Deals of the day- Mergers and acquisitions

(Adds BT, Lafarge, BP, Mondelez, Vice Media) Dec 15 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2100 GMT on Monday: ** Britain's BT has entered into exclusive talks with Orange SA and Deutsche Telekom AG to buy EE for 12.5 billion pounds ($19.6 billion), opting for the country's biggest mobile operator over rival suitor, Telefonica SA's O2. ** European Union antitrust regulators approved on Monday the proposed merger of France's Lafarge SA and Swiss peer Holcim Ltd to create the world's biggest cement maker. ** European Union competition authorities gave conditional clearance on Monday for oil major BP Plc to buy jet fuel business Statoil Fuel and Retail Aviation. ** European Union antitrust regulators opened an extensive investigation into a proposal by Mondelez International Inc and competitor D.E Master Blenders 1753 to combine their coffee businesses, concerned this may reduce competition. ** Vermont-based coffee roaster and brewing technology maker Keurig Green Mountain Inc will move most of its U.S. coffee buying operation to Switzerland, following rivals who have already moved to the global hub for commodities trading. ** Thoma Bravo LLC and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan said they would buy network equipment maker Riverbed Technology Inc in a deal that valued the company at about $3.6 billion. ** Pet supply retailer PetSmart Inc succumbed to calls from some shareholders for a sale on Sunday by agreeing to be bought by a private equity consortium led by BC Partners Ltd for $8.7 billion, in the largest leveraged buyout of the year. ** Apache Corp said it would sell its stakes in two LNG projects, Wheatstone LNG in Australia and Kitimat LNG in Canada, along with accompanying upstream oil and gas reserves, to Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd for $2.75 billion. ** Emerson Electric Co said it would sell its power transmission unit to Regal Beloit Corp, a maker of electric motors, for $1.44 billion as it streamlines its business. ** A 10 percent stake in gas utility GDF Suez, worth about five billion euros ($6.2 billion), could be the first major item on the block in a planned sale of French state assets, sources and analysts say. The government announced in October it planned to raise between 5-10 billion euros by selling state holdings, using the proceeds to repay debt and reinvest in strategic industries. ** The board of Spanish oil major Repsol SA will hold an extraordinary meeting on Monday afternoon to approve a takeover bid for Canada's Talisman Energy Inc, daily Expansion said on its website. ** Australian data storage company Recall Holdings said it rejected a A$2.2 billion ($1.82 billion) takeover offer from U.S.-based rival Iron Mountain Inc, sending its shares to their highest level since listing. ** A unit of Taiwan's Delta Electronics Inc has agreed to buy Norwegian telecom power units maker Eltek ASA in an all-cash deal valuing the company at 3.87 billion crowns ($525.37 million), the two firms said in a joint statement on Monday. ** GIC Pte Ltd, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, formed a joint venture with an Indian property developer for two residential projects near New Delhi, the two firms said in a statement on Monday. ** French oil services group Technip said on Monday it would press on with its strategy of broadening its range of services despite its failed attempt to buy seismic surveys specialist CGG. ** U.S. brokerage BGC Partners Inc has agreed to buy London rival RP Martin, the latest step towards the consolidation of an industry under pressure from tough new rules for its traditional banking clients, low volatility and rock-bottom interest rates. ** Vice Media will go on a "deal spree" next year and may explore an initial public offering, the Financial Times reported citing an interview with the youth-focused digital content company's Chief Executive Shane Smith. ** Specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey Plc has agreed to sell its gold and silver refining business to Japan's Asahi Holdings Inc for 118 million pounds ($186 million) in cash, the British firm said on Monday. ** A loan of up to $800 million to help Abu Dhabi-based entrepreneur B.R. Shetty acquire a majority stake in foreign exchange operator Travelex has been completed, two sources aware of the matter said on Monday. ** South African financial services group MMI Holdings Ltd is to buy a local stock brokerage house from Botswana's Imara Holdings Ltd to increase its exposure to wealthier investors, it said on Monday. ** Israeli conglomerate Delek Group Ltd said it had failed to reach an agreement to sell its controlling stake in insurer Phoenix Holdings Ltd. ** Chinese utility China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) will buy three small UK onshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 73 megawatts from French state-controlled utility EDF, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. ** The Swiss private banking arm of HSBC Holdings Plc is not for sale, the unit's chief executive said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday. ** TUI AG is in talks with investors interested in buying its stake in Hapag-Lloyd as an option in its long-planned exit from the German shipping company, TUI's chairman told a newspaper. ** Finnish paper manufacturer Stora Enso said on Saturday it was selling a loss-making specialty fine paper mill in Germany to a company mainly owned by the private equity fund Perusa Partners Fund 2 for about 7 million euros. ** Aramex has bought the master franchise for South African retailer PostNet for $16.5 million from OneLogix Group, the Dubai-based courier firm said on Sunday. ** French hotel operator Accor SA announced on Sunday a strategic alliance with China Lodging Group to create a major new player in the fast-growing Chinese domestic travel and hospitality market. ** Thailand's PTT PCL said on Monday it will sell its palm oil business in Indonesia for an undisclosed sum by June next year, as the top Thai energy company moves to divest non-core operations. ($1 = 1.2118 Australian dollars) ($1 = 7.3662 Norwegian krones) (Compiled by Lehar Maan and Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru)