Deals of the day- Mergers and acquisitions

(Adds ITV, AirAsia, Berry Plastics and others)

Aug 25 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday:

** Tesla Motors Inc has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy solar panel installer SolarCity Corp, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday.

** British broadcaster ITV said on Thursday it would not bid for Entertainment One after failing to persuade the owner of the children's TV character Peppa Pig to enter into a formal process.

** Ningbo Shanshan Co Ltd, a Chinese manufacturer of lithium battery materials, is in advanced talks to buy a stake in Chile's Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (SQM), one of the world's biggest lithium producers, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

** AirAsia Bhd, Asia's biggest low-cost airline, values its wholly owned leasing arm at 4.1 billion ringgit ($1 billion), and aims to attract an equity investor to the unit by end-2016, it said in a presentation to analysts.

** Mali's two sugar refineries, N-Sukala SA and Sukala SA, will merge into a single company and increase annual capacity to around 200,000 tons as part of efforts to boost the sector and meet domestic demand, company and government officials said on Thursday. China National Light Industrial Corp (SINOLIGHT) holds 60 percent controlling stakes in both the sugar mills, called N-Sukala SA and Sukala SA, with the Malian state owning the remainder.

** Berry Plastics Group Inc said it would buy AEP Industries Inc, which makes stretch wraps and can liners, in a deal valued at $765 million, including debt, to expand its presence in North America.

** Nomad Foods is ready to start looking at more acquisitions now that it has integrated last year's purchase of Findus Group's European businesses, Chief Executive Stefan Descheemaeker said on Thursday.

** Silver Hill Energy Partners LLC is exploring a sale that could value the U.S. oil and gas company at more than $2 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said, in what could be one of the biggest deals in the oil patch this year.

** Sri Lanka is seeking a consortium that must include a company from the Indian subcontinent to bid for a $400 million contract to build a port terminal, the ports minister said on Thursday.

** The majority owner of Germany's GfK is looking at strategic options for the market research firm, including a merger or sale, German weekly magazine WirtschaftsWoche reported on Thursday, without citing sources.

** Brazilian apparel makers Restoque Comercio e Confecções SA and Inbrands SA on Thursday scrapped talks to merge their businesses after failing to reach an agreement on terms for a combination.

** ON Semiconductor Corp has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy Fairchild Semiconductor International on condition that it sell an automotive ignition business, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday.

** Shareholders in Poland's state-run gas firm PGNiG approved on Thursday the company's plan to buy back 2.2 percent of its own shares, spending 700 million zlotys ($183 million).

** Filter products maker Essentra Plc said it had agreed to sell its clean wipes making unit to an affiliate of buyout specialist Madison Industries in a deal worth 220 million pounds ($291 million), exiting a non-core unit after a turbulent year.

** European broadcast group RTL still has scope for major acquisitions this year and has a pipeline of opportunities it is reviewing, its top executives said on Thursday. (Compiled by Rishika Sadam and Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru)