Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

(Adds: Platinum Equity, Telecom Italia, Exclusive Networks, Manipal Health Updates: U.S. Steel Corp)

March 14 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2040 GMT on Thursday:

** U.S. Steel Corp, which has agreed to be bought by Japan's Nippon Steel for $14.9 billion, must remain a domestically owned and operated American firm, President Joe Biden said on Thursday, opposing the proposed merger.

** Private equity firm Platinum Equity has hired advisers to explore a sale of Club Car that could value the golf cart maker at more than $2 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said.

** Telecom Italia's (TIM) business plan for the new company emerging from the sale of the former phone monopoly's fixed line network is sustainable, Italy's Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on Thursday.

** The largest shareholder in Exclusive Networks has been weighing taking private the French cyber security specialist, less than three years after its stock market debut, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

** India's Manipal Health is set to buy a 93% stake in Medica Synergie as early as April for about 12.50 billion rupees (about $151 million), according to a source familiar with the matter, uniting the two Temasek-backed hospital operators.

** Hilton said it will buy Graduate Hotels from Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners for $210 million, marking its first brand acquisition in over two decades as pressure in the hotel industry creates opportunity for consolidations.

** Private equity firm KKR has launched a 2.8 billion euro ($3.06 billion) takeover offer for German electricity and energy producer Encavis, the company said.

** Elbe Bidco has launched a takeover offer for German electricity and energy producer Encavis, the company said, confirming previous talks.

** Drugmaker AstraZeneca said it would acquire endocrine diseases-focused firm Amolyt Pharma for $1.05 billion in cash, in a bid to boost its rare diseases portfolio.

** Spanish construction giant Ferrovial said it will buy a 24% stake in IRB Infrastructure Trust, an investment vehicle that holds a portfolio of 12 toll road concessions in India, for 740 million euros (about $810 million).

** Japanese state-backed fund Japan Investment Corp (JIC) will start a tender offer for chip materials maker JSR Corp's shares on March 19 after it obtained Chinese regulators' approval, Bloomberg News reported.

** Appen said U.S.-based digital data solutions firm Innodata has withdrawn a non-binding indicative proposal for a buyout, sending shares of the Australian software firm tumbling more than 17%.

** Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) shares fell more than 1% in early trade after reports it was in advanced negotiations to sell a significant stake in Australian telco Optus to Canada's Brookfield Asset Management.

** India's Reliance Industries has agreed to buy Paramount Global's entire 13.01% stake in local entertainment network Viacom 18 Media for about $517 million (42.86 billion Indian rupees), the U.S. company said in a regulatory filing.

** South African coal miner Exxaro Resources is considering potential deals to acquire copper and manganese assets as part of its diversification strategy, Chief Executive Nombasa Tsengwa said.

** Japan's SoftBank Group is exploring a potential investment in France's Mistral AI, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

** The owners of Aareal Bank have lined up advisers to sell its tech unit, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the German property lender navigates a global crunch in commercial real estate.

** Biopharmaceutical company Biocon's unit Biocon Biologics will sell its Indian branded formulations businesses to Eris Lifesciences in a deal worth 12.42 billion rupees ($150 million), the companies said in separate exchange filings.

** Swedish gaming company Embracer agreed to divest selected assets from its subsidiary Saber Interactive for $247 million, thereby ceasing all operations in Russia, it said on.

** Czech-Slovak investment group J&T will invest 100 million euros ($109.40 million) to take an 8.1% share in Emma Alpha Holding, the main investment platform of Czech investor Jiri Smejc's Emma Capital, the groups said.

** Cisco Systems won unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $28 billion bid for cybersecurity firm Splunk after EU regulators said they did not see any competition issues. (Compiled by Rajarshi Roy, Puyaan Singh and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru)