(Adds Kuwait Food, Deutsche Boerse, Royal Bank of Scotland, Banco Popolare and others; updates Tesla, National Foods Products and Marathon Asset Management)
June 22 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday:
** Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Group LP BX.N , the world's biggest investor in hedge funds, said on Wednesday that it bought a minority stake in $13 billion hedge fund Marathon Asset Management. Italy's Eni ENI.MI does not intend to change a target of offloading 7 billion euros ($8 billion) in assets by 2019 after talks to sell a majority stake in chemical unit Versalis fell through, a top executive at the oil major said. China's biggest maker of industrial robots, Siasun 300024.SZ , is looking for acquisition targets in Europe as it seeks to expand the proportion of sales it makes abroad, its president told Reuters. McDonald's Corp MCD.N has received more than half a dozen bids for its China and Hong Kong stores, including offers from Beijing Tourism Group, Sanpower and ChemChina, in an auction that could fetch up to $3 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Investors questioned a plan by Silicon Valley heavyweight Elon Musk for his electric car company Tesla Motors Inc TSLA.O to buy his rooftop solar company SolarCity Corp SCTY.O for up to $2.8 billion. The Royal Bank of Scotland RBS.L has received bids for its Greek ship finance business, banking and financial sources familiar with the matter said, following a leap in bad shipping debts at the lender over the past few months. They told Reuters that the operation was worth about $3 billion. Okta Inc, a U.S. cloud identity management company valued at $1.2 billion in its latest private fundraising round, has hired Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) GS.N to lead an initial public offering or outright sale, people familiar with the matter said. Gulf-based Adeptio is in advanced talks with banks to secure a $1.65 billion bridge loan to fund its purchase of a majority stake in Kuwait Food Co (Americana) FOOD.KW , banking sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Shareholders in Italy's Veneto Banca have bought just 1 percent of its 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) initial share offering, meaning the regional bank will likely be taken over by bailout fund Atlante, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday. Italy's Banco Popolare BAPO.MI has raised the 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) it needed to complete a planned merger with Banca Popolare di Milano PMII.MI and create the country's third-largest bank. Australian markets operator ASX Ltd ASX.AX said it was exercising an option to lift its stake in U.S. blockchain developer Digital Asset Holdings, stepping up its interest in a technology that backers say can ease information tracking and reduce transaction settlement times. Chinese oilfield operator CITIC Resources Holdings Ltd 1205.HK will join with Japan's Itochu Corp 8001.T to invest in oil and gas projects, as rising oil prices this year are spurring investments in exploration and production assets. U.S. oil producer QEP Resources Inc (NYSE:QEP) QEP.N said on Tuesday it would spend $600 million to buy acreage in the Permian Basin of Texas, the latest in a recent string of sector acquisitions as crude prices stabilize near $50 per barrel. Seven Democratic senators urged the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday to block two mergers of major health insurance companies, saying that the proposed deals would mean higher premiums and lower-quality healthcare for consumers. The department is reviewing Aetna (NYSE:AET) Inc's AET.N $33 billion plan to buy Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) HUM.N and Anthem Inc's ANTM.N $48 billion proposal to buy Cigna Corp (NYSE:CI) CI.N . If approved, the deals will reduce the number of national health insurers from five to three. Activist investor Artisan Partners has taken a 3.03 percent stake in Deutsche Boerse DB1Gn.DE , the German stock exchange operator said on Wednesday. The owners of National Foods Products Co (NFPC) have abandoned the sale of a majority stake in the Abu Dhabi-based firm after final round bids failed to meet their valuation, sources aware of the matter said on Wednesday. Qatari private investment company Mayhoola investment fund, owner of the Valentino brand, confirmed that it is set to acquire French luxury fashion label Balmain, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. ($1 = 0.68 pounds) ($1 = 0.89 euros)