Deals of the day- Mergers and acquisitions

March 3 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1030 GMT on Monday:

** Swiss pharma group Novartis NOVN.VX will work more closely with rival Roche ROG.VX but rules out a merger, its chairman said in a newspaper interview on Sunday.

News Search ID:nL6N0LZ0AG

** TGI Fridays, the global casual dining restaurant chain known for its red-striped canopies and memorabilia-rich decor, is in advanced talks to sell itself to buyout firm TriArtisan Capital Partners, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. News Search ID:nL1N0LX1VK

** A consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (TAQA)

TAQA.AD has agreed to buy two Indian hydroelectric power plants from Jaiprakash Power Ventures JAPR.NS in a deal worth about $1.6 billion, TAQA said on Sunday. The group will spend $616 million on equity in the plants and take over their non-recourse project debt, bringing the total enterprise value to around $1.6 billion, a TAQA spokesman told Reuters.

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** Russia's largest oil company, Rosneft ROSN.MM , could buy Ukraine's Odessa oil refinery, which has been secured by Russian state bank VTB VTBR.MM due to the outstanding debts of the former owner, Kommersant newspaper reported. News Search ID:nL6N0M00OL

** Beijing Capital Group Href="NewsSearch">BEJINX.UL will buy New Zealand's biggest waste management firm from Australia's Transpacific Industries Group Ltd TPI.AX for almost $800 million, enabling the Chinese state-owned company to acquire technology that could help combat chronic pollution in the capital and beyond.

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** Ion Investments, a subsidiary of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Href="NewsSearch">TEM.UL , could raise as much as $176 million through the sale of 4.1 million shares in Seoul Semiconductor Co Ltd M046890.KQ , IFR reported. News Search ID:nL3N0M02QQ

** Hedge fund managers George Soros and John Paulson have both taken a 92 million euro ($127 million) stake in a new Spanish property investment vehicle called Hispania, the Financial Times reported on Saturday, citing sources close to the deal. News Search ID:nL6N0LY0F4

** Veteran food industry investor C. Dean Metropoulos is seeking a new owner for Pabst Brewing Co, best known for blue collar-turned-hipster favorite Pabst Blue Ribbon label, people familiar with the matter said. Los Angeles-based Pabst beer and malt liquor labels also include Schlitz and Old Milwaukee.

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** French holding company Wendel MWDP.PA said it invested an additional $152 million in African mobile telecommunications infrastructure provider IHS Holding as part of a $420 million capital increase. News Search ID:nWEB00JIF

** An investment fund managed by Soros Fund Management of billionaire financier George Soros has bought around 5 percent of Italian shopping centre group Immobiliare Grande Distribuzione (IGD) IGD.MI , the company said in a statement. Fund Quantum Strategic Partners has bought about 3.15 percent of IGD from the company itself and the rest from its second-largest shareholder Unicoop Tirreno. News Search ID:nI6N0LT00N

** Singapore's Tiger Airways Ltd TAHL.SI aims to sell or close its Indonesian joint venture unless there are signs of it turning around this year, people familiar with the matter said.

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** South Korean fashion conglomerate E-Land Group is not interested in buying U.S. apparel chain J.Crew Group Inc and has not considered it in the past, a spokesman for E-Land said.

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** Dubai based rig-maker Lamprell LAM.L said it sold its International Inspection Services (INSPEC) division to Intertek

ITRK.L for $66.2 million to reduce its debt and focus on its core business. News Search ID:nASM0005UY

** Johnson Service Group Plc JSG.L , which rents and dry cleans uniforms and other textiles, reported a 25 percent rise in full-year profit due to the strong performance of its rental unit, and said it would buy Bourne Services Group Ltd, a hotel linen supplier, for about 22 million pounds ($37 million) in cash.

($1 = 1.1901 New Zealand dollars)

($1 = 0.7240 euros)

($1 = 0.5967 British pounds)

(Compiled by Natalie Grover)

((natalie.grover@thomsonreuters.com)(within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 99 1694 7070)(Reuters Messaging:)(natalie.grover.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: DEALS DAY/