Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

(Adds AfriSam, H.I.G. Capital, SIBS, Companhia Energética, UniCredit, Permira, Anglo American , Alphabet, SIX Group; Updates Fortum , Thyssenkrupp, Toshiba)

Sept 20 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday :

** Germany's Thyssenkrupp TKAG.DE and India's Tata Steel TISC.NS agreed on Wednesday to merge their European steel operations, creating the continent's No.2 steelmaker with revenues of 15 billion euros ($18 bln). Japan's Toshiba Corp 6502.T agreed on Wednesday to sell its prized semiconductor business to a group led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP, a key step in keeping the struggling Japanese conglomerate listed on the Tokyo exchange. U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG ) is quitting its decade-long mining services play in Australia through the A$517 million ($414 million) sale of its controlling stake in the highly leveraged earth-moving equipment provider Coates Hire. Southern Copper, one of the world's largest copper producers, is considering a bid to develop the Michiquillay project in Peru, at a time of strong prices that could rise further in 2019, Chief Executive Oscar Gonzalez said. A plan to acquire Singapore's United Engineers Ltd UTES.SI by Yanlord Land Group YNLG.SI and Perennial Real Estate Holdings PERE.SI that valued the century-old property group and a stake in a subsidiary at $1.4 billion has failed on low shareholder acceptance. A.P. Moller-Maersk MAERSKb.CO has agreed a $1.71 billion deal to sell its oil tanker division to its controlling shareholder, who in turn will enter an ownership consortium with Japan's Mitsui & Co 8031.T . Luxottica LUX.MI and Essilor ESSI.PA have not offered any concessions to allay EU antitrust regulators' concerns over their proposed 46-billion-euro ($55.2 billion) merger, increasing the possibility of a lengthy EU investigation into the deal. Finnish power company Fortum FORTUM.HE is in advanced talks to buy for 3.8 billion euros ($4.6 billion) German utility E.ON's remaining stake in Uniper, the power stations and trading business it spun off last year. German energy company Uniper UN01.DE , whose biggest shareholder is E.ON EONGn.DE , said it had not invited a bid by Finnish state-controlled peer Fortum FORTUM.HE . Hong Kong-based insurer AIA Group Ltd 1299.HK is close to acquiring Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (CBA) CBA.AX insurance business which is likely to be valued at nearly $4 billion, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Sika's SIK.S Chief Executive, Paul Schuler, wants to accelerate the Swiss industrial and construction chemicals maker's acquisition drive with more and bigger deals in the next 15 months. Bally slot machines owner Scientific Games Corp SGMS.O said it would buy Canada's NYX Gaming Group Ltd NYX.V for about C$775 million ($632 million), including debt, expanding its existing digital gaming and online gambling portfolio. South African cement maker AfriSam said on Wednesday a merger proposal valuing its rival PPC PPCJ.J at $700 million was fair, suggesting it has no intention of sweetening its offer. H.I.G. Capital is nearing a deal to re-acquire Vantage Specialty Chemicals, a US manufacturer of natural additives for personal care, food, consumer and industrial end markets, from fellow private equity firm The Jordan Company for around US$1bn, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The owners of Portuguese payments provider SIBS are considering a potential sale or capital increase and have hired Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE to explore its options, the company said. A Brazilian court revoked an injunction that blocked the sale of utility Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais hydroelectric dams, Brazils attorney-general office said. Italy's UniCredit CRDI.MI has recently told Berlin it is interested in eventually merging with state-backed Commerzbank (DE: CBKG ) CBKG.DE, two people familiar with the matter said, a combination that would create one of Europe's biggest banks. Private equity firm Permira has postponed plans to sell German business software maker TeamViewer in the hope of fetching a higher price at a later date, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported, citing financial sources. Volcan Investments, the family trust of the chairman of diversified miner Vedanta VED.L , on Wednesday said it was increasing its stake in Anglo American AAL.L but did not intend to make a bid for the entire company. Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O Google is close to acquiring assets of Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp 2498.TW , Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Swiss stock exchange operator SIX Group has hired JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM ) JPM.N to look at options for its payments unit, including a sale worth up to 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.1 billion), sources familiar with the plans told Reuters.