(Adds Sun Capital Partners)
May 19 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday:
** U.S. private equity firm Sun Capital Partners has appointed Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) MS.N to sell Aclara Technologies, a provider of smart meters to almost 800 utility customers, sources familiar with the matter said. Spain's biggest bank Santander SAN.MC or state-owned lender Bankia BKIA.MC are most likely to step in to save troubled Banco Popular POP.MC , sources familiar with the talks told Reuters, although a deal is still far from guaranteed. Chinese private equity investor CDH Investments is selling a 6 percent stake in WH Group Ltd 0288.HK , the world's largest pork supplier, in a deal that will raise up to $743 million, according to a term sheet seen by IFR. RWE RWEG.DE and Engie ENGIE.PA are studying a possible share swap that could create a Franco-German giant in power grids, renewables and energy services with a market value of about 50 billion euros ($55.8 billion). Mining group Pallinghurst Resources Ltd PGLJ.J , the largest shareholder of precious stones miner Gemfields Plc GEM.L , offered to buy out the remaining 52.91 percent it does not already own for about 111.9 million pounds ($145.2 million). U.S. investment firm Starwood Capital has put French crystal maker Baccarat CDBP.PA up for sale and the best offer so far has come from a Chinese group, French daily L'Agefi said, citing several sources. Suitors including private equity firms KKR & Co LP KKR.N , Bain Capital and U.S. chip maker Broadcom Ltd AVGO.O are lining up for Toshiba Corp's 6502.T semiconductor business, sources familiar with matter said ahead of a deadline for second-round offers. French satellite operator Eutelsat ETL.PA has agreed to sell its 33.69 percent stake in Spanish business Hispasat to majority shareholder Abertis ABE.MC for 302 million euros ($336 million). Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Health Information Technology Ltd 0241.HK said controlling shareholder Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA.N would sell HK$3.8 billion ($488.3 million) worth of health food and nutritional products businesses to the company, further developing it into Alibaba's healthcare flagship platform. Power producer Vistra Energy Corp VST.N has proposed to take over debt-laden rival Dynegy Inc DYN.N , the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. South Korea's SK Hynix Inc 000660.KS said it will submit a final bid for Toshiba Corp's 6502.T memory chip business as part of a consortium. The private equity groups behind a hostile bid for British challenger bank Shawbrook Group SHAW.L said they had backing from investors holding 45.1 percent of its shares, and were extending the offer period. U.S. buyout firm TPG Capital Management said it would make a commitment to editorial independence if it succeeds in its A$2.76 billion ($2.05 billion) offer for Australia's oldest newspaper publisher, Fairfax Media Ltd FXJ.AX . Australia's two biggest billboard companies called off a deal in which APN Outdoor Group Ltd APO.AX would buy rival oOh!media Ltd OML.AX for A$735 million ($544.9 million), after the antitrust regulator raised concerns. Japanese chemicals maker Daicel Corp 4202.T and auto parts maker Toyoda Gosei Co 7282.T said they will invest 1 billion yen ($9 million) in each other's equity, deepening ties as both companies expand their global air bag businesses.