Adds Repsol and Schroders
April 16 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2100 GMT on Thursday:
** Spain's Repsol REP.MC has reached a preliminary agreement with the Venezuelan government and state energy firm PDVSA to gain operational control of an oil joint venture in which it remains a minority stakeholder and to boost production.
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** Schroders SDR.L shareholders approved a 9.9 billion pound ($13.4 billion) sale of the British asset manager to U.S. rival Nuveen, confirming the end of independence for one of London's historic fund houses.
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** Arthur J Gallagher has acquired UK-based Bridge Insurance Brokers Limited, the broker announced.
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** Credit card giant American Express said it would buy Hyper, an artificial intelligence-focused expense management startup backed by OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman.
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** British product testing and certifications group Intertek said it has rejected private-equity group EQT AB's takeover offer worth 7.93 billion pounds ($10.74 billion), or 51.50 pounds per share, citing undervaluation.
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** Real estate investment trust Choice Properties and KingSett Capital will acquire First Capital REIT in a cash-and-stock deal worth about C$9.4 billion ($6.85 billion), the companies said .
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** Gucci-owner Kering will acquire a minority stake in Shanghai-based Icicle Fashion Group as part of a new partnership with its Chinese parent ICCF, the French luxury group said.
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** State-owned oil firm Sonangol's refinery division Sonaref has not received any formal communication from Botswana signalling its desire to acquire a stake in Angola's new $6.6 billion Lobito refinery, a senior company executive said late on Tuesday.
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** Georgia's BasisBank, owned by Chinese conglomerate Hualing Group, has acquired a 95.99% ownership stake in Liberty Bank, the South Caucasus country's third-largest lender, BasisBank said .
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** British sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion has sold its entire 9.1% stake in Applied Nutrition for about 49 million pounds ($66.47 million), a bookrunner said .
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** Fred Blackford, a British tech investor who heads Future Positive Global, has accumulated a stake worth more than $500 million in TikTok-owner ByteDance, he told the FT in an interview published .
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** Elliott Investment Management said it has taken a stake in Daikin <6367.T> and thinks the manufacturer of air conditioners should improve margins and shareholder returns and review non-core assets.
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(Compiled by Sahil Pandey, Rajarshi Roy and Megavarshini G. Somasundaram in Bengaluru)
((Sahil.Pandey@thomsonreuters.com))
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