Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions Reuters – WBNews

April 5 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Wednesday: ** British housebuilder Galliford Try pulled out of a 1.2 billion pound ($1.5 billion) attempt to buy rival Bovis after the two failed to agree on price, leaving Bovis to pursue a turnaround under a new chief executive. ** The battle for German drugmaker Stada is edging towards a close, with final offers from two private equity consortia expected on Friday evening, three people close to the matter said. ** Snapdeal’s three biggest investors – Japan’s SoftBank , Kalaari Capital and Nexus Venture Partners – have moved closer to resolving an impasse, potentially clearing the way for a sale of the Indian e-tailer to one of its rivals, Flipkart or Paytm, according to a Mint report. ** Daishi Bank Ltd and Hokuetsu Bank Ltd, two small Japanese lenders, said they had agreed to merge their operations, the latest consolidation in regional banks amid a decline in population. ** ExxonMobil said it is in talks to buy a refining-petrochemical complex in Singapore that could boost its fuel and chemical production in Asia. ** As Britain steps up the hunt for a new partner for a stalled nuclear power project, South Korea’s KEPCO remains the most likely suitor, but two people with direct knowledge of the matter said the giant utility won’t be rushed to the altar. ** Qatar’s Masraf Al Rayan said that a committee had been formed to manage the merger of the bank…more detail