The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1130 GMT on Friday:

** Canada’s Barrick Gold Corp is considering a hostile bid for Newmont Mining Corp for about $19 billion in stock, in what would potentially be one of the largest-ever mining deals, the country’s Globe and Mail newspaper reported.

** Britain’s Non-Standard Finance has offered to buy Provident Financial in an all-stock deal that values its fellow specialist loan provider and larger rival at 1.3 billion pounds.

** Britain’s Merlin Entertainments has sold its Australian ski resorts, Hotham and Falls Creek, to Vail Resorts Inc for about A$174 million ($123.7 million), it said.

** Canada’s Saputo Inc is to enter the British market for the first time after agreeing to buy food company Dairy Crest Group Plc for 975 million pounds ($1.27 billion).

** French state-owned bank Bpifrance said it was selling 15.5 million shares in satellite operator Eutelsat Communications, or 6.67 percent of its capital, for around 285 million euros ($323.3 million).

** EU antitrust regulators accused Spanish telecoms operator Telefonica of breaking a promise made five years ago to help rivals to enter the German market, in return for regulatory approval of its E-Plus acquisition.

** Uber Eats, the food delivery arm of ride-hailing app Uber Technologies Inc, is close to a deal to sell its Indian business to Bengaluru-based Swiggy, the Economic Times reported.

** State-owned Saudi Aramco signed an agreement to acquire nine percent of Chinese project Zhejiang Petrochemical, Saudi state news agency SPA said.

** Greek jewellery maker Folli Follie is in talks with three bondholders hoping to firm up a restructuring plan “within days”, a senior company source told Reuters on Friday. ($1 = 1.4061 Australian dollars) (Compiled by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru)