Jan 18 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

British American Tobacco agrees $49 bln deal to take over rival

British American Tobacco Plc has agreed terms of a $49.4 billion recommended offer to take control of Reynolds American Inc, the second-largest seller of cigarettes in the United States. An earlier $47 billion offer to create the world's largest listed tobacco company by turnover was rejected in November as too low. http://bit.ly/2jWHmaB

The Guardian

Rolls-Royce apologises in court after settling bribery case

The engineering giant Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc has apologised after it was found to have paid bribes including a luxury car and millions of pounds' worth of cash to middlemen to secure orders in six countries, including Indonesia, Russia and China. http://bit.ly/2jwo132

Southern rail strikes suspended as two sides agree to TUC talks

A strike by train drivers on Southern rail planned for next week has been suspended and talks announced, raising fresh hopes of a resolution to the long-running dispute. http://bit.ly/2k0l9wG

Apple increases App Store prices by 25 pct following Brexit vote

Apple Inc is raising prices on its UK App Store by almost 25 percent to reflect the sharp depreciation of the pound following a vote in June to leave the European Union. http://bit.ly/2ix0rE8

The Telegraph

Deliveroo to hire hundreds of engineers at London HQ

The British food delivery company Deliveroo plans to hire 300 software and hardware engineers to work at its new London headquarters, trebling its current engineering headcount. http://bit.ly/2jWKxyX

Micro Focus picks HP exec to lead software group after 7 bln stg deal

One of HP Enterprise's most senior executives will take charge of Micro Focus International Plc after the FTSE 100 group completes its 7 billion pounds reverse-takeover of HPE's software business. Micro Focus announced on Tuesday that Chris Hsu will become chief executive of the enlarged group when the deal completes in the third quarter of this year. http://bit.ly/2jWIgEe

Sky News

Fintech giants have Motive to back Summers

A group of leading financial technology executives will this week launch a next-generation vehicle that has identified a business backed by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers as its first deal target. Motive Partners, whose founders include Rob Heyvaert, a former executive at the software company FIS, and the ex-Interactive Data Corporation chief executive Stephen Daffron, will be unveiled at the World Economic Forum in Davos. http://bit.ly/2jW0i9A

($1 = 0.8084 pounds) (Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)