(Adds Azimut Holding, Superdry, Nutrien Ltd, Take-Two Interactive Software and Home Depot)
March 28 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday:
** Scrub Daddy, the kitchen sponge maker that gained popularity after securing an investment on U.S. TV show "Shark Tank," is exploring options that include a sale of the company, according to people familiar with the matter.
** Superdry SDRY.L CEO and top shareholder Julian Dunkerton will not be making an offer for the company, bothparties said, and the struggling British fashion chain said it reached an agreement to extend a loan facility to help its turnaround plans.
** Nutrien Ltd. NTR.TO , the world's largest producer of potash fertilizer, is mulling divestments in South America, replacing management and halting an acquisition spree in Brazil after steep losses in the region, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
** U.S. videogame publisher Take-Two Interactive Software TTWO.O has agreed to buy Gearbox Entertainment from Sweden's Embracer EMBRACb.ST for $460 million in stock to beef up its arsenal of titles with games including first-person shooter "Borderlands".
** Home Depot HD.N will buy building materials supplier SRS Distribution in an $18.25 billion deal, in the topU.S. home improvement chain's largest acquisition, as it looks to broaden its professional customer base to better tackle tepid demand.
** Italian asset manager Azimut Holding AZMT.MI set out plans on Thursday to spin off part of its network of financial advisers and merge it into a new digital bank, adding it was looking at outside investors taking a stake of up to 50% in the new unit.
** SilverBow Resources SBOW.N said it has rejected largest shareholder Kimmeridge Energy Management's latest offerthat valued the oil and gas producer at $2.1 billion, including debt, in the latest rebuff of the asset manager's efforts.
** India's ICICI Securities ICCI.NS secured the votes needed to delist its stock, capping a dramatic week that sawbacklash from some unhappy retail investors and reported attempts by parent ICICI Bank to sway votes.
** Oakley Capital is weighing options, including a sale, for its Norwegian maritime training software company OceanTechnologies Group (OTG), three sources close to the matter told Reuters.
** International Resources Holding (IRH), a unit of Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company IHC.AD , said it intendsto bid for a stake in Lubambe Copper Mine in Zambia.
** Keysight Technologies KEYS.N outbid rival Viavi Solutions VIAV.O to buy Spirent Communications SPT.L forabout 1.16 billion pounds ($1.46 billion), winning a battle over the UK telecoms testing firm's expertise in automation.
** Britain's competition regulator said that it has decided not to open an in-depth 'phase 2' investigation into Aviva's AV.L acquisition of AIG Life UK.
** U.S. video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software TTWO.O said on Wednesday it would acquire Gearbox Entertainment, best known for the first-person shooter game Borderlands, from Sweden's Embracer EMBRACb.ST for $460 million.
** Australian gold miner Ramelius Resources Ltd (RMS) said it had ended discussions with Karora Resources KRR.TO for a potential acquisition of the Canada-based mine operator.
** Walmart WMT.N has notified two U.S. antitrust agencies it will withdraw and refile a certain review application for its planned acquisition of Vizio VZIO.N , to give the regulators more time to review the deal.
** T-Mobile has won its bid to appeal a judge’s ruling that allowed a potential class of millions of Verizon and AT&T subscribers to move ahead with a lawsuit challenging the company's $26 billion purchase of rival Sprint in 2020.
- Forums
- Commodities
- News: Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions