The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1100 GMT on Thursday:

** The Australian consumer watchdog warned a A$15 billion ($11 billion) tie-up between the local arm of Britain's Vodafone Group VOD.L and internet provider TPG Telecom Ltd  may hurt competition, sending shares down across the sector. 

 

** Italian construction group Salini Impregiloand Japan's IHI Corporation have made non-binding bids for troubled Italian builder Astaldi, a source said citing a document. 

** Indonesian coal miner PT Bayan Resources Tbk has completed the acquisition of its Australian-listed unit Kangaroo Resources Limited in a transaction worth A$226.4 million ($163.7 million), it said in a filing to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). 

** Mondelez International Inc has agreed to sell its Middle East cheese business, which is currently licensed under the Kraft brand, to Danish dairy firm Arla Foods.

** United Arab Emirates-based UAE Exchange and U.S. startup Ripple plan to launch cross-border remittances to Asia via blockchain by the first quarter of 2019, UAE Exchange's group CEO said in an interview. 

** South African construction firm Group Five Ltd has received interest from a number of parties for various parts of its business as it explores selling some assets, it said. 

** Business supplies distributor Bunzl Plc expects full-year revenue to rise 8 to 9 percent at constant currency rates, it said, as a series of acquisitions and a growing North American clientele drive gains. 

** German wholesaler Metro said it expects eastern Europe and Asia to drive a rise in sales in the 2018/19 financial year, although it sees profits falling due to its struggling Russia business and investments in digitalisation. 

** Israeli blockchain startup Orbs said it received an investment from Kakao Investment, the venture arm of South Korean internet conglomerate Kakao Corp. 

** Investment fund Quattro R is close to reaching a deal with the owners of Trussardi to take a stake of around 80 percent in the Italian fashion house, newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore said.

 

** British security giant G4S said it was separating its cash and notes business, with revenues of 1.2 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) in 2017, into its own unit that it might list in the future.

 

** French energy company Total said it has agreed to sell a 4 percent stake in its Australian Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to Japanese partner Inpex for $1.6 billion, following cost overruns.

** Japan Post Holdings is set to acquire a 7-8 percent stake in U.S. insurer Aflac for about 300 billion yen ($2.6 billion), the Nikkei Shimbun daily said, in a bid to expand overseas as the domestic market shrinks. 

** Britain's competition regulator will publish provisional findings of its probe into Sainsbury's SBRY.L proposed takeover of rival Asda in "January/early February" it said. 

(Compiled by Manogna Maddipatla in Bengaluru) ((manojna.kalyani@thomsonreuters.com; within the U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside the U.S. +91 80 6749 1692; Reuters Messaging: manojna.kalyani.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))