(Updates Vintage; Adds Nykredit, CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS), EasyJet, Total , Bankrate, China Telecom , Broadcom)
Nov 3 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday:
** Nestle NESN.S announced its second small coffee acquisition in as many months on Friday, buying Texas-based Chameleon Cold-Brew as it seeks to bolster its world-leading coffee business. U.S. private equity firm Leonard Green and Partners is set to acquire a controlling stake in British gym operator Pure Gym from CCMP Capital Advisors, the firms said in a statement. Turkish investment firm Global Yatirim Holding will focus on renewable energy and infrastructure projects and look to buy an asset manager, its chairman said, as part of a shift in strategy since an investment from London-based fund Centricus. Investor Daniel Kretinsky, the majority owner of central European energy group EPH, is near a deal to buy Czech bus and rail car manufacturer Skoda Transportation, a source with knowledge of the talks said on Friday. Private-equity backed French clothing retailer Vivarte, which is aiming to restructure some 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) of debt, said it had sold Spanish shoes brand Merkal to private investment firm OpCapita. Torrent Pharmaceuticals TORP.NS said on Friday it would buy more than 120 brands from Unichem Laboratories UNLB.NS in India and Nepal, and its manufacturing plant at Sikkim. Vintage Capital offered to buy Rent-A-Center Inc RCII.O for about $693 million, a week after the furniture retailer decided to explore strategic options under pressure from two activist investors. Germany's Continental AG CONG.DE said it was buying Israel's Argus Cyber Security, whose technology guards connected cars against hacking. Malaysian state energy company Petronas PETR.UL and Aramco are facing "technical issues" in finalising the Saudi oil major's $7 billion investment in a refinery project, but the deal will be completed soon, state news agency Bernama reported. Unilever ULVR.L UNc.AS said it would buy the specialty tea brand Tazo from Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) in a deal valued at $384 million. Westpac Banking Corp WBC.AX said it had agreed to sell its Hastings fund management business to a London-based asset manager, in the latest move by a big Australian bank to offload a capital intensive division. T-Mobile US TMUS.O and Sprint S.N are working to salvage their $74 billion merger and could reach a deal within weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. British energy supplier Centrica CNA.L has bought Belgian demand response aggregator REstore for 70 million euros ($82 million), it said. Nykredit, Denmark's largest mortgage lender, said it could sell a minority stake rather than pursue a planned listing, after its main investor Forenet Kredit received an offer for its holding. CVS Health Corp's planned $66 billion buy of Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) is poised to boost the healthcare sector's share of US investment-grade mergers and acquisitions lending beyond its current one-third share of the $122 billion total as the sector remains a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster market. U.S. pharmacy operator CVS Health Corp CVS.N and health insurer Aetna Inc AET.N are working toward finalizing merger terms and announcing a deal for more than $70 billion as early as December, according to people familiar with the matter. EasyJet EZJ.L has agreed a deal with a German trade union over job terms for former crew of Air Berlin after the British budget carrier agreed to buy part of the failed airline's operations. French oil company Total TOTF.PA said it had agreed to sell the Italian petrol station network it co-owns with partner ERG ERG.MI to refiner API, completing the planned disposal of the TotalErg joint venture's assets. Bankrate Inc RATE.N will divest its Caring.com unit as a condition of its acquisition by Red Ventures LLC for $1.4 billion to avoid harm to competition in the third-party paid senior living facilities referral services, the Federal Trade Commission said. China Telecom Corp 0728.HK may invest up to 20 billion reais($6 billion) to acquire a majority stake in Brazilian carrier Oi SA OIBR4.SA , a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Broadcom Ltd AVGO.O is planning an unsolicited bid for smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm Inc QCOM.O with an offer possible as soon as this weekend, a source familiar with the matter said.