Merger activity increased last week with three new deals announced and four deals closing. You can find all the active deals listed below in our Merger Arbitrage Tool (MAT) that automatically updates itself during market hours.
We are pleased to release an enhancement to our new Merger Arbitrage News section that displays latest news from various sources as well as latest SEC filings for all active deals. This enhancement adds two new tabs to this page, which displays tweets related to active deals. The “Curated Twitter” tab displays tweets from a list of nearly 2,000 curated Twitter accounts and the “Raw Twitter” tab displays an unfiltered list of tweets related to active deals in the MAT. Subscribers that have logged in can filter the news, SEC filings and tweets for just the companies they are following instead of seeing all news, filings and tweets.
Merger Arbitrage News, SEC Filings and Curated Tweets
We have also added two new potential deals to the Deals in the Works section that we launched last week.
The acquisition of Astoria Financial Corporation (AF) by Sterling Bancorp (STL) for $2.2 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of Astoria Financial will receive a fixed exchange of 0.875 shares of Sterling common stock for each share of Astoria common stock.
On March 6, 2017, Analog Devices (ADI) announced that it has received regulatory approval from the Ministry of Commerce of China to complete its acquisition of Linear Technology Corporation (LLTC). MOFCOM clearance was the final required regulatory approval, and the parties expect to complete the acquisition on March 10, 2017.
On March 6, 2017, PrivateBancorp (PVTB) announced that it has set a new record date for its special meeting of stockholders to consider and act upon the Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among PrivateBancorp, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and CIBC Holdco. The PrivateBancorp special meeting is currently expected to be held on or about May 4, 2017.
On March 7, 2017, Integrated Device Technology (IDTI) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Glider Merger Sub, is commencing a cash tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of GigPeak (GIG) at an offer price of $3.08 per share.
On March 7, 2017, Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) announced that it has extended the offering period of its previously announced cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding common shares of NXP Semiconductors (NXPI). The tender offer is now scheduled to expire on April 4, 2017.
On March 9, 2017, Reynolds American (RAI) and British American Tobacco (BTI) announced that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 relating to BAT’s proposed acquisition of RAI has expired without a request for additional information by the U.S. Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission. The expiration of the Act’s waiting period satisfies the transaction closing condition related to U.S. antitrust approval. The transaction still requires approval by RAI and BAT shareholders and regulatory clearance from Japan, and is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the other closing conditions specified in the merger agreement. Both companies continue to expect the transaction to close in the third quarter of 2017.
On March 9, 2017, B/E Aerospace (BEAV) announced that B/E Aerospace stockholders voted in favor of the proposal to adopt the previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among B/E Aerospace and Rockwell Collins (COL) at a special meeting of stockholders held on March 9, 2017.
March 9, 2017: According to Reuters, Bayer (BAYRY) and Monsanto (MON) are launching asset sales worth roughly $2.5 billion as they seek regulatory clearance for their $66 billion merger, people close to the matter said.
On March 10, 2017, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (FFH.TO) and Allied World Assurance Company Holdings (AWH) announced that Fairfax has exercised its option to increase the cash consideration component of its offer to Allied World shareholders by $18.00 out of a possible increase of $30.00 per ordinary share. As a result, the cash consideration component of the offer will increase from $5.00 per ordinary share to $23.00 per ordinary share, together with the $5.00 special dividend that, subject to Allied World shareholder approval, will be payable in connection with the transaction, for total cash consideration of $28.00 per Allied World ordinary share.
Disclaimer: I hold positions in WhiteWave Foods (WWAV), Rite Aid (RAD), Syngenta (SYT), Valspar (VAL) and Fortress Investment Group (FIG). Please do your own due diligence before buying or selling any securities mentioned in this article. We do not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the content or data provided in this article.
