The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S., Canadian and Asian companies were reported by 1030 GMT on Thursday:

 ** Japanese ad giant Dentsu is buying marketing group Aegis for 3.2 billion pounds ($5 billion), the biggest deal in its history as it seeks to expand outside its home market with the British firm's European and digital business.

** Private equity firm Carlyle Group is seeking a buyer for the automotive operations of diversified industrial manufacturer Sequa Corp, which it took private for $2.7 billion in 2007, according to several people familiar with the matter.

** Britain's Premier Oil agreed a $1 billion deal intended to transform the remote UK-governed Falkland Islands into an oil producer, a move that could inflame tensions with Argentina over sovereignty.

** Australia's Telstra will sell its struggling New Zealand operations to British mobile operator Vodafone in a NZ$840 million ($670 million) deal, threatening Telecom New Zealand's dominance and potentially making it a future takeover target.

** A Qatari group has agreed to buy the prestigious Italian fashion house Valentino from its private equity owner Permira in a deal that underlines the kingdom's appetite for trophy assets. The deal values Valentino at about 700 million euros ($857.46 million), people familiar with the situation said.

** French oil group Total has increased its stake in the Ichthys liquefied natural gas project in Australia to 30 pct from 24 percent, the company said on Thursday.

** Global miner BHP Billiton has appointed advisers to explore a sale of aluminium assets in Brazil, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

** The Croatian government is seeking an adviser to help it sell up to 50 percent in the biggest local insurer Croatia Osiguranje.

** Japan's largest discount home electronics retailer Yamada Denki plans to spend more than 10 billion yen ($126 million) to take a controlling stake in smaller rival Best Denki , the Nikkei business daily reported.

** Centrica acquires New York-based energy retailers Forus for $110 million (£71 million) in cash, plus additional working capital.

** U.S. insurer Cigna Corp has signed a deal to buy a 51 percent stake in Finansbank's wholly owned insurance unit Finans Emeklilik for 85 million euros ($104 million), giving it access to the fast growing Turkish market.

** Bilfinger Berger, a German building and industrial service provider, has acquired a U.S.-based assembly and service specialist, in a move to diversify further from the construction sector.

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