(Adds Merck (NYSE:MRK), Aetna, AirAsia and Monsanto (NYSE:MON))
Aug 17 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday:
** Merck & Co Inc MRK.N is one of at least five pharmaceutical companies that submitted indications of interest in buying U.S. cancer drug company Medivation Inc MDVN.O earlier this month, according to people familiar with the matter. Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) AET.N warned in July that it would exit much of the individual Obamacare health insurance market if the government challenged its deal to buy rival Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) HUM.N , according to a letter it sent to the U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. seed company Monsanto MON.N has given German suitor Bayer AG BAYGn.DE limited access to its books after turning down a sweetened $64 billion takeover offer last month, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. Canada's Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAMa.TO has signed a preliminary contract to buy Brazilian engineering conglomerate Grupo Odebrecht S.A.'s 70 percent stake in water and sewage group Odebrecht Ambiental, an industry source told Reuters.
The source said the deal was done at an equity value of 5.3 billion real ($1.65 billion). Odebrecht S.A. will cash out 3.4 billion real, he added. Hitachi Ltd 6501.T and buyout firms Carlyle Group LP CG.O and Permira PERM.UL are among suitors to buy Takeda Pharmaceutical Co's 4502.T chemicals unit, people with knowledge of the matter said, in a deal that could total around $1 billion. United Bankshares Inc UBSI.O is in talks to buy rival lender Cardinal Financial Corp CFNL.O in an all-stock deal, a person familiar with the transaction told Reuters. Philippine snacks and beverage manufacturer Universal Robina Corp URC.PS is buying the maker of Snack Brands Australia (SBA) for A$600 million ($460.86 million), stepping up its Asia-Pacific expansion. Univision Holdings Inc UVN.N won a bankruptcy auction on Tuesday to acquire U.S. internet publisher Gawker Media LLC for $135 million, outbidding media company Ziff Davis LLC, which had made an initial offer of $90 million. Germany's economy ministry said it would allow the takeover of industrial robot maker Kuka KU2G.DE by Chinese household appliances company Midea Group 000333.SZ which has raised concerns in Berlin about losing control of important technology. Private equity firm MBK Partners, which is looking to sell ING Life Insurance Korea in a deal expected to fetch about $3 billion, will negotiate with potential buyers on an ongoing basis, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said on Wednesday, citing an unnamed MBK official. The partners in Israeli offshore gas fields Tamar and Leviathan have agreed to sell their rights in two smaller fields to Ocean Energean Oil and Gas Ltd for $148.5 million to comply with a government requirement. Italian power grid company Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale SpA TRN.MI and infrastructure fund F2i will make a joint bid for a minority stake in Greek grid operator ADMIE, two sources familiar with the matter said. Grupo Clarin, Argentina's biggest media conglomerate, will spin off its Cablevision (NYSE:CVC) internet, cable TV and data transmission subsidiary into a new corporation under the name of Cablevision Holding SA, the company said late on Tuesday.