News: RIO Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

(Adds: Auchan, Fortissimo Capital Updates:)

Dec 5 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1430 GMT on Tuesday:

		** French retailers Auchan and Intermarche, which last 
week submitted a joint bid to buy the French hypermarket and 

supermarket stores that debt-laden rival Casino CASP.PA is seeking to offload, said they have also entered talks to create a joint purchasing alliance.

		** Private equity fund Fortissimo Capital is negotiating 
to buy a controlling share of Israeli telecom group Cellcom 

CEL.TA from Discount Investment Corp, according to a regulatory filing in Tel Aviv.

** Spanish retailer DIA DIDA.MC has agreed to sell its perfume store chain Clarel to Colombian investment company Grupo Trinity, it said, having abandoned a sale of the business last August.

** SoftBank Corp 9434.T will invest roughly 473 million euros ($514 million) to take a 51% equity stake in Cubic Telecom that will give the Dublin-based connected-vehicle technology provider greater access to Asian automakers.

** South Korean private equity firm MBK Partners said it had launched a tender offer to acquire a minimum of a 20.35% stake in battery storage maker Hankook & Company 000240.KS .

** Australian gold miner Evolution Mining (EVN) has agreed to buy an 80% stake in the Northparkes copper-gold mine in New South Wales state from Chinese miner CMOC Group 603993.SS for up to $831 million, the two companies said.

** Rio Tinto (RIO) , the world's largest iron-ore producer, has approved $77 million for the development of the Rhodes Ridge project in Western Australia, the company said.