Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

July 3 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 0930 GMT on Thursday:

Life and pensions company Chesnara has agreed to buy HSBC's UK life insurance business for 260 million pounds ($355 million) in cash, Chesnara said.nL4N3T00ED

Luxembourg-based investment vehicle Reinet Investments said it was in advanced talks with Athora Holding to sell its nearly 50% stake in UK insurer Pension Insurance Corporation.nL4N3T00D2

Activist investor Starboard Value has built an over 9% stake in online travel firm Tripadvisor , a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. nL4N3SZ1IA

Santander's SAN.MC plan to buy TSB for 2.65 billion pounds ($3.61 billion) and boost its position in the UK came together only a few weeks ago, after the Spanish bank had been considering a possible exit from Britain, three sources close to the process said. nL1N3T005I

The Ardonagh Group has continued the build-out of its operations in Asia with the acquisition of a majority stake in Apex Insurance (Holdings) Limited in Hong Kong. nL6N3T00AS

Global agribusiness Bunge Global said it officially closed a long-delayed deal to merge with Glencore-backed Viterra on Wednesday, two years after announcing the $34 billion mega-deal.nL1N3SZ0Z1

A U.S. court officer overseeing the auction for PDV Holdings, the parent of Venezuela-owned U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum, has recommended a $7.38 billion bid from Dalinar Energy, a unit of Gold Reserve GRZ.V, according to a court filing and a company statement. nL4N3T00HN

Property developer China Vanke's 000002.SZ biggest shareholder, state-owned Shenzhen Metro, will provide a loan of up to 6.2 billion yuan ($865.78 million) and has agreed to extend existing loans totalling 890 million yuan, it said on Thursday.nL4N3T00LG