April 19 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers,

acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1930 GMT on Friday:

** Investment fund Phoenix won the privatization auction for

a controlling stake in Brazilian power generator EMAE

with an offer of 70.65 reais per share, a premium of 33.68% over

the minimum bid.

** U.S. investment company KKR's proposed buyout of

Telecom Italia's (TIM) fixed-line access network will

be decided by EU antitrust regulators by May 30, according to a

European Commission filing.

** Hedge fund manager Butler Hall Capital said on Friday it

is urging Vanda Pharmaceuticals ( VNDA ) to form an independent

special committee to engage with Future Pak over its takeover

offer and run a full sales process.

** French train manufacturer Alstom has agreed to

sell its North American conventional rail signalling business to

German rail systems manufacturer Knorr-Bremse AG KBX.DE for

around 630 million euros ($671 million), it said.

** Brazil's Petz said it had agreed to merge with

rival Cobasi in a cash and share swap deal that would create the

country's largest pet product retailer.

** Spain signalled it was open to a potential takeover bid

of energy firm Naturgy NTGY.MC by Abu Dhabi's TAQA,

saying that while the government will defend its strategic

interests that did not imply it would block the deal.

** Lufthansa executives and lawyers will attend a

day-long hearing in Brussel to try to convince EU antitrust

regulators to clear the company's bid for a minority stake in

Italian rival ITA Airways.

** British packaging group Mondi ( MNODF ) will not make an

offer to buy DS Smith ( DITHF ), it said, bowing out of the

battle after its UK peer agreed to a 5.8 billion pound ($7.21

billion) deal with International Paper IP.N earlier this week.

** The Indian government is open to a minority stake sale in

General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) and Life

Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in financial year

2024/25 after assessing investor appetite, a government source

told Reuters on Friday.

** Schneider Electric is in talks with U.S.

engineering software producer Bentley Systems ( BSY ) over a

potential "strategic transaction", it said without elaborating,

sending the French company's shares down 2%.

** Shares of Paramount Global ( PARAA ) rose more than 9% in

premarket trade, after Reuters reported Sony Pictures

Entertainment and Apollo Global Management ( APO ) were

discussing a joint bid to acquire the media company.

** Private equity firm Blackstone Inc ( BX ) is nearing a

deal to sell its controlling stake in South Korean wholesale

drug distributor Geo-Young to North Asian buyout fund MBK

Partners for over $1 billion, three sources said.

** The mining investment arm of Abu Dhabi's most valuable

company has offered to buy a majority stake in Vedanta

Resources' Zambian copper assets, two sources familiar with the

matter told Reuters, in its drive to build an African copper

mining empire.

(Compiled by Priyanka.G in Bengaluru)