Adds Barrick Mining, Union Pacific, Papa John, Alkami Technology, Snam

Nov 14 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2130 GMT on Friday:

** The board of Canada's Barrick Mining ABX.TO has raised the possibility of splitting the company into two separate entities, one focused on North America and the other on Africa and Asia, four sources familiar with the company's thinking told Reuters.

nL6N3WQ107

** A group of nine Republican state attorneys general raised competition concerns about Union Pacific's UNP.N plan to buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern NSC.N in an $85 billion deal to create the first U.S. coast-to-coast freight rail operator.

nL1N3WQ107

** Activist investor Irenic Capital Management built a stake in Papa John's PZZA.O during the third quarter, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, adding a fresh dimension to mounting speculation about the pizza chain's future.

nL1N3WQ0X4

** Activist investor Jana Partners built a new stake in U.S. banking technology company Alkami Technology ALKT.O during the third quarter, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

nL1N3WP119

** Italian gas grid operator Snam SRG.MI is set to abandon its planned acquisition of a minority stake in Germany's largest independent gas transmission operator, sources said, amid resistance from the German economy ministry.

nL8N3WQ12M

** U.S.-based private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners pulled out of a 500-million-pound ($671-million) bid for Britain's Telegraph Media Group, the latest twist in a two-and-a-half year saga at one of Britain's biggest newspapers.

nL4N3WQ134

** Merck <MRK.N> will acquire Cidara Therapeutics <CDTX.O> in a nearly $9.2 billion deal, gaining access to an experimental drug for flu prevention in its effort to diversify ahead of patent loss for its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda.

nL4N3WQ0YO

** Pan-European stock exchange operator Euronext ENX.PA said its tender offer for 100% of Hellenic Exchanges EXCr.AT — the operator of the Athens bourse — had become unconditional, following an approval from the Greek market regulator. nL1N3WQ09G

(Compiled by Rajarshi Roy and Parth Chandna in Bengaluru)

((Parth.Chandna@thomsonreuters.com))