(Adds PDVSA, New Mountain Capital LLC, Delphi Automotive Plc, Nokia, Telia, Glencore Plc, Thyssenkrupp, Scripps Networks Interactive , Ecoasis)
May 3 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday:
** PetroVietnam's joint venture with Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA remains stalled but the Vietnamese company hopes ongoing talks will lead to reactivation of operations, a top executive for the company told Reuters. Private-equity firm New Mountain Capital LLC is in advanced talks to buy laboratory equipment supplier VWR Corp VWR.O in a deal that could be valued at nearly $5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. Automotive supplier Delphi Automotive Plc DLPH.N said it plans to spin off operations tied to internal combustion engines and focus on technology for electrically powered and self-driving vehicles, boosting its share price and highlighting the challenges for legacy auto industry players. Finland's Nokia NOKIA.HE plans to sell its undersea cables unit, a business that underpins the global Internet, two union sources and a French government source told Reuters. Nordic telecoms firm Telia TELIA.ST said it was aiming to sell part of its stake in Turkey's Turkcell to institutional investors as part of its strategy to focus on its Nordic and Baltic operations. Mining-trading group Glencore Plc GLEN.L has hired the Bank of Nova Scotia BNS.TO to sell a portfolio of royalty assets, including one for the Antamina copper-zinc mine in Peru, four people familiar with the process have told Reuters. Thousands of Thyssenkrupp TKAG.DE steelworkers protested against the German industrial group's plan to merge its European steel operations with those of India's Tata Steel TISC.NS . Scripps Networks Interactive SNI.O said it has agreed to buy online food publication Spoon University, a startup it hopes will give its flagship cable channel, the Food Network, a foothold with younger audiences. Ecoasis, a Canadian real estate developer, has started a strategic review of the Bear Mountain resort in British Columbia, which could lead to a potential sale, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Twelve parties, including local and foreign banks, have expressed interest in taking a stake in Kenya's Chase Bank, the central bank said late on Tuesday. Turkey's new sovereign wealth fund has signed a framework agreement with an Islamic Development Bank (IDB) unit to develop Islamic mortgages and different types of cooperation with the bank will be on the agenda, the fund's head said. New Zealand's competition regulator blocked the planned merger of NZME Ltd NZM.NZ and Fairfax Media Ltd's FXJ.AX New Zealand unit, saying the deal would have led to unprecedented local media influence and built the world's most concentrated newspaper market outside of China. Italian investment fund Palladio Holding Group will buy Slovenian car parts maker Cimos after it pulled out of a similar deal in February, Slovenian daily newspaper Dnevnik reported. The sale process for troubled flagship carrier Alitalia will kick off in the next 15 days, Italy's Industry Minister said. German copper products group Wieland said on Wednesday it has taken over the copper and steel tube business of U.S. company Wolverine Tube Inc, as part of its plans to expand internationally. Chinese conglomerate HNA Group 0521.HK has become Deutsche Bank 's DBKGn.DE biggest direct shareholder, upping its stake in the flagship lender of Europe's top economy to just under 10 percent, according to a U.S. regulatory filing. An application has been made to Turkey's competition authority for Austrian logistics company Austrian Post POST.VI to take over a 50 percent stake in Turkey-based Aras Kargo from other shareholders, the authority said. State-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has started the sale of its medical services business in Jeddah, valued at around $500 million, as part of a drive to reduce non-core assets, sources familiar with the matter said. Delek Group DLEKG.TA said that Israeli businessman Yonel Cohen will purchase a 130 million shekel ($36 million) stake in insurer Phoenix Holdings PHOE1.TA as part of a deal with China's Yango Group Co 000671.SZ . Jonah Energy, a natural gas company backed by investors including private equity firm TPG Capital, has agreed to acquire oil and gas-producing land in Wyoming from Linn Energy LNGG.PK for around $580 million, the companies said on Tuesday. Intact Financial Corp IFC.TO , Canada's largest property and casualty insurer, said it would buy U.S.-based specialty insurer OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd OB.N for $1.7 billion, creating a specialty insurer focused on small- and mid-sized businesses.