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

** Alternative asset manager Blackstone Group LP is still open to doing deals in Italy despite political turmoil in the euro zone country, President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray said.

** India’s Reliance Communications said it expects to complete its asset sale to Reliance Jio Infocomm and Canada’s Brookfield in coming weeks, after the bankruptcy appeals court halted insolvency proceedings against the debt-laden company.

** Israel’s anti-trust authority said it had rejected a planned merger between Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank and Union Bank after a review that pitted two regulators against each other on the consequences for banking competition.

** Grammer shareholder Cascade international said it sees fair value of Grammer stocks at up to 100 euros ($116.14) a share, dismissing a 61.25 euros indicative bid from a Chinese rival as insufficient.

** Twenty-First Century Fox Inc will hold a special meeting on July 10th for its stockholders to vote on a proposed merger with Walt Disney Co, the company said.

** Shares of NXP Semiconductors NV fell 5 percent after China’s latest warning against U.S. trade threats dulled hopes of an early approval by Beijing for Qualcomm’s $44 billion acquisition of the chipmaker.

** Drugmaker Allergan Plc plans to sell off its women’s health and infectious disease businesses as Chief Executive Brent Saunders works to end the steep slide in its share price over the last year.

** Zynga Inc has bought mobile gaming startup Gram Games for $250 million to boost its portfolio of franchise-based titles, it said.

** The European Commission said it had cleared the purchase of Dutch cable operator Ziggo by Liberty Global subject to conditions.

** Standard Life Aberdeen said it expected to save an extra 100 million pounds ($132.64 million) a year in ‘efficiency savings’ by 2020 after it completes the sale of its insurance business to Phoenix Group.

** Italian utility Enel and its Spanish peer Iberdrola have until the end of Wednesday to present improved bids for Eletropaulo, the Brazilian power grid operator said, citing the country’s market regulator.

** Deutsche Bank is looking to sell its small stake in Dubai-based Abraaj, the embattled private equity firm involved in a row over alleged misuse of investor money, two sources familiar with the matter said.

** Samsung Group’s two insurance firms said they will sell $1.3 billion worth of stock in the conglomerate’s biggest earner, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, to maintain regulatory compliance.

** Aviva Investors, the fund arm of insurer Aviva, said it would combine its real estate, infrastructure and private debt businesses into a new unit called Aviva Investors Real Assets.

** German seed seller KWS Saat has bowed out of an eleventh-hour bid for Bayer’s vegetable seed business saying it accepts a decision by the European Commission that BASF is the most suitable buyer.

** Deutsche Boerse AG is beefing up its foreign exchange business with a $100 million deal to buy GTX’s Electronic Communication Network (ECN) business from GAIN Capital Holdings Inc.

** The supervisory board of Uniper has recommended that shareholders reject calls to appoint a special auditor to probe possible breaches of duty by the group’s management in relation to Fortum’s proposed acquisition.

** WellCare Health Plans Inc said it would buy Meridian Health Plans of Michigan and Illinois for $2.5 billion in cash to become the top Medicaid provider in those states.

** Marketing company Didit has made an offer of $1.1 million for defunct news gossip website Gawker, an initial proposal that will set the floor for higher bids in a bankruptcy auction, according to a filing.

** Norway’s BW LPG, the world’s largest liquid petroleum gas shipper, said it had offered to buy competitor Dorian LPG in a $1.1 billion all-stock deal in an effort to boost its earnings in a weak market. (Compiled by Akshara P and Taenaz Shakir in Bengaluru)