Deals of the day- Mergers and acquisitions

May 4 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 0930 GMT on Monday:

** Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd is looking to recruit precious metals trading team of Jefferies Group LLC's commodities brokerage, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Jefferies, which is owned by Leucadia National Corp, said last month that it would sell most of its Bache unit's commodities and financial derivatives accounts to Societe Generale.

** German business software company SAP said on Friday that it was not considering acquiring online rival Salesforce.com Inc, after a news report suggested the leaders of the two companies had held talks about strategic alliances last year.

** Malaysian construction firm IJM Corp Bhd is considering buying Edra Global Energy Bhd, the power assets owned by debt-laden state investment arm 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), financial weekly the Edge Malaysia reported on Saturday, citing industry sources.

** The Irish government does not need to sell part of its 99-percent stake in Allied Irish Banks before parliamentary elections due to be held early next year, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Sunday. "This is not being dictated by any political agenda. It looks now like the earliest opportunity will be November, December, and I'm not going to rush it. I don't need to sell any bit of AIB before the election," Noonan told national broadcaster RTE.

** Fosun International Ltd, an investment company controlled by Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang, said it had offered to buy the 80 percent it does not already own in U.S. insurer Ironshore Inc for $1.8 billion. The move follows Fosun's decision to buy a 20 percent stake in the casualty and property insurer for $464 million in August 2014 in a bid to expand its global insurance network.

** Areva has attracted the interest of three Chinese groups in its technology and parts of its business as the loss-making, majority state-owned French nuclear reactor company restructures, Le Journal du Dimanche reported. China General Nuclear Power Corp and China National Nuclear Corp are open to all forms of cooperation, including joint ventures and taking stakes in Areva, the Sunday newspaper said.

** Swiss bank UBS could combine its investment banking arm with that of Credit Suisse to create a top player, Eric Knight, head of activist investor Knight Vinke, was quoted as saying in an interview with a Swiss paper on Sunday. Knight Vinke said last month that UBS should look at spinning off or merging its investment bank so the group can focus on its wealth and asset management businesses.

** Top executives close to Charter Communications Inc have reached out to management at Time Warner Cable Inc to discuss a possible merger of the cable operators, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. John Malone, chairman of Charter's biggest shareholder Liberty Broadband Corp called Time Warner Cable's Chief Executive Rob Marcus "in recent days" to express Charter's interest in pursuing friendly deal talks, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.

** BHP Billiton's shareholders are expected to approve the biggest ever spin-off in the mining industry on Wednesday, seeking to wring more value out of a string of long-neglected aluminum, manganese, silver and nickel assets. But the new company, South32, risks a tough May 18 debut on the Australian bourse, with investors nervous about weak commodity prices, short mine life spans and declining ore grades.

** M&T Bank Corp shares could rise 20 percent as its acquisition of Hudson City Bancorp Inc is likely to be approved, allowing cost cuts and growth, Barron's reported in its latest issue, citing analysts. The bank has a good chance to reach double-digit earnings growth in the next few years, helped by Hudson City, a $3.7 billion merger first announced in 2012 that hit a regulatory roadblock in 2013, the financial newspaper reported.

** Australia and New Zealand Banking Group said on Monday that it planned to sell its Esanda dealer finance business, which includes A$8.3 billion ($6.50 billion) in loans to motor vehicle dealers. "The sale of the Esanda Dealer Finance business is part of a broader group priority to actively manage our portfolio of businesses to ensure we use capital efficiently, as well as a focus on ANZ-branded products," ANZ Australia Chief Executive Mark Whelan said.

** Top oil firms Royal Dutch Shell and Total are bringing their refining and trading operations closer together, seeking alternative ways to drive profits as oil prices fall and independent trading houses expand into their territory. The restructuring will enable the Anglo-Dutch and French companies' in-house traders to capture profits faster from the fluctuating prices of the different crude oil sources and products coming through their refineries. ($1 = 1.28 Australian dollars) (Compiled by Rosmi shaji in Bengaluru)