May 25 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Thursday:
** U.S. oil and gas producer EP Energy Corp EPE.N and refiner Tesoro Corp (NYSE:TSO) TSO.N on Wednesday announced a joint venture to drill 60 wells in the Uinta basin in Utah. Shares in Brazil's Alpargatas SA ALPA4.SA , the maker of Havaianas flip flops, gained on Wednesday, bolstered by reports from Reuters and elsewhere it was among assets that scandal-hit parent company J&F Investimentos SA had considered selling. JBS SA's JBSS3.SA controlling shareholder, J&F Investimentos, proposed paying a 4-billion reais ($1.22 billion) fine as part of a leniency deal to settle Brazilian bribery and corruption charges, but the offer was rejected, a representative of the public prosecutors' office said on Wednesday. Brown-Forman Corp BFb.N , the maker of Jack Daniel's whiskey, said on Wednesday it was not for sale, following a media report that Corona beer maker Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) STZ.N had offered to buy the company. ChemChina has raised $20 billion mainly in perpetual bonds to finance its purchase of Swiss seeds firm Syngenta SYNN.S , with Bank of China becoming the single largest investor providing half of that funding, according to a regulatory filing. Shares of Bunge Ltd BG.N scaled to a 22-month peak on Wednesday after merger overtures by Glencore Plc's GLEN.L agriculture unit whetted investors' appetite for consolidation in the commodities sector. A Chinese consortium is buying Ansell Ltd's ANN.AX condom division, the world's no. 2 condom maker, for $600 million, betting on surging demand in China as sex becomes less of a taboo subject and more emphasis is placed on public health education. Aviva AV.L is to buy back up to 300 million pounds ($389.55 million) of its own shares, the insurer said. South African retailer TFG TFGJ.J has agreed to buy Australia's Retail Apparel Group (RAG) for a maximum of 302.5 million Australian dollars ($226.78 million), the company said. General Electric (NYSE:GE)'s GE.N joint venture to manufacture gas turbines in Saudi Arabia will start production by the end of the year, the chief executive of Dussur, its state-backed Saudi partner, said. The founding family of Turkey's largest conglomerate, Koc Holding, is selling shares worth nearly $480 million in the firm, according to a statement filed to the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Retail tycoon Philip Green's Arcadia Group Ltd is in preliminary talks to take control of its troubled Australian franchise partner for his Topshop brand, a representative for the Australian firm said. Highly-valued security firm Tanium Inc is allowing its co-founder, employees and some early investors to sell $100 million of stock to private equity and venture funds in a secondary sale that eases internal pressure for a public offering. Shenzhen Investment Ltd 0604.HK said it would sell four property and hotel assets to China Evergrande Group 3333.HK for 5.42 billion yuan ($788 million), walking away from projects in third and fourth-tier cities to enhance its financial position.