March 20 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1030 GMT on Tuesday:
** Oil and gas producer SandRidge Energy Inc on Monday rejected smaller rival Midstates Petroleum Co Inc’s all-stock bid, calling the offer “highly dilutive”.
** Australia and New Zealand Banking Group said it is considering a public offering of its New Zealand-based vehicle finance unit UDC, following the failed sale of the NZ$660 million ($477.8 million) business to China’s HNA Group.
** The U.S. securities regulator said on Monday a U.S. court should deny a bid by Rio Tinto Plc, and two former top executives to have civil fraud charges over a failed African coal project dismissed.
** Ryanair plans to buy a stake in new Austrian leisure carrier Laudamotion, helping former motor racing champion Niki Lauda to get the airline up and running and giving the Irish carrier a bigger presence in Germany and Austria.
** Rio Tinto said it will sell its Hail Creek coal mine and the Valeria coal development project in Queensland, Australia, to Glencore for $1.7 billion, tightening the Swiss trading and mining giant’s grip on coal as its rivals exit the industry.
** British engineering company GKN, fighting off a hostile takeover bid from Melrose, said it had a plan in place to protect its pension scheme as the two sides locked horns over the latest issue to emerge.
** U.S. engineering and construction company McDermott International plans to bid for $5 billion in contracts in the next few months in Asia Pacific as the region’s offshore oil and gas sector recovers, company executives said.
** Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems,, which is in the final stages of buying state-owned rival IMI Systems, is already on the hunt for more acquisitions, its chief executive said.
** Laudamotion is still in talks to lease crewed planes to Lufthansa’s Eurowings, despite a deal for Ryanair to buy into the Austrian leisure carrier, its CEO said on Tuesday. (Compiled by Karan Nagarkatti in Bengaluru)