Deals of the day - mergers and acquisitions

Jan 12 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 2100 GMT on Thursday.

** Deutsche Bank has picked around 12 bidders to conduct due diligence on its asset management division, which the German bank expects could fetch more than 2 billion euros ($2.54 billion), two sources familiar with the process said on Thursday.

** The battle for China Gas Holdings intensified on Thursday as South Korea's SK Holdings tightened its grip on the takeover target which received an unsolicited $2.2 billion indicative offer from a consortium that included Sinopec.

** Spanish toll road operator Abertis has mandated banks to sell a 16 percent stake, worth around 1 billion euros ($1.28 billion) that it holds in satellite operator Eutelsat , the company said on Thursday.

** South Korea's KCC Corp has started a sale of shares it holds in shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd in a block deal to raise up to 698.9 billion won ($595 million), IFR reported on Thursday.

** PT Panin Financial, controlled by Indonesia's powerful financier Gunawan family, is planning to sell up to a 40 percent stake in its life insurance business, PT Panin Life, in a deal worth about $200 million, three sources familiar with the deal told Reuters.

** Crown Castle International Corp said it will buy a portfolio of ground lease-related assets from Wireless Capital Partners LLC for about $180 million in cash.

** First Niagara Financial Group Inc will sell 37 HSBC Holdings Plc locations that it bought last year, along with $2.4 billion in deposits, to KeyCorp for $110 million to clear antitrust hurdles.

** Wausau Paper's largest shareholder backed the company's decision to sell its print and color brand and close its mill in Wisconsin, but said it must evaluate strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company.

** Openwave Systems Inc said it will explore strategic alternatives for its core service mediation and messaging products businesses as the software maker plans to focus on selling its patents.

** Asda, the British arm of U.S. retailer Wal-Mart, is no longer looking at a bid for a controlling stake in rival grocer Iceland Foods, but is still interested in a number of its stores, a person close to the matter said on Thursday.

** The Obama administration is likely to block a proposed $15-a-share buyout offer by U.S. pharmacy services provider Omnicare Inc for smaller rival PharMerica Corp, New York Post reported on Thursday, citing a source close to the matter.

** A final decision on the sale of French insurer AXA's private equity unit is still weeks or even months away, sources familiar with the transaction said on Thursday, as talks with the unit's management and potential bidders drag on.

** Douglas Holding AG said major shareholders in the German retailer were in talks with several financial investors about the sale of a substantial stake in the company, confirming an earlier report.

** South Korea's Samsung Electronics is open to forging an alliance with Japan's troubled Olympus Corp, potentially joining other electronics firms in circling one of the world's biggest names in medical equipment, sources said.