May 16 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Tuesday:
** Spain's Euskaltel EKTL.MC said on Tuesday it had made an offer of around 700 million euros ($770 million), including debt, for Zegona's ZEG.L Telecable, consolidating the Basque telecommunication company's lead in northern Spain. North American budget hotel chain La Quinta Holdings Inc LQ.N is preparing to explore a sale of the company, hoping for a high valuation as its seeks to spin off its real estate assets, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Activist investor Elliott Management raised the pressure for strategic changes at BHP BHP.AX , BLT.L on Tuesday, calling for an independent review of the mining giant's petroleum business. Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Limited, which invested in UBS UBSG.S to support it during the 2008/09 global financial crisis, said it had cut its stake in the Swiss bank at a loss, partly because of changes in the lender's strategy and business. Japan's government said on Tuesday it wanted Toshiba Corp 6502.T and partner Western Digital Corp WDC.O to cooperate, expressing concern about an escalating dispute between the two that threatens to upend the sale of Toshiba's chip unit. The planned takeover of Kazakhstan's Kazkommertsbank KKGB.KZ by rival Halyk Bank HSBK.KZ , HSBKq.L may take longer than previously expected, Halyk Bank chief executive Umut Shayakhmetova said on Tuesday. Investment firms TPG Group Holding Advisers Inc and Dragoneer Investment Group LLC jointly reported an 8 percent stake in Etsy Inc ETSY.O , the Brooklyn-based online retailer of handmade goods, Etsy disclosed in filings on Monday. Soros Fund Management LLC, founded by billionaire investor George Soros, boosted the firm's share stake in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) GS.N by nearly 40 percent during the first quarter and also purchased shares in Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) SNAP.N , parent of the wildly popular Snapchat messaging app, during the first three months of the year, regulatory filings on Monday showed.