(Adds Argus Media, Banca Popolare, Bank Asya, Allergan (NYSE:AGN_pa); updates Tribune Publishing)
May 23 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Monday:
** German drugs and crop chemicals group Bayer AG (DE:BAYGN) has offered to buy U.S. seeds company Monsanto (NYSE:MON) Co MON.N for $62 billion in cash, including debt, which would be the biggest foreign takeover by a German firm if the unsolicited proposal is accepted. U.S. investment firm General Atlantic is to buy a majority stake in oil price reporting agency Argus Media in a deal valuing London-based Argus at nearly 1 billion pounds ($1.45 billion) and making dozens of employees potential millionaires. A group of private equity investors is in talks to buy a sizable stake in troubled Italian lender Banca Popolare di Vicenza though disagreement over pricing is holding things up, a source close to the matter said. Turkish authorities officially put confiscated Islamic lender Bank Asya ASYAB.IS up for sale but said that the bank could still be liquidated if no buyer can be found. Allergan Plc AGN.N Chief Executive Brent Saunders said the company expects to close the $40.5 billion sale of its generic medicines portfolio to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NYSE:TEVA) Ltd TEVA.TA in a matter of weeks, opening the door for new acquisitions.
** Ares Capital Corp ARCC.O , a lender to mid-sized companies, said it would buy smaller rival American Capital Ltd ACAS.O in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $3.4 billion. Tribune Publishing Co TPUB.N , the owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, rejected Gannett Co (NYSE:TGNA) Inc's GCI.N latest takeover offer but said it would allow Gannett to access some confidential corporate information. Publishing also said billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong invested $70.5 million in the company, becoming its second largest shareholder. ANZ Banking Group ANZ.AX is exploring plans to sell part or all of its life insurance and pension product development unit, valued at up to $4 billion in total, people familiar with the matter said, in line with its broader strategy of raising funds to boost capital. The CME Group Inc CME.O is talking to several warehouse companies to expand its metal storage network globally, three metal industry sources told Reuters, a move that could further challenge the London Metal Exchange's dominance. European asset manager Amundi SA AMUN.PA said it signed an agreement to acquire an 87.5 percent stake in Kleinwort Benson Investors from Oddo & Cie, with the target's management team buying the rest. A key shareholder in Norway's Opera Software OPERA.OL has agreed to sell its stake in the company ahead of a May 24 final deadline to accept a bid from a Chinese consortium. Giant Chinese courier company SF Holdings (Group) has struck a 43.3 billion yuan ($6.6 billion) deal with a little-known metals company that effectively gives the firm known as 'China's Fedex' a backdoor route to a listing on the Shenzhen stock market. French insurer AXA AXAF.PA said it planned to stop investing in the tobacco industry, citing the impact of smoking on public health, and said it planned to sell its 1.8 billion euros ($2.02 billion) of assets in the sector. Britain's Legal & General Group LGEN.L said it would buy 3 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) of annuity liabilities from Dutch insurer Aegon AEGN.AS . Troubled Australian steel group Arrium Ltd ARI.AX , which collapsed last month after creditors rejected a private equity bailout, will hire a global investment bank to advise on the sale of its profitable Moly-Cop mining supplies unit, the firm's administrator said. Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund LP (FGC) has agreed to buy Aixtron AIXGn.DE in a deal valuing the German semiconductor equipment maker at 670 million euros ($752 million), adding to a string of Chinese takeovers of German technology companies. Quarrels have broken out behind the scenes of Anthem Inc's ANTM.N proposed acquisition of Cigna Corp (NYSE:CI) CI.N , as the health insurers seek regulatory approval for their landmark deal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Excalibur Steel, a management buyout group interested in purchasing Tata Steel Ltd's TISC.NS British steelmaking operations, is ready to lend its support to rival bidder Liberty House, two industry sources told Reuters on Sunday. U.S. energy group Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) PSX.N is in the final stages of selling the only oil refinery in Ireland, a source familiar with negotiations said on Saturday. Buyout firms Silver Lake Partners LP and TPG Capital LP are considering a sale of telecoms equipment company Avaya Inc that could value it at between $6 billion and $10 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.