The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2100 GMT on Friday:

** Austrian sensor specialist AMS said it had succeeded at its second attempt with a 4.6 billion euro ($5.1 billion) bid for Osram, gaining more than 55% of the German lighting group’s shares.

** Industrial conglomerate 3M Co is exploring a sale of its drug delivery systems unit, which could fetch around $1 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

** Phoenix Group Holdings has agreed to buy the British ReAssure business of Swiss Re for 3.2 billion pounds ($4.1 billion) in cash and shares, the UK insurer’s biggest deal to date as it bulks up on policies closed to new customers.

** Industrial conglomerate 3M Co is exploring a sale of its drug delivery systems unit, which could fetch around $1 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

** French private equity group Ardian has become the new anchor shareholder of German EWE, the regional utility said, in a deal sources said was worth up to 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion).

** Blackstone Group said it is waiting for Japanese hotel operator Unizo Holdings to respond to its $1.6 billion takeover proposal.

** Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc said its board of directors had unanimously rejected hedge fund Elliott Management’s push for a “proactive sale” process of the entire company because it would not be in the best interest of shareholders.

** Aston Martin, which was reported this week to be the target of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, said it was not actively pursuing new investors as it opened a new factory to build its first sport utility vehicle.

** GFG Alliance, owned by British commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, has agreed to buy the Duffel aluminium plant in Belgium from Novelis, the group said.

** Investment firm 3i Infrastructure said it would sell its projects portfolio in Britain to a range of buyers, including funds managed by Dalmore, Semperian and Innisfree for about 194 million pounds ($248.90 million).

** Property manager Scentre Group said it bought a 50% stake in shopping centre Garden City Booragoon for A$570 million ($386.80 million), beefing up its Westfield-branded portfolio in Perth months after pruning its Sydney assets.

** Britain’s competition watchdog has flagged concerns about potential price increases at some pubs from a merger of Slug and Lettuce pub owner Stonegate and rival Ei Group, which would create the country’s biggest pub operator.

** Malaysia’s Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, the world’s largest oil palm planter by land size, said it would sell its underperforming palm oil concession in Liberia to a local company.

** A Brazilian bankruptcy judge has pushed back the sale of two soy crushing plants after U.S-based grain trader Bunge Ltd alleged the seller provided “scarce and incomplete” information about the assets, according to court filings seen by Reuters.

** Eddie Stobart’s shareholders voted in favour of a takeover from top investor DBAY Advisors, allowing the logistics company’s green and red trucks to continue trading.

** The chief executive of Brazilian state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) said he wants to sell the company’s stake in petrochemical company Braskem SA within a year.

** Australia’s Newcrest Mining Ltd said it had raised its stake in Canadian miner Lundin Gold Inc to 32% with an additional C$79.6 million ($59.9 million) investment as it looks to increase its exposure in Ecuador.

** Mexican broadcaster Grupo Televisa won an injunction against Walt Disney Co’s acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s assets in Mexico, but Mexico’s market regulator said on Thursday that the ruling would not stall the deal. (Compiled by Soundarya J and Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru)