The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Tuesday:

** Britain will give its verdict on Rupert Murdoch’s pursuit of Sky later on Tuesday, potentially paving the way for the mogul’s Twenty-First Century Fox to go head-to-head with rival Comcast Corp for the European pay-TV group.

** Japan’s Sharp Corp said it will buy Toshiba Corp’s personal computer business and issue $1.8 billion in new shares to buy back preferred stock from banks, highlighting a swift recovery under the control of Foxconn.

** Chinese online short video start-up Kuaishou, backed by internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, has bought animation and video platform AcFun, the acquired firm told Reuters, amid an intensifying battle over online content.

** Dutch healthcare technology company Philips said it will buy EPD Solutions, a maker of cardiac imaging and navigation systems used to treat patients with heart rhythm disorders.

** Russia’s VTB bank said it had bought a 40 percent stake in Russian system integrator Tekhnoserv from tycoon Alexei Ananyev, a former co-owner of Promsvyazbank.

** Private equity firm Abraaj said on Monday it hopes to reach a deal with its secured creditors, although sources said that a Kuwaiti unsecured creditor was holding out, potentially stalling the sale of its investment management business. [nL5N1T70ZS

** SoftBank Group Corp said its subsidiary ARM Holdings will cede control of its Chinese operations to a new joint venture with Chinese partners, a move aimed at expanding its business in the country.

** Britain has sold some of its holding in Royal Bank of Scotland, which it rescued in the 2008 financial crisis, but has taken a loss of more than 2 billion pounds ($2.68 billion) on the deal.