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* Carrefour hits Aug 2019 high on Couche-Tard approach
* Telefonica jumps on mobile phone mast sale
* Orsted slides after profit warning
(Updates to market close)
By Amal S and Sruthi Shankar
Jan 13 (Reuters) - European stocks closed slightly higher on
Wednesday, with deal-related gains in French grocer Carrefour
and Spain's Telefonica offsetting wider concerns about extended
COVID-19 lockdowns.
Carrefour shares rose 13.4% to their highest level
since August 2019 after a surprise 16.2 billion euros ($19.72
billion) takeover approach from Canadian convenience-store
operator Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Its stock led gains in Paris' CAC 40, while shares
in French rival Casino rose 3.9%.
Telefonica jumped 9.7% after it agreed to sell its
mobile phone masts in Europe and Latin America to U.S.-based
telecom infrastructure operator American Towers for 7.7 billion
euros ($9.4 billion).
While deal activity drove swings in regional markets and
sectors, the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose just
0.1% as investors paused after last week's strong rally.
Banks, travel companies and automakers
fell the most on fears that prolonged restrictions in
Europe to control soaring coronavirus cases will further slow a
recovery in earnings and economic growth.
"We're not going to see restrictions being lifted anytime
soon, so that's adding to fears of a decline in economic
activity," said David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets.
"The longer the economies are under lockdown the more likely
we're going to have loan defaults. That's impacting the banks."
Germany, Britain and the Netherlands indicated strict
COVID-19 curbs would last into early February and Italy said it
would extend its state of emergency to the end of April.
Investors also kept an eye on political developments in Rome
after former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi threatened to pull his
tiny centrist party out of the ruling coalition.
Italy's current premier Giuseppe Conte told reporters he was
working on a new coalition pact to last until the end of the
legislature.
Italy's FTSE MIB rose 0.4%, while banking stocks
fell 0.7%.
JPMorgan cut its forecasts for Italy's economy, predicting
that longer restrictions will result in no growth in the first
quarter versus a previous forecast of 3.5% growth.
Danish offshore wind farm developer Orsted fell
4.9% after it said that a return to more normal wind speeds this
year would hit operating earnings.
Just Eat Takeaway fell 4.1% as disappointing 2020
margin guidance overshadowed a 57% jump in fourth-quarter
orders.
London Stock Exchange gained 1.8% after EU antitrust
regulators gave the green light for its $27 billion takeover of
Refinitiv.
Siemens Gamesa and Siemens Energy rose
1.6% and 4.2% respectively after the companies said they were
developing a commercial offshore wind turbine that produces
hydrogen via electrolysis.
(Reporting by Amal S and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing
by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Alexander Smith)