The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2130 GMT on Friday:
** Spire Healthcare LSE:SPI said that buyout talks with private equity firms Bridgepoint LSE:BPT and Triton have ended, but it was still in discussions with other parties for a potential sale.
** Eight states asked a U.S. judge to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the $3.5 billion merger of Nexstar Media Group and Tegna.
** British Airways-owner IAG LSE:IAG is likely to abandon its interest in pursuing an offer for Portugal's flag carrier TAP, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
** Commerzbank's XETR:CBK CEO Bettina Orlopp told employees that talks with Italy's UniCredit MIL:UCG only make sense once the Italian bank provides it with key points it has in mind for a tie-up deal, according to a transcript of a video message seen by Reuters.
** Trian Fund Management said it has serious concerns about Victory Capital's sweetened offer for Janus Henderson NYSE:JHG that rivals its own take-private deal with the asset manager.
** Unilever LSE:ULVR is in talks to sell its foods business to smaller rival McCormick & Company NYSE:MKC, potentially marking a major shift for the British consumer goods company as it focuses on higher-growth beauty, household and personal care businesses.
** Ecolab NYSE:ECL said it would acquire CoolIT Systems from KKR NYSE:KKR for about $4.75 billion in cash, as the water solutions firm seeks to capitalize on surging demand for liquid cooling in artificial intelligence-driven data centers.
** China's ByteDance has agreed to sell Shanghai Moonton Technology, the studio behind popular mobile game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, to a Riyadh-based gaming firm owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the companies said.
** U.S. consumer health products maker Prestige Consumer Healthcare NYSE:PBH said it would buy the Breathe Right brand and other assets from Foundation Consumer Healthcare in a deal valued at $1.045 billion.
** U.S. packaging company Silgan Holdings NYSE:SLGN has signaled interest in taking over German medical packaging maker Gerresheimer XETR:GXI, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
** Talks to sell Thyssenkrupp's steel division to India's Jindal Steel International are not making progress and the long-awaited deal must not be stalled for months, the German company's deputy supervisory board chairman said.
** British cross-border payments processor CAB Payments said that it has rejected the recent all-cash offer from financial services firm StoneX , saying the proposal undervalues the company and its future prospects.
** Swiss drugmaker Novartis SIX:NOVN agreed to buy a breast cancer drug candidate for up to $3 billion from U.S. biotech firm Synnovation Therapeutics, adding a targeted therapy to its pipeline of cancer drugs.