(Adds Telecom Italia , Walt Disney, Daily Mirror, Barwa Bank, Banco BPM; Updates Royal Dutch Shell, Air India)
June 20 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1400 GMT on Wednesday: ** Telecom Italia (TIM) TLIT.MI has discussed the idea of merging its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) assets with those of broadband rival Open Fiber with the smaller company's shareholders, a source familiar with the matter said. Walt Disney Co DIS.N raised its bid for Twenty-First Century Fox Inc FOXA.O assets to $71.3 billion, sweetening its offer with cash as it looks to scuttle Comcast Corp's CMCSA.O $65 billion offer last week. The publisher of the Daily Mirror was cleared to buy rival tabloids the Daily Express, Daily Star and OK! magazine, with the government saying the deal would not limit the free expression of newspaper opinion. Qatari lenders Barwa Bank IPO-BABK.QA and International Bank of Qatar are in advanced talks to merge after discussions for a three-way merger with another bank collapsed last week, sources told Reuters. Banco BPM BAMI.MI is ready to sell its debt collection business if potential buyers are willing to take on almost all of its remaining bad loans, its chief executive said. German consumer electronics retailer Ceconomy CECG.DE has agreed to swap its Russian business and cash for a 15 percent stake in M.video MVID.MM , a unit of Russia's Safmar, it said. German sportscar maker Porsche said it was taking a 10 percent stake in Rimac Automobili, a Croatian start-up sportscar manufacturer which has developed a battery-powered car capable of accelerating to 400 kilometers an hour. Croatian oil group INA INAI.ZA said it has decided to buy back a 50 percent stake held by Italy's ENI ENI.MI in a joint venture exploiting 10 gas wells in the northern Adriatic. El Al Israel Airlines ELAL.TA said it had scrapped its bid to acquire smaller low-cost rival Israir from IDB Tourism amid opposition from competition regulators. Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L announced the sale of oil and gas assets in Norway and Malaysia for over $1.3 billion, bringing it closer to a target of $30 billion in disposals by year-end. India has shelved a plan to sell a 76 percent stake in state-owned carrier Air India due to lack of interest from bidders, a government official said, marking the latest setback in its ambitious efforts to rescue the ailing airline. French advertising company JCDecaux JCDX.PA said it had submitted an indicative and non-binding offer to buy Australia's APN Outdoor Group Limited APO.AX . Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp 4091.T and private equity firm Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) CG.N have emerged as frontrunners to buy assets that gases groups Linde LIN1.DE and Praxair (NYSE:PX) PX.N need to divest to seal their planned merger, people close to the matter said. Thai energy giant PTT Pcl PTT.BK said it will buy domestic power firm Glow Energy Pcl GLOW.BK , controlled by French giant Engie SA ENGIE.PA , in a deal that could be worth more than $4 billion as it seeks to play a bigger role in supplying power to the country's industrial heartlands. France will allow gas utility Engie ENGIE.PA to sell part of the main French gas grid, GRTgaz, to private investors, according to a planned parliamentary bill, as the government eyes a series of possible privatizations to boost the economy. Mining infrastructure provider Mineral Resources MIN.AX said it would not make an offer to counter Hancock Prospecting's A$390 million ($288 million) bid for Australia's Atlas Iron AGO.AX . Discount Investment Corp DISI.TA said it will sell its controlling stake in Shufersal SAE.TA , Israel's largest supermarket chain, to institutional investors. BHP BHP.AX , BLT.L said it has agreed to sell the Cerro Colorado copper mine in Chile to Australian private equity fund EMR Capital. Business process services company Synnex Corp SNX.N is in discussions to acquire Convergys Corp CVG.N , a call center operator, in a move that would create a bigger player in the technology and information services space, people familiar with the matter said.