Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

July 3 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday:

*Italian lender BPER EMII.MI said that it has increased its bid for smaller rival Popolare di Sondrio BPSI.MI, valuing the bank at 5.44 billion euros ($6.39 billion), according to Reuters' calculation. nL4N3T017J

*U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter Venture Global Inc VG.N announced that Petronas PGAS.KL has agreed to buy 1 million metric tons of LNG from its CP2 project, its first new CP2 customer in two years. nL4N3T00XL

Investment firm Thoma Bravo has agreed to acquire Olo in an all-cash deal valuing the restaurant software provider at about $2 billion, the company said. nL4N3T00UW

Zurich Insurance Group has agreed to acquire Toronto-based cyber insurtech Boxx Insurance, which will operate as a standalone entity after the transaction. nL6N3T00KR

Expansive intermediary Specialist Risk Group (SRG) has announced the acquisition of Newcastle-based MGA Generation Underwriting from WF Risk Group. nL6N3T00J0

Specialised life insurance group Athora is in talks to acquire Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), valuing the UK insurer at about 5.7 billion pounds ($7.78 billion), Luxembourg-based major shareholder Reinet said. nL4N3T00DZ

Private equity firm Carlyle Group is preparing to offload up to a 10% stake in India's Piramal Pharma , online news portal Moneycontrol reported, citing sources. nL4N3T00QL

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 $7.38 billion bid by a unit of Toronto-listed miner Gold Reserve GRZ.V was named preliminary winner of an auction of shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum, organized by a U.S. court to pay creditors for debt defaults and expropriations in the South American country. 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. nL4N3T00LG