UPDATE 3-Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions

(Adds Severstal, Chevy Chase Bank and others)

Nov 20 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, North American and Asian companies were reported by 2100 GMT on Thursday.

(For Reuters columns on deals, click on [DEALTALK/] )

** Brazil's state-run Banco do Brasil (BBAS3.SA) agreed to buy a large public bank, spurring further consolidation in the banking sector of Latin America's largest economy. Banco do Brasil said it would buy Nossa Caixa (BNCA3.SA), a commercial bank owned by the state of Sao Paulo, for 5.39 billion reais ($2.25 billion).

To read more, please double click on [ID:nN20355710]

** Severstal (CHMF.MM), Russia's largest steel maker, has taken control of Canadian miner High River Gold Mines Ltd (HRG.TO) by increasing its stake to 50.1 percent, the company's mining division said on Thursday. [ID:nLK738800]

** Citigroup Inc (C.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Capital One Financial Corp (COF.N) are among the final bidders for Chevy Chase Bank, a Bethesda, Maryland, lender, sources familiar with the matter said. [ID:nN20410894]

** Clearwire Corp (CLWR.O) said its shareholders had voted to approve its proposed high-speed wireless joint venture with Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N) that includes an investment of $3.2 billion from cable, Web and chip partners. [ID:nN20421241]

** Teck Cominco (TCKb.TO) will slash spending, sell assets, withdraw from the Petaquilla copper project in Panama and suspend dividend payments under a sweeping plan to cut debt from its acquisition of Fording Canadian Coal Trust, the company said. [ID:nN20413739]

** Italian airline Alitalia will lose $1.25 billion in 2008 but a pending takeover by a group of Italian businessmen could revive its fortunes, the administrator overseeing its bankruptcy said as he signed off on the deal. [ID:nLK25141]

** Securities settlement firm Euroclear has signed an agreement to acquire Xtrakter from the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) for an undisclosed amount, the company said. [ID:nLK549259]

** Unlisted Dutch oil and gas group BB Energy BV has been named preferred bidder in the privatisation of the petroleum division of Maltese state-owned Enemalta Corporation, the government said. [ID:nLK203894]

** Japanese trading house Itochu Corp (8001.T) said it would buy a 20 percent stake in Chinese food processing company Ting Hsin for $710 million to take further advantage of fast-growing demand. [ID:nTFA003080]

** Spanish foods group Ebro Puleva (EVA.MC) will initiate exclusive talks with British Sugar over the sale of its Azucarera sugar subsidiary, a company source told Reuters. [ID:nMDT005835]

** Hong Kong's First Pacific Co Ltd (0142.HK) will acquire 20 percent of Philex Mining Corp (PX.PS) for 6.2 billion pesos ($123.4 million), the Philippine company, the country's biggest miner said [ID:nMAN413456]

** Australia's competition watchdog refused to approve a cooperation agreement between Air New Zealand (AIR.NZ) and Air Canada (ACa.TO), saying it would harm competition on the Australia-Canada route. [ID:nSYU005569]