Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

(Adds Thomas Cook, Russia's Central Bank, Perrigo, M&C Hotels and Snyder's-Lance; Updates Disney, Niki, Sibanye-Stillwater and Atos)

Dec 14 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2100 GMT on Thursday:

** Walt Disney Co has struck a deal to buy film, television and international businesses from Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox Inc for $52.4 billion in stock as the world's largest entertainment company seeks even greater scale to combat growing digital rivals Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc.

** Snack foods maker Snyder's-Lance Inc has hired an investment bank to weigh a potential sale after being approached by Campbell Soup Co, CNBC reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.

** Niki's administrator began urgent talks to find a buyer for the insolvent Austrian carrier after a deal with Lufthansa fell through and with valuable runway slots at risk of being lost.

** Tourism group Thomas Cook is considering a takeover of insolvent holiday carrier Niki, a spokesman said after Niki was left looking for a new investor following Lufthansa's decision to drop a bid.

** Russia's central bank is preparing to merge three pension funds run by bailed out bank Otkritie to create the biggest non-state pension fund in Russia, while guaranteeing payouts to their 7.7 million members, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

** A group of minority investors in Millennium & Copthorne Hotels has rejected a takeover offer from the company's majority shareholder and called on other investors to follow suit to defeat the bid, which values the business at 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion).

** Generic drugmaker Perrigo has decided to enter the fray for Merck KGaA's consumer health unit, sources told Reuters, and is preparing an indicative offer for the $4.7 billion business ahead of a deadline on Friday.

** Australia's antitrust regulator blocked BP Plc's A$1.8 billion ($1.4 billion) purchase of Woolworths Ltd's petrol stations, even after the oil company offered to sell some stations to ease competition concerns.

** Domino's Pizza, a master franchisee of U.S. group Domino's Pizza Inc, said it would buy a further 44.3 percent stake in Domino's Iceland for 30.2 million euros ($35.71 million).

** EU antitrust regulators are set to clear the 46-billion-euro ($54.4 billion) merger between French glasses group Essilor ad Italy's Luxottica without asking for concessions, two people familiar with the matter said.

** Hong Kong's Li & Fung Ltd said it would divest its furniture, beauty and sweaters businesses for $1.1 billion to a consortium backed by private equity firm Hony Capital, a deal that is expected to trigger a net loss in 2017.

** German utility RWE will sell its 50.9 percent stake in Matrai Eromu Zrt, Hungary's second-biggest power plant, and its related lignite mines, to a consortium led by Czech energy group EPH, a spokeswoman for the company said. ‍​

** Danske Bank has agreed to buy the Danish pension assets of Sweden's SEB in a $1 billion deal to create Denmark's largest private pension fund.

** Austrian bank BAWAG has agreed to buy north German building society bank Deutscher Ring Bausparkasse, it said, continuing its policy of making bolt-on acquisitions and expanding in Germany.

** Poland's Bank Zachodni WBK agreed on Thursday to buy local assets from Deutsche Bank for 1.29 billion zlotys ($362 million) to close the gap on the country's No.2 lender Bank Pekao.

** Hungary's Opus Global and Prague-based EP Power Europe have agreed with Germany's RWE Power AG and EnBW Energie Baden-Wurttemberg AG to acquire a majority stake in Hungary's Matrai power plant.

** South Africa's Sibanye-Stillwater agreed to buy Lonmin for about 285 million pounds ($382 million) to create the world's No. 2 platinum producer in a bid to ride out depressed prices for the metal.

** Atos said on it would pursue its "friendly" bid for chipmaker Gemalto, despite a rejection of the French technology company's 4.3 billion euro ($5 billion) offer.

** German agricultural trading group BayWa AG said it was expanding its UK activities by taking over grain trader Premium Crops Ltd.

** German steel distributor Kloeckner & Co is not working on a bid for the Material Services unit of Thyssenkrupp , a spokesman for the company said.

** The chance to own a stake in Chile's SQM, one of the world's top lithium producers, has attracted several potential suitors as prices for the so-called white gold - a key ingredient in electric car batteries - have skyrocketed.

** The Rockport Group is exploring its options, including a possible sale, after one of the U.S. footwear maker's major debtholders took ownership of the company, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

** Liberty House, the industrial and commodities group buying a number of steel assets around the world, is considering a bid for Rio Tinto's, aluminium smelter in northern France, the largest in Europe, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

** Abraaj Group, one of the leading investors in growth markets, bought a minority stake in one of Turkey's leading online travel agents, Biletal, the investor said. (Compiled by Nikhil Subba and Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru)