordic Capital and Permira is exploring a potential takeover of the Copenhagen-listed company
** Bavarian confirmed it has been in discussion with Nordic Capital and Permira but that as talks are ongoing, there could be no certainty that any offer will be made
** The stock reaches its highest price since October 2024 and if gains hold will see its best day in 11 months
** Trading in shares halted as of 1358 GMT
** Shares of peer Paris-listed Valneva VLS.PA rise 12%
(Reporting by Izabela Niemiec, Vera Dvorakova)
((Izabela.niemiec@thomsonreuters.com))