The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 1330 GMT on Monday. (For Reuters columns on deals, click on ) ** Billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc struck a deal to buy lubricants maker Lubrizol Corp for $9 billion in cash to tap rising demand for chemicals used to operate engines and machinery. ** Carlyle Group has formed a joint venture with maritime investment firm Tiger Group to buy more than $5 billion worth of vessels with a group of other investors to tap growing shipping demand in the region. ** Qatar will buy 6.16 percent of Iberdrola SA for 2.2 billion euros ($3 billion), helping the Spanish utility finance its Brazil operations and further diluting unwanted suitor ACS . ** Hong Kong jeweller Chow Tai Fook has agreed to buy HK$19.45 billion ($2.49 billion) worth of shares in Ping An Insurance (Group) Co , Ping An said. ** Cellcom Israel has offered to buy its sister company Netvision for about 1.5 billion shekels ($421 million) in cash, Israel's largest mobile phone operator said. ** Eli Lilly & Co offered to buy the animal health division of Johnson & Johnson's subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica for an undisclosed sum, signaling further consolidation in the segment. ** U.S. private equity firm Mount Kellett Capital Management along with two Indian firms are close to buying 35 percent in pharma retailer MedPlus Health Services for 4.1 billion rupees ($91 million), the Times of India reported on Monday. ** Japan's Nippon Life Insurance Company is buying a 26 percent stake in India's Reliance Life Insurance for $680 million, the Indian company said in a statement. ** France Telecom and Kuwaiti logistics group Agility are to acquire a 44 percent stake in fast-growing Iraqi mobile operator Korek Telecom, the groups said in a joint statement. ** State-run Steel Authority of India said it is conducting a joint feasibility study with Japan's Kobe Steel for a steel plant and a 1,000 megawatt gas-based power plant in north India. ** Zain approved an offer by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding and Bahrain Telecom (Batelco) for its Saudi assets, paving the way for completion of a $12 billion stake deal with UAE's Etisalat . ** Furniture retailer JD Group said it has agreed to buy Steinhoff's South African retail unit for about 3 billion rand ($436.1 million). ** Care homes operator Southern Cross Healthcare Group said it had walked away from offer talks and was instead looking to its landlords and the government to help tackle its increasingly precarious financial situation. ** British printing company St Ives Plc said it agreed to sell its loss-making magazine business for 20 million pounds ($32.5 million) to a unit of private equity firm Walstead Investments Ltd.
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