The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday:

** The Brazilian unit of Nestlé SA has agreed to sell its water brands Petropolis and Sao Lourenco to a Brazilian company, newspaper Valor Economico said in a story on its website.

** Turner Chief Executive Officer John Martin told a U.S. court that there is no incentive for the company to hold back its networks, which include CNN, TBS and TNT, from other distributors if parent Time Warner is bought by AT&T Inc.

** Plans by Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel to combine their European steel operations face renewed opposition from German unions, who say the companies’ labour agreement in the Netherlands goes too far in protecting work and sites there.

** Kering and fashion label Stella McCartney said they had agreed to end their 17 year partnership, as the British designer behind the brand buys the 50 percent owned by the French luxury goods group.

** Montenegro’s power utility EPCG said it would make an offer for a controlling stake in the Balkan country’s biggest coal mine RUP, which it wants to modernise.

** Greece’s National Bank is exploring all options on the sale of a majority stake in its wholly owned insurance unit after a deal to sell the subsidiary to Netherlands-based investor Exin expired on Wednesday, the banks’s CFO said.

** DP World has not received an offer from Djibouti to buy its 33 percent stake in the Doraleh Container Terminal, a spokesman for the port operator said after a Djiboutian official said the stake could be bought.

** TomTom NV, the Dutch supplier of digital maps and navigation technology, has enlisted Deutsche Bank to help with the possible sale of the whole firm or a minority stake, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

** India said it plans to sell a controlling stake in Air India along with roughly $5.1 billion of the state-run carrier’s debt, one of the biggest divestments undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

** U.S. exchange operator CME Group is in advanced talks to buy Britain’s NEX Group for about 3.8 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) to create a cross-border trading powerhouse.

** Leading German luxury carmakers Daimler and BMW have joined forces to expand their businesses in new services such as car-sharing and electric vehicle charging to compete with Uber in the United States and Didi Chuxing in China.

** Italian state lender CDP is willing to sit down with a potential buyer of loss-making airline Alitalia to discuss a possible financial partnership, but only within the company’s limits, CDP Chairman Claudio Costamagna said.

** French poultry group LDC has submitted a takeover bid for Doux, joining Ukraine’s MHP in a battle to acquire the loss-making Brittany-based firm that employs 1,200 workers.

** Japan’s largest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical is considering a bid for London-listed Shire that could top $40 billion and spark another takeover battle in the deal-hungry pharma industry.

** Global miner Rio Tinto, sold its remaining coal mine in Australia for $2.25 billion, making good on a pledge to exit the fuel and boosting its ability to fund future buybacks or higher dividends.

** U.S. weapons maker Raytheon Co said it was “fairly confident” Poland and the United States could reach agreement on procurement of further Patriot missile defence systems by year-end after they finalised an initial Patriot sale.

** The buyout bid from Germany’s ATON for Murray & Roberts could be in doubt after the fourth-largest shareholder in South African engineering and construction company, rejected their offer.

** U.S. shale producer Concho Resources Inc agreed to buy rival RSP Permian Inc in an $8 billion all-stock deal that could trigger a wave of consolidation in the fast-growing Permian Basin oilfield.

** Finnish utility Fortum is no longer in talks with Russia’s Gazprom over a possible deal involving the restructuring of Russian hydro and thermal power company TGC-1, Fortum’s Chief Executive said.

** India’s top cement maker UltraTech Cement Ltd, part of the Aditya Birla conglomerate, said the Competition Commission of India approved its $1.1 billion bid to buy Binani Industries Ltd’s cement unit.

** Headsets maker Plantronics Inc said it would buy video conferencing equipment maker Polycom in a $2 billion deal, as it aims to take a bigger share of the market for providing businesses with a one-stop shop for managing their communications.

** U.S. defense contractor CACI International Inc withdrew its offer to buy peer CSRA Inc, losing a month-long bidding war to General Dynamics Corp.

** Pebblebrook Hotel Trust said it was ready to discuss the pricing of its all-stock offer with fellow U.S. hotel owner LaSalle Hotel Properties Inc, which rejected the bid, saying it undervalued the company.

** South Korea’s auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd said it will spin off its module and after-service parts businesses and merge them with affiliate Hyundai Glovis .

** Food giants Nestle, Kraft Heinz and Unilever are expected to bid for GlaxoSmithKline’s Horlicks health nutrition business, which could fetch more than $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

** British turnaround specialist Melrose said it would not embark on a reorganisation of British engineering company GKN if its hostile bid succeeds, part of an agreement with the UK takeover watchdog.

** Europe’s largest tourism group TUI has expanded its business offering excursions and activities to holidaymakers by buying part of Spanish hotel room specialist Hotelbeds Group, aiming to take advantage of a growing market.

** U.S. chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV, the target of a $44 billion takeover by Qualcomm Inc that is awaiting approval by Chinese anti-monopoly regulators, has sold its stake in a Chinese chip-design joint venture.

** India’s Manipal Hospitals Enterprises Private Ltd plans to buy troubled Fortis Healthcare Ltd’s hospital business, but the deal is expected to run into opposition from Fortis minority shareholders. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba and Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru)