(Adds Hostess Brands, Harel Insurance, Superior Plus, Volkswagen, Thai Union Group and Credit Suisse )
July 5 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1330 GMT on Tuesday:
** Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Inc BRKa.N is seeking permission from the Federal Reserve to increase its ownership stake in Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) & Co WFC.N , after reaching the 10 percent level that could prompt increased regulatory scrutiny. Hostess Brands LLC, the maker of Twinkies and Ding Dongs, said an affiliate of private equity firm Gores Group will buy the company in a $725 million deal and take it public. Israeli conglomerate Delek Group DLEKG.TA said it signed a non-binding deal to sell its insurance unit Phoenix Holdings PHOE1.TA to China's Fujian Yango Group 000671.SZ for at least 1.85 billion shekels ($481 million) in cash. Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services HARL.TA and the Israel Infrastructure Fund are to buy 3 percent of the Tamar natural gas field from Texas-based Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL) NBL.N for $369 million. Canadian chemical maker Superior Plus Corp SPB.TO said it was selling its construction products distribution business for $325 million to reduce debt and focus on its other businesses. Volkswagen's VOWG_p.DE financial services business has sold a 5 billion rouble ($78 million) bond in Russia to fund its local operations, it said on Tuesday, its first issue in the country's battered debt market in almost two years. Johnston Press Plc JPR.L , publisher of the Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post, said on Monday it would sell its Isle of Man titles to Tindle Newspapers Ltd for 4.25 million pounds ($5.64 million) as part of a divestment programme. Thai Union Group Plc TU.BK , the world's largest canned tuna producer, said on Tuesday it would buy a majority stake in Canadian lobster processor Les Pecheries de Chez Nous (Chez Nous) for an undisclosed amount. Midea 000333.SZ looked set to secure a 52.8 percent controlling stake in German robotics maker Kuka KU2G.DE on Monday after shareholders Voith VOITH.UL and Friedhelm Loh sold their stakes to the Chinese bidder. Singapore-based fund Effissimo, established by former colleagues of Japan's most famous activist investor, Yoshiaki Murakami, bought 5.44 percent of Japan Display Inc 6740.T , according to a regulatory filing made on Monday. A small Australian miner on Monday bought Rio Tinto's RIO.AX Blair Athol coal mine in Queensland state for a token A$1, swooping in as big miners offload unprofitable assets after years of low coal prices. Turkish parcel delivery firm Aras Kargo wants to buy back Austrian Post's POST.VI 25 percent stake in the company so it can better pursue its own international expansion, it said on Monday. France's Iliad ILD.PA is in exclusive talks on a deal to create a fourth Italian mobile telecoms operator that would smooth the way for CK Hutchison Holdings 0001.HK to merge its 3 Italia with Vimpelcom's VIP.O Wind, sources close to the matter said on Monday. Cia Energética de Minas Gerais SA, the gas unit of Cemig CMIG4.SA , has hired at least three investment banks to prepare the sale of small hydropower plants and a gas distribution unit, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the plans, part of efforts by Brazil's second-largest power distribution firm to cut its debt. Credit Suisse CSGN.S is merging its fixed income and equities divisions in Asia Pacific, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday, as the Swiss bank overhauls its global markets businesses.